20th Century Fox
Dabney Coleman, a Hollywood veteran of TV and film who specialized in playing smarmy, mustachioed villains — including in the classic "9 to 5" — has died. He was 92.
Coleman had been ailing, having canceled a scheduled appearance at Chiller Theatre, an autograph show in Parsippany, New Jersey, in April on doctor's orders.
"Extra" reported the news Friday morning.
His daughter, Quincy Coleman, told TMZ, "My Father, Dabney Wharton Coleman, took his last earthly breath peacefully and exquisitely in his home on Thursday May 16th, 2024 at 1:50 PM. My father crafted his time here on earth with a curious mind, a generous heart, and a soul on fire with passion, desire and humor that tickled the funny bone of humanity. As he lived, he moved through this final act of his life with elegance, excellence and mastery."
Family friend Alison Martino remembered him on social media as someone who "may have played a lot of nasty guy roles, but [who] was truly a puss* cat." Coleman was fondly remembered by many for his nightly dinners at Dan Tana's in West Hollywood, where a steak and a martini are named after him.
Born January 3, 1932, in Austin, Texas, Coleman served in the Army in the '50s ahead of studying acting with Sanford Meisner in NYC.
Coleman debuted on Broadway in "A Call on Kuprin" in 1961 and made his first TV appearance on an episode of "Naked City" that same year.
He was remarkably prolific, and in spite of his good looks soon became known for character roles, developing into the consummate bad guy audiences loved to hate.
Among his 179 IMDb credits were appearances on early TV shows including "Ben Casey" (1963), "Dr. Kildare" (1963), "The Alfred Hitchco*ck Hour" (1963 & 1964), "The Outer Limits" (1964), "Hazel" (1965), "The Donna Reed Show" (1965), "The Fugitive" (1964-1966), "I Dream of Jeannie" (1965 & 1967), "That Girl" (1966-1967), "The Flying Nun" (1967), "Death Valley Days" (1968), and "Mod Squad" (1968).
He lost the part of the Professor on "Gilligan's Island" to Russell Johnson.
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Ubiquitous on '70s TV, Coleman appeared on more than 100 episodes of two quirky nighttime soap parodies, the cultural phenomenon "Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman" (1976-1977) and its spin-off "Forever Fernwood" (1977-1978), as Merle Jeeter.
In films from 1965, he appeared in eclectic fare, from the Elvis movie "The Trouble with Girls" and "Downhill Racer" (both 1969) to the disaster epic "The Towering Inferno" (1974).
Twenty years into his career, Coleman landed the part with which he would always be most associated, that of "sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical bigot" boss man Franklin Hart Jr. in "9 to 5" (1980). The feminist comedy starred Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin and Dolly Parton as frustrated office workers who hatch a plot to restrain Hart while taking over their end of the heartless corporation for which they have toiled thanklessly.
The Colin Higgins-directed film grossed over $100 million and spawned a no. 1 crossover hit for country star Parton, who became an in-demand screen actor.
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It also helped Coleman land a rare lead, anchoring the sitcom "Buffalo Bill" (1983-1984). The series, about an ego-tripping talk show host, featured Geena Davis and Joanna Cassidy. Considered controversial for its main character's pre-"Seinfeld" era unlikability and its tackling of the issue of abortion, the positively reviewed series died an early death.
Coleman received his first Emmy nomination for his performance.
He went on to appear in a string of movie hits, among them "On Golden Pond" (1981), "Tootsie" (1982), "WarGames" (1983), "The Muppets Take Manhattan" (1984), and "You've Got Mail" (1998).
Other noteworthy films included "Cinderella Liberty" (1973), "How to Beat the High Cost of Living" (1980), "Melvin & Howard" (1980), "Modern Problems" (1981), "Young Doctors in Love" (1982), "Cloak & Dagger" (1984), "The Man with One Red Shoe" (1985), "Dragnet" (1987), "Meet the Applegates" (1990), "The Beverly Hillbillies" (1993), "Clifford" (1994), "Inspector Gadget" (1999), "Stuart Little" (1999), "Moonlight Mile" (2002), and Warren Beatty's last directorial effort, "Rules Don't Apply" (2016), which marked Coleman's final feature.
In the latter part of his career, Coleman was the voice of Principal Prickly on the animated series "Recess" (1997-2001) and gave memorable performances on "The Guardian" (2001-2004), "Boardwalk Empire" (2010-2011), and, in his final on-screen appearance, "Yellowstone" (2019), on which he played the father of series star Kevin Costner's character.
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He was nominated for the Emmy six times — including three times in one year — winning Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie for "Sworn to Silence" (1987). He won a Golden Globe for Best Actor — Television Series Musical or Comedy for "The Slap Maxwell Story" (1988), and twice shared a SAG Award with the cast of "Boardwalk Empire."
Married and divorced twice, including to late actress Jean Hale, he is survived by his four children.
