James Noble
Born: 1922-03-05 in Dallas, Texas, USA
Died: 2016-03-28
Known For: Acting
Biography
The son of a Dallas wholesale coal dealer, Noble spent much of his youth attending pool halls and movie houses. He retained his expertise with a pool cue throughout his life, while his stronger interest in acting (fueled by movies) manifested itself in local stage productions and drama studies at Southern Methodist University. Following Navy service in World War II, Noble went to New York to study at the Actors Studio, then went on to a stage revival of Pygmalion wherein he met his future wife, actress Carolyn Coates. The actor appeared on such TV soap operas as As the World Turns (1956), A World Apart (1970) and such Broadway productions as "1776" (a role he took to the movie 1776 (1972)), spending much of his spare time in psychotherapy to handle his ongoing feelings of self-doubt. In films from the mid '70s, Noble principally played small roles as authority figures and politicians (Being There (1979), The Nude Bomb (1980)), with occasional larger roles. such as Bo Derek's father in 10 (1979). In 1979, Noble was cast as the genially absent-minded "Governor Gene Gatling" on the sitcom, Benson (1979), a role in which he remained until the series' 1986 cancellation. Two years later, he resurfaced on TV in the role of a Nebraska-based recording engineer on the very short-lived sitcom, First Impressions (1988).
Filmography
2011
- Fake as Mr. Rousseau
2001
1996
- They Bite as Scientist #1
1995
- Bang as Rooftop Dealer
1993
- Peak Practice as Mr. Naughton
1992
- Born Kicking as Hudson
1990
- Law & Order as Judge Nelson Kurland
- Archie: To Riverdale and Back Again as Mr. Hyrum Lodge
1989
- Father Dowling Mysteries as Judge Karnes
- Chances Are as Dr. Bailey
- The Absent-Minded Professor: Trading Places as Dr. Gilmore Blount
1988
- Paramedics as Chief Wilkins
- A Tiger's Tale as Sinclair
- First Impressions as Raymond Voss
1987
- Perry Mason: The Case of the Murdered Madam as Leonard Weeks
- The Day My Kid Went Punk as Max Smiley
- You Talkin' To Me? as Peter Archer
- Deadly Deception as Ed Shoat
1986
- Perfect Strangers
- When the Bough Breaks as Dr. Warren Towle
1985
- Cinderella as King Rupert III
- Faerie Tale Theatre: Cinderella as King Rupert III
- Night of 100 Stars II as Self
1984
- Murder, She Wrote as Paul Carlisle
- The Bill
1983
- Scarecrow and Mrs. King
- Dempsey as Gavin McNab
- The Woman Who Willed a Miracle as Dr. Edwards
1982
- Faerie Tale Theatre as King Rupert III
- Airplane II: The Sequel as Father O'Flanagan
- This Is Kate Bennett... as Tom Fairmont
1980
- Baby Comes Home as Dr. Elliott Olsen
1979
- Benson as Governor Eugene Xavier Gatling
- 10 as Dr. Miles
- Being There as Kaufman
- Promises in the Dark as Dr. Blankenship
- Hart to Hart as Dr. Metz
1978
- Breaking Up as Haberle
- Lovey: A Circle of Children, Part II as Ed
- Summer of My German Soldier as Pierce
1977
- The Love Boat
- The Andros Targets as Tierney
1976
- Dragonfly as Dr. Lee
- Death Play
- The Adams Chronicles as Jonathan Sewall
1975
- Starsky & Hutch as Treasury Agent Kendall
1974
- Who? as General Deptford
1972
- ABC Afterschool Special as Max Smiley
- 1776 as Rev. John Witherspoon (NJ)
1971
- Been Down So Long It Looks Like Up to Me as Father Pettis
- The Sporting Club as Canon Pritchard
1970
1968
- What's So Bad About Feeling Good? as Board Member
1961
- The Defenders as Ron Mayberry