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IMDbPro

Dabney Coleman

  • Actor
  • Additional Crew
  • Producer
IMDbProStarmeter
Top 5,00058
Dabney Coleman
Official Trailer
Play trailer1:16
Not Such a Bad Guy: Conversations with Dabney Coleman (2017)
18 Videos
97 Photos
For decades, Dabney Coleman has often appeared as a smarmy, selfish, nervous person, often with money, who is mostly out for himself. He did such a good job in this type of part that he's made a career of it in film.

Dabney Wharton Coleman was born in Austin, Texas, to Mary Wharton (Johns) and Melvin Randolph Coleman. He attended the Virginia Military Institute, and studied law in Texas. Coleman has a well deserved reputation as a fine character actor, and a reliable presence for almost any role in TV and movies. Dabney Coleman's early appearances in the cinema were in The Slender Thread (1965) and Downhill Racer (1969). On TV he starred in That Girl (1966). As the 1970s approached he became a well-known character actor in television and movies, appearing in The Towering Inferno (1974), Midway (1976), and Cinderella Liberty (1973). Television seemed Dabney Coleman's forum in the 1970s as Coleman played the role of Merle Jeeter in Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman (1976) and Fernwood Tonight (1977). Coleman made appearances in the popular North Dallas Forty (1979) and the Oscar-winning Melvin and Howard (1980). Dabney Coleman also became known for some satirical movies, starring in the comedy How to Beat the High Cost of Living (1980) and snatched a lead role for the TV movie Pray TV (1980). Coleman's reputation for playing world-class jerks became cemented in 1980 as the boss to Dolly Parton , Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin in 9 to 5 (1980). The next year, Coleman was in very good company working with legends Henry Fonda and Katharine Hepburn in On Golden Pond (1981). Coleman's hit streak would not end there.

In 1982 Coleman landed a key role in the classic Tootsie (1982), further cementing his role as an unlikable wealthy boss in some capacity. In 1983 Coleman starred in the Cold War classic WarGames (1983). During this period he also found many parts in lesser known movies like Young Doctors in Love (1982) and Callie & Son (1981). In 1984 he starred in The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984) and in 1985 he starred with Tom Hanks in The Man with One Red Shoe (1985). In 1987 the actor won an Emmy for Sworn to Silence (1987). In 1990 Coleman took two lead roles, one in the disastrous Where the Heart Is (1990), and the other in the quirky comedy Short Time (1990). In 1993 Coleman starred in the slapstick comedy Amos & Andrew (1993) (a very funny part) and in a remake of the TV show The Beverly Hillbillies (1993) as Milburn Drysdale. Coleman took an extensive line of TV movies, such films as Texan, In the Line of Duty, among others. Coleman took an unusual part in the ABC cartoon, Recess (1997), and then starred in a couple of big money grossers, the Tom Hanks comedy, You've Got Mail (1998), as Chief Quimby in Inspector Gadget (1999), and in Stuart Little (1999), both 1999.

Coleman is still very active.
BornJanuary 3, 1932
  • More at IMDbPro
    • Contact info
    • Agent info
    • Resume
BornJanuary 3, 1932
IMDbProStarmeter
Top 5,00058
  • View contact info at IMDbPro
  • Won 1 Primetime Emmy

Photos97

Dabney Coleman and Shelley Winters in The Scalphunters (1968)
Dabney Coleman, Telly Savalas, and Nick Cravat in The Scalphunters (1968)
Dolly Parton and Dabney Coleman in Dolly (1987)
Dabney Coleman, Ritch Brinkley, and Walter Olkewicz in Dolly (1987)
Dolly Parton and Dabney Coleman in Dolly (1987)
Dabney Coleman in Cloak & Dagger (1984)
Dabney Coleman, Doris Belack, and Ellen Foley in Tootsie (1982)
Dabney Coleman in Tootsie (1982)
Dabney Coleman in Tootsie (1982)
Dabney Coleman in Drexell's Class (1991)
Dabney Coleman and Mark Harmon in NCIS (2003)
Dabney Coleman, Juanin Clay, and Duncan Wilmore in WarGames (1983)

Known for

WarGames (1983)
WarGames
7.1
  • McKittrick
  • 1983
Jane Fonda, Dolly Parton, Dabney Coleman, and Lily Tomlin in 9 to 5 (1980)
9 to 5
6.9
  • Franklin Hart, Jr.
  • 1980
Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan in You've Got Mail (1998)
You've Got Mail
6.7
  • Nelson Fox
  • 1998
Dustin Hoffman in Tootsie (1982)
Tootsie
7.4
  • Ron Carlisle
  • 1982

Credits

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IMDbPro

Actor

  • Someday Sometime
    • Pre-production
  • Kevin Costner in Yellowstone (2018)
    Yellowstone
  • Aly & AJ: Star Maps (2019)
    Aly & AJ: Star Maps
  • For The People (2018)
    For The People
  • Mark Harmon, Maria Bello, Wilmer Valderrama, Rocky Carroll, David McCallum, Sean Murray, Brian Dietzen, Emily Wickersham, and Diona Reasonover in NCIS (2003)
    NCIS
  • Warren Beatty, Alden Ehrenreich, and Lily Collins in Rules Don't Apply (2016)
    Rules Don't Apply
  • Liev Schreiber in Ray Donovan (2013)
    Ray Donovan
  • Michael Rapaport, Eric McCormack, and John DiMaggio in Pound Puppies (2010)
    Pound Puppies
    • (voice)
  • Vic Noto in Boardwalk Empire (2010)
    Boardwalk Empire
  • Mariska Hargitay in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999)
    Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
  • Hard Four (2007)
    Hard Four
  • Heartland (2007)
    Heartland
  • Jenna Elfman in Courting Alex (2006)
    Courting Alex
  • Mickey Rourke, Keira Knightley, and Edgar Ramírez in Domino (2005)
    Domino
  • Simon Baker in The Guardian (2001)
    The Guardian
  • Freedom: A History of US (2003)
    Freedom: A History of US
    • (voice)

Additional Crew

  • Dabney Coleman, Jason Biggs, Brittany Murphy, Damian Cagnolatti, Randy Graff, A.J. Langer, Dakin Matthews, and Heidi Zeigler in Drexell's Class (1991)
    Drexell's Class

Producer

  • Someday Sometime
    • Pre-production

Videos20

Trailer
Trailer 2:02
Trailer
Trailer
Trailer 2:09
Trailer
Trailer
Trailer 1:29
Trailer
Trailer
Trailer 0:31
Trailer
Official Trailer
Trailer 2:20
Official Trailer
Trailer
Trailer 1:34
Trailer
Tootsie
Trailer 1:20
Tootsie
Not Such a Bad Guy: Conversations with Dabney Coleman
Trailer 1:16
Not Such a Bad Guy: Conversations with Dabney Coleman
Rolling Thunder
Trailer 2:31
Rolling Thunder
The Man With One Red Shoe
Trailer 1:24
The Man With One Red Shoe
Downhill Racer
Trailer 2:56
Downhill Racer
Tootsie
Trailer 2:05
Tootsie

Personal details

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    • Facebook
    • January 3, 1932
    • Austin, Texas, USA
    • Jean HaleDecember 11, 1961 - December 4, 1984 (divorced, 4 children)
  • Other works
    He co-starred with Roma Downey in an unsold television pilot called "New Year" (1991).
  • Publicity listings
    • 1 Interview
    • 1 Article
    • 1 Pictorial
    • 1 Magazine Cover Photo

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    Diagnosed with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) but took part in a clinical trial which remedied his sight from 20-400 to 20-40 in just a week (2000).
  • Quotes
    I've played good guys and nice guys, but the truth is I'd rather be nasty than nice. The bad guys are always better written and more fun to play.
    • Usually plays characters that are "up to no good"

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