Dabney Coleman
Biography
Dabney Wharton Coleman (January 3, 1932 – May 16, 2024) was an American actor. Coleman's best known films include 9 to 5 (1980), On Golden Pond (1981), Tootsie (1982), WarGames (1983), Cloak & Dagger (1984), The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984), The Beverly Hillbillies (1993), You've Got Mail (1998), Inspector Gadget (1999), Recess: School's Out (2001), Moonlight Mile (2002), and Rules Don't Apply (2016). Coleman's television roles included the title characters of Buffalo Bill (1983–1984) and The Slap Maxwell Story (1987–1988), as well as Burton Fallin on The Guardian (2001–2004), the voice of Principal Peter Prickly on Recess (1997–2001), and Louis "The Commodore" Kaestner on Boardwalk Empire (2010–2011). He won one Primetime Emmy Award from six nominations and one Golden Globe Award from three nominations. Coleman was a character actor with roles in well over 60 films and television programs to his credit. He trained with Sanford Meisner at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre in New York City from 1958 to 1960. Coleman made his Broadway debut in the short-lived A Call on Kuprin in 1961. In a 1964 episode of Kraft Suspense Theatre titled "The Threatening Eye", Coleman played private investigator William Gunther. Two years later, he played Dr. Leon Bessemer with Bonnie Scott as his wife Judy, neighbors and friends of the protagonist in Season 1 of That Girl, episode 3, "Never Change a Diaper on Opening Night". Noted for his moustache which he grew in 1973, he appeared in the sitcom wearing horn-rimmed glasses and with no facial hair. Other early roles in his career included a U.S. Olympic skiing team coach in Downhill Racer (1969), a high-ranking fire chief in The Towering Inferno (1974), and a wealthy Westerner in Bite the Bullet (1975). He portrayed an FBI agent in Attack on Terror: The FBI vs. the Ku Klux Klan (1975).
Known For
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
1962
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
1999
NCIS
2003
Saturday Night Live
1975
Columbo
1971
Columbo
1971
Yellowstone
2018
Bonanza
1959
Bonanza
1959
The Love Boat
1977
Golden Globe Awards
1944
The Fugitive
1963
Filmography
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
as Self · 1962
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
as Frank Hager · 1999
NCIS
as John Sydney · 2003
Saturday Night Live
as Self - Host · 1975
Columbo
as Hugh Creighton · 1971
Columbo
as Detective Murray · 1971
Yellowstone
as John Dutton Sr. · 2018
Bonanza
as Clyde · 1959
Bonanza
as Ivar Peterson · 1959
The Love Boat
as Van Milner · 1977
Golden Globe Awards
as Self - Nominee · 1944
The Fugitive
as Floyd · 1963
The Fugitive
as Sergeant Keith · 1963
The Fugitive
as Officer George Graham · 1963
The Fugitive
as Steve · 1963
Mannix
as Ralph Stoner · 1967
Mannix
as Howard Graham · 1967
Ironside
as Daniel Leary · 1967
Quincy, M.E.
as Dr. Burt Travers · 1976
Quincy, M.E.
as Officer Peter O'Neil · 1976
Cannon
· 1971
Dr. Kildare
as Dr. David Kirkson · 1961
Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre
as Sergeant Harry King · 1963
Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre
as Stanley Rivkin · 1963
The Alfred Hitchcock Hour
as Tom Esterow · 1962
The Alfred Hitchcock Hour
as Sgt. Lou Snyder · 1962
The Donna Reed Show
as Rallye Master · 1958
Naked City
as Resident · 1958
The Guardian
as Burton Fallin · 2001
Ray Donovan
as Mr. Price · 2013
The Mary Tyler Moore Show
as Congressman Phil Whitman · 1970
Boardwalk Empire
as Commodore Louis Kaestner · 2010
I Dream of Jeannie
as George Webb · 1965
I Dream of Jeannie
as Captain Yardley · 1965
The F.B.I.
as Ira Barker · 1965
The F.B.I.
as Allen Clarke · 1965
The F.B.I.
as Stanley Leonard · 1965
The F.B.I.
as Sam Langlin · 1965
The F.B.I.
as Ty Williams · 1965
The F.B.I.
as Mr. Jamison · 1965
The F.B.I.
as Barnes · 1965
Ben Casey
· 1961
Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman
as Merle Jeeter · 1976
Barnaby Jones
as George Clark · 1973
Barnaby Jones
as Ted Sayers · 1973
Barnaby Jones
as Brad Adamson · 1973
Barnaby Jones
as Paul Cleveland · 1973
Medical Center
· 1969
The Streets of San Francisco
as George Todd · 1972
The Streets of San Francisco
as Andrew Horvath, Sr. · 1972
Run for Your Life
as Fred Palmer · 1965
You've Got Mail
as Nelson Fox · 1998
Recess
as Principal Peter Prickly (voice) · 1997
Kojak
as Alex Linden · 1973
The Outer Limits
as Dr. Williams · 1963
The Outer Limits
as James Custer · 1963
The Outer Limits
as Lt. Rupert Lawrence Howard (uncredited) · 1963
That Girl
· 1966
That Girl
as Dr. Leon Bessemer · 1966
The Invaders
as Capt. Mitchell Ross · 1967
The Invaders
as John Carter · 1967
Pound Puppies
as Mayor (voice) · 2010
Kraft Suspense Theatre
as William Gunther · 1963
Kraft Suspense Theatre
as Alvin Piper · 1963
Switch
as C.C. Owens · 1975
Police Story
· 1973
Judd, for the Defense
· 1967
The Mod Squad
as John · 1968
Hazel
as Les Swanton · 1961
12 O'Clock High
as Captain Wilson · 1964
12 O'Clock High
as Captain Robbins · 1964
Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child
as Monsieur Fox (voice) · 1995
Room 222
· 1969
The Magic School Bus
as Horace Scope (voice) · 1994
Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law
as Frank Wellmam · 1971
McMillan & Wife
as Hansen · 1971
McMillan & Wife
as Walter Jennings · 1971
For the People
as Donald · 2018
The Flying Nun
as Sub. Captain · 1967
Arrest and Trial
as Wayne Holton · 1963
Petrocelli
as Willy Morgan · 1974
The Zeta Project
· 2001
Nanny and the Professor
as Detective Robinson · 1970
The Bold Ones: The New Doctors
as Dr. Goldstone · 1969
Then Came Bronson
as Dr. Ron Carlisle · 1969
The Manhunter
· 1974
Dan August
as Rick Bessett · 1970
Stuart Little
as Dr. Beechwood · 1999
Please Don't Eat the Daisies
as Clark · 1965
Medical Story
as Blair · 1975
WarGames
as McKittrick · 1983
Madman of the People
as Jack 'Madman' Buckner · 1994
Banyon
as Ralph Hubbard · 1972
Kraft Mystery Theatre
· 1961
Nine to Five
as Franklin M. Hart Jr. · 1980
Heartland
as Dr. Bart Jacobs · 2007
Midway
as Captain Murray Arnold · 1976
Fernwood 2 Night
as Mayor Merle Jeeter · 1977
Inspector Gadget
as Chief Quimby · 1999
Forever Fernwood
· 1977
Recess: School's Out
as Principal Peter Prickly (voice) · 2001
The Beverly Hillbillies
as Milburn Drysdale · 1993
The Towering Inferno
as Deputy Chief #1 · 1974
Rules Don't Apply
as Raymond Holliday · 2016
Buffalo Bill
as Bill Bittinger · 1983
Search
· 1972
Tootsie
as Ron Carlisle · 1982
E! True Hollywood Story
· 1996
Fresno
as Tyler Cane · 1986
Domino
as Drake Bishop · 2005
The Man with One Red Shoe
as Cooper · 1985
The Muppets Take Manhattan
as Martin Price · 1984
Courting Alex
as Jack Atwell · 2006
North Dallas Forty
as Emmett Hunter · 1979
On Golden Pond
as Bill Ray · 1981
Sons and Daughters
· 1974
Amos & Andrew
as Chief of Police Cecil Tolliver · 1993
Dragnet
as Jerry Caesar · 1987
Attack on Terror: The FBI vs. the Ku Klux Klan
as Paul Mathison · 1975
Young Doctors in Love
as Dr. Joseph Prang · 1982
The Slap Maxwell Story
· 1987
Recess: Taking the Fifth Grade
as Principal Prickly (voice) · 2003
Dolly Parton: An American Original – Special Edition of 20/20
as Franklin M. Hart Jr (archive footage) · 2026
Drexell's Class
· 1991
Cloak & Dagger
as Jack Flack / Hal Osborne · 1984
This Property Is Condemned
as Salesman · 1966
Diff'rent Strokes
· 1978
Moonlight Mile
as Mike Mulcahey · 2002
Recess: All Growed Down
as Principal Prickley (voice) · 2003
The Scalphunters
as Jed · 1968
Where the Red Fern Grows
as Grandpa · 2003
Baby M
as Gary Skoloff · 1988
Night of 100 Stars II
as Self · 1985
There Goes the Neighborhood
as Jeffrey Babitt · 1992
Recess Christmas: Miracle On Third Street
as Principal Peter Prickly · 2001
The Trouble with Girls
as Harrison Wilby · 1969
Bite the Bullet
as Jack Parker · 1975
How to Beat the High Cost of Living
as Jack Heintzel · 1980
Rolling Thunder
as Maxwell · 1977
Downhill Racer
as Mayo · 1969
Still Working 9 to 5
as Self · 2022
Where the Heart Is
as Stewart McBain · 1990
The Slender Thread
as Charlie · 1965
Short Time
as Burt Simpson · 1990
Nothing Personal
as Dickerson · 1980
My Date with the President's Daughter
as George Richmond · 1998
The Return of Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer
as Dabney Coleman · 1986
The President's Plane Is Missing
as Sen. Bert Haines · 1973
A Witch's Way of Love
as Joel · 1997
Apple Pie
as Fast Eddie Murtaugh · 1978
The Brotherhood of the Bell
as Agent Shepard · 1970
Melvin and Howard
as Judge Keith Hayes · 1980
Clifford
as Gerald Ellis · 1994
When She Was Bad...
as Jack Wilson · 1979
Modern Problems
as Mark Winslow · 1981
Meet the Applegates
as Aunt Bea · 1990
I Love My Wife
as Frank Donnelly · 1970
Happy 100th Birthday, Hollywood
as Self · 1987
The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson
as Self · 1990
Plaza Suite
as Jesse Kiplinger · 1987
Hot to Trot
as Walter Sawyer · 1988
How to Marry a Billionaire: A Christmas Tale
as John Kennedy · 2000
Giving It Up
as Johnathan Gallant · 1999
In the Line of Duty: Kidnapped
as Arthur Milo · 1995
The Making of Midway
as Self (archive footage) · 2001
Target Earth
as Senator Ben Arnold · 1998
Bad Ronald
as Mr. Wood · 1974
Exiled
as Lieutenant Kevin Stolper · 1998
The Case of the Baltimore Girls
as George Bates · 1978
The Other Side of the Mountain
as Dave McCoy · 1975
Char·ac·ter
as Self · 2012
Dan August: The Jealousy Factor
as Rick Bessett · 1980
Pray TV
as Marvin Fleece · 1980
The Dove
as Charles Huntley · 1974
Kiss Me... Kill Me
as Capt. Logan · 1976
Dying Room Only
as Bob Mitchell · 1973
Guilty of Innocence: The Lenell Geter Story
as Ed Sigel · 1987
Cinderella Liberty
as Executive Officer · 1973
Maybe Baby
as Hal · 1988
Savage
as Ted Seligson · 1973
More Than Friends
as Joshua 'Josh' Harrington · 1978
Maneaters Are Loose!
as McCallum · 1978
Never Forget
as William Cox · 1991
Judicial Consent
as Charles Mayron · 1994
Black Fist
as Heineken · 1977
Callie & Son
as Randall Bordeaux · 1981
Moving Target
as Morty Raskin · 1973
Kiss My Act
as Henry · 2001
Viva Knievel!
as Ralph Thompson · 1977
Lincoln
as Stephen A. Douglas (voice) · 1992
Devil's Food
as Seymour Kecker · 1996
Must Be Santa
· 1999
Sworn to Silence
as Martin Costigan · 1987
Murrow
as William Paley · 1986
Taken
as Ethan Grover · 1999
Hard Four
as Spray Loomis · 2007
The Climb
as Mack · 2002
House of Evil
· 1974
Returning Home
as Al Stephenson · 1975