JN
James Noble
Actor
Born March 5, 1922Died March 28, 2016 (94 years)
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
| 2011 | Fake · as Mr. Rousseau |
| 1995 | Bang · as Rooftop Dealer |
| 1993 | Harry (1993) (TV Series) · as Chapel |
| 1993 | Peak Practice (TV Series) · as Mr. Naughton |
| 1992 | They Bite · as Scientist #1 |
| 1990 | Law & Order (TV Series) · as Judge Nelson Kurland |
| 1990 | Archie: To Riverdale and Back Again · as Mr. Hyrum Lodge |
| 1989 | Chances Are · as Dr. Bailey |
| 1989 | Father Dowling Mysteries (TV Series) · as Judge Karnes |
| 1988 | The Absent-Minded Professor: Trading Places · as Dr. Gilmore Blount |
| 1988 | Paramedics · as Chief Wilkins |
| 1987 | Perry Mason: The Case of the Murdered Madam · as Leonard Weeks |
| 1987 | You Talkin' to Me? · as Peter Archer |
| 1987 | A Tiger's Tale · as Sinclair |
| 1987 | Deadly Deception · as Ed Shoat |
| 1986 | When the Bough Breaks · as Dr. Warren Towle |
| 1986 | Perfect Strangers (TV Series) |
| 1985 | Cinderella · as King Rupert Iii |
| 1984 | The Bill (TV Series) |
| 1984 | Murder, She Wrote (TV Series) · as Paul Carlisle |
| 1983 | Scarecrow and Mrs. King (TV Series) |
| 1983 | Dempsey · as Gavin Mcnab |
| 1983 | Benson: The U.S. Goes to Market · as Governor Eugene Xavier Gatling |
| 1982 | Airplane II: The Sequel · as Father O'flanagan |
| 1982 | Faerie Tale Theatre (TV Series) · as King Rupert Iii |
| 1980 | Baby Comes Home · as Dr. Elliott Olsen |
| 1979 | Being There · as Kaufman |
| 1979 | Promises in the Dark · as Dr. Blankenship |
| 1979 | 10 · as Dr. Miles |
| 1979 | Benson (TV Series) · as Governor Eugene Xavier Gatling |
| 1979 | Hart to Hart (TV Series) · as Dr. Metz |
| 1978 | |
| 1978 | Summer of My German Soldier · as Pierce |
| 1977 | The Love Boat (TV Series) · as Martin Corell |
| 1977 | The Andros Targets (TV Series) · as Tierney |
| 1977 | Fantasy Island (TV Series) · as Bradford |
| 1976 | |
| 1976 | Dragonfly · as Dr. Lee |
| 1976 | The Adams Chronicles (TV Series) · as Jonathan Sewall |
| 1975 | Starsky & Hutch (TV Series) · as Treasury Agent Kendall |
| 1974 | Who? · as General Deptford |
| 1972 | 1776 · as Rev. John Witherspoon (nj) |
| 1972 | The ABC Afterschool Special (TV Series) · as Max Smiley |
| 1971 | Been Down So Long It Looks Like Up to Me · as Father Pettis |
| 1971 | The Sporting Club · as Canon Pritchard |
| 1970 | McCloud (TV Series) |
| 1968 | What's So Bad About Feeling Good? · as Board Member |
| 1968 | One Life to Live (TV Series) · as Dr. Morris |
| 1967 | N.Y.P.D. (TV Series) · as Fingerprint Detective |
| 1967 | Coronet Blue (TV Series) · as Lt. Stevens |
| 1964 | Another World (TV Series) · as Rev. Harris |
| 1963 | East Side/West Side (TV Series) · as Tony Morgan |
| 1963 | The Doctors (TV Series) · as Dr. Bill Winters |
| 1962 | The Doctors and the Nurses (TV Series) · as Mr. Teller |
| 1961 | The Defenders (TV Series) · as Ron Mayberry |
| 1956 | As The World Turns (TV Series) · as Donald 'don' Hughes #3 (1962) |
| 1956 | The Edge of Night (TV Series) · as Vic Price #1 (1964) |
| 1954 | Disneyland (TV Series) · as Dr. Gilmore Blount |
| 1948 | Studio One (TV Series) · as Edward Goring |
| 1948 | Actors Studio (TV Series) · as Cast |