Person
James Noble
Dallas, Texas, USA
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, whil…
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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
Movies and shows, newest first
-
2011
Fake
Movie Mr. Rousseau
-
2001
Beech is Back
TV show
-
1996
They Bite
Movie Scientist #1
-
1995
Bang
Movie Rooftop Dealer
-
1993
Peak Practice
TV show Mr. Naughton
-
1992
Born Kicking
Movie Hudson
-
1990
Law & Order
TV show Judge Nelson Kurland
-
1990
Archie: To Riverdale and Back Again
Movie Mr. Hyrum Lodge
-
1989
Chances Are
Movie Dr. Bailey
-
1989
The Absent-Minded Professor: Trading Places
Movie Dr. Gilmore Blount
-
1989
Father Dowling Mysteries
TV show Judge Karnes
-
1988
First Impressions
TV show Raymond Voss
-
1988
Paramedics
Movie Chief Wilkins
-
1988
A Tiger's Tale
Movie Sinclair
-
1987
The Day My Kid Went Punk
Movie Max Smiley
-
1987
Perry Mason: The Case of the Murdered Madam
Movie Leonard Weeks
More credits
-
1987
You Talkin' to Me?
Movie Peter Archer
-
1987
Deadly Deception
Movie Ed Shoat
-
1986
When the Bough Breaks
Movie Dr. Warren Towle
-
1986
Perfect Strangers
TV show
-
1985
Cinderella
Movie King Rupert III
-
1985
Night of 100 Stars II
Movie Self
-
1984
The Bill
TV show
-
1984
Murder, She Wrote
TV show Paul Carlisle
-
1983
Scarecrow and Mrs. King
TV show
-
1983
Dempsey
Movie Gavin McNab
-
1983
The Woman Who Willed a Miracle
Movie Dr. Edwards
-
1982
Airplane II: The Sequel
Movie Father O'Flanagan
-
1982
Faerie Tale Theatre
TV show King Rupert III
-
1982
This Is Kate Bennett...
Movie Tom Fairmont
-
1980
Baby Comes Home
Movie Dr. Elliott Olsen
-
1979
Being There
Movie Kaufman
-
1979
Promises in the Dark
Movie Dr. Blankenship
-
1979
10
Movie Dr. Miles
-
1979
Benson
TV show Eugene Gatling
-
1979
Hart to Hart
Movie Dr. Metz
-
1978
Lovey: A Circle of Children, Part II
Movie Ed
-
1978
Summer of My German Soldier
Movie Pierce
-
1978
Breaking Up
Movie Haberle
-
1977
The Love Boat
TV show Dr. Elliot Norton
