DABNEY COLEMAN
Name: Dabney Coleman
Born: 3 January 1932 Austin, Texas
Dabney Wharton Coleman (born January 3, 1932) is an American actor. He is best
known for his abrasive characters and his always present mustache.
Coleman was born in Austin, Texas to Mary Wharton Johns and Melvin Randolph
Coleman. He entered the Virginia Military Institute in 1949, then studied
law at the University of Texas before turning to acting.
Though a capable character actor with a wide range, and more than 60 movies to
his credit, Coleman is usually typecast as a smarmy, selfish, nervous,
patronizing, self-absorbed bigot, usually an authority figure of some sort, most
famously as a powerful, chauvinistic boss. His fate in these types of roles was
cemented with his performances in roles such as Franklin Hart, Jr. in 1980s Nine
to Five (this role reunited him with actress Marian Mercer whom he also worked
with in Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman), director Ron Carlisle in 1982's Tootsie and
the earnest John McKittrick in 1983's WarGames.
He is also known for his lead roles in the TV cult classics, Buffalo Bill and
The Slap Maxwell Story, which asked audiences to embrace his own charisma and
comic timing (and good writing), as compensation for his characters' lack of
character...and abundance of personality.
Coleman voice-acted in the Disney series Recess as Principal Prickly.
Name: Dabney Coleman
Born: 3 January 1932 Austin, Texas
Dabney Wharton Coleman (born January 3, 1932) is an American actor. He is best
known for his abrasive characters and his always present mustache.
Coleman was born in Austin, Texas to Mary Wharton Johns and Melvin Randolph
Coleman. He entered the Virginia Military Institute in 1949, then studied
law at the University of Texas before turning to acting.
Though a capable character actor with a wide range, and more than 60 movies to
his credit, Coleman is usually typecast as a smarmy, selfish, nervous,
patronizing, self-absorbed bigot, usually an authority figure of some sort, most
famously as a powerful, chauvinistic boss. His fate in these types of roles was
cemented with his performances in roles such as Franklin Hart, Jr. in 1980s Nine
to Five (this role reunited him with actress Marian Mercer whom he also worked
with in Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman), director Ron Carlisle in 1982's Tootsie and
the earnest John McKittrick in 1983's WarGames.
He is also known for his lead roles in the TV cult classics, Buffalo Bill and
The Slap Maxwell Story, which asked audiences to embrace his own charisma and
comic timing (and good writing), as compensation for his characters' lack of
character...and abundance of personality.
Coleman voice-acted in the Disney series Recess as Principal Prickly.