James Noble
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- March 5, 1922
- Died
- March 28, 2016 (aged 94)
- Birthplace
- Dallas, Texas, USA
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).
Known For
Filmography
Fake
Movie · as Mr. Rousseau
Glacier Bay
Movie · as Artie
Beech is Back
TV · 1 ep
They Bite
Movie · as Scientist #1
Bang
Movie · as Rooftop Dealer
Peak Practice
TV · as Mr. Naughton · 1 ep
Born Kicking
Movie · as Hudson
Archie: To Riverdale and Back Again
Movie · as Mr. Hyrum Lodge
Law & Order
TV · as Judge Nelson Kurland · 1 ep
The Absent-Minded Professor: Trading Places
Movie · as Dr. Gilmore Blount
Chances Are
Movie · as Dr. Bailey
Father Dowling Mysteries
TV · as Judge Karnes · 1 ep
Paramedics
Movie · as Chief Wilkins
A Tiger's Tale
Movie · as Sinclair
First Impressions
TV · as Raymond Voss · 8 eps
The Day My Kid Went Punk
Movie · as Max Smiley
You Talkin' to Me?
Movie · as Peter Archer
Deadly Deception
Movie · as Ed Shoat
Perry Mason: The Case of the Murdered Madam
Movie · as Leonard Weeks
When the Bough Breaks
Movie · as Dr. Warren Towle
Perfect Strangers
TV · 2 eps
Night of 100 Stars II
Movie · as Self
Cinderella
Movie · as King Rupert III
Murder, She Wrote
TV · as Paul Carlisle · 1 ep
The Bill
TV · 1 ep
Dempsey
Movie · as Gavin McNab
The Woman Who Willed a Miracle
Movie · as Dr. Edwards
Scarecrow and Mrs. King
TV · 1 ep
This Is Kate Bennett...
Movie · as Tom Fairmont
Airplane II: The Sequel
Movie · as Father O'Flanagan
Faerie Tale Theatre
TV · as King Rupert III · 1 ep
Baby Comes Home
Movie · as Dr. Elliott Olsen
10
Movie · as Dr. Miles
Being There
Movie · as Kaufman
Promises in the Dark
Movie · as Dr. Blankenship
Hart to Hart
Movie · as Dr. Metz
Benson
TV · as Eugene Gatling · 158 eps
Breaking Up
Movie · as Haberle
Summer of My German Soldier
Movie · as Pierce
Lovey: A Circle of Children, Part II
Movie · as Ed
The Love Boat
TV · as Dr. Elliot Norton, Martin Corell · 1 ep
The Andros Targets
TV · as Tierney · 1 ep
Dragonfly
Movie · as Dr. Lee
Death Play
Movie · as Norman
The Adams Chronicles
TV · as Jonathan Sewall · 1 ep
Starsky & Hutch
TV · as Treasury Agent Kendall · 1 ep
Who?
Movie · as General Deptford
1776
Movie · as Rev. John Witherspoon (NJ)
ABC Afterschool Special
TV · as Max Smiley · 1 ep
The Sporting Club
Movie · as Canon Pritchard
Been Down So Long It Looks Like Up to Me
Movie · as Father Pettis
McCloud
TV · 1 ep
A World Apart
TV · 322 eps
What's So Bad About Feeling Good?
Movie · as Board Member
The Doctors
TV · as Dr. Bill Winters · 39 eps
The Defenders
TV · as Ron Mayberry · 1 ep