James Noble

Known for ActingBorn 1922-03-05Died 2016-03-28Dallas, 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, 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).Read more

Movies & web series

A World Apart

Born Kicking

The Woman Who Willed a Miracle

Faerie Tale Theatre

Being There

Murder, She Wrote

Hart to Hart

Father Dowling Mysteries

Lovey: A Circle of Children, Part II

Archie: To Riverdale and Back Again

Law & Order

Deadly Deception

The Adams Chronicles

Starsky & Hutch

Dragonfly

McCloud

First Impressions

This Is Kate Bennett...

Benson

The Andros Targets

Death Play

Perry Mason: The Case of the Murdered Madam

Night of 100 Stars II

The Bill

1776

Cinderella

Perfect Strangers

Scarecrow and Mrs. King

Chances Are

Peak Practice

What's So Bad About Feeling Good?

When the Bough Breaks

ABC Afterschool Special

The Day My Kid Went Punk

Dempsey

The Doctors

The Love Boat

Fake

The Defenders

Airplane II: The Sequel

Promises in the Dark

10

Summer of My German Soldier

Bang

Who?

A Tiger's Tale

The Sporting Club

They Bite