Acting
James Noble
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
Fake
Film · 2011
Glacier Bay
Film · 2006
Beech is Back
Series · 2001
They Bite
Film · 1996
Bang
Film · 1995
Peak Practice
Series · 1993
Born Kicking
Film · 1992
Archie: To Riverdale and Back Again
Film · 1990
Law & Order
Series · 1990
The Absent-Minded Professor: Trading Places
Film · 1989
Chances Are
Film · 1989
Father Dowling Mysteries
Series · 1989
Paramedics
Film · 1988
A Tiger's Tale
Film · 1988
First Impressions
Series · 1988
The Day My Kid Went Punk
Film · 1987
You Talkin' to Me?
Film · 1987
Deadly Deception
Film · 1987
Perry Mason: The Case of the Murdered Madam
Film · 1987
When the Bough Breaks
Film · 1986
Perfect Strangers
Series · 1986
Night of 100 Stars II
Film · 1985
Cinderella
Film · 1985
Murder, She Wrote
Series · 1984
The Bill
Series · 1984
Dempsey
Film · 1983
The Woman Who Willed a Miracle
Film · 1983
Scarecrow and Mrs. King
Series · 1983
This Is Kate Bennett...
Film · 1982
Airplane II: The Sequel
Film · 1982
Faerie Tale Theatre
Series · 1982
Baby Comes Home
Film · 1980
10
Film · 1979
Being There
Film · 1979
Promises in the Dark
Film · 1979
Hart to Hart
Film · 1979
Benson
Series · 1979
Breaking Up
Film · 1978
Summer of My German Soldier
Film · 1978
Lovey: A Circle of Children, Part II
Film · 1978
The Love Boat
Series · 1977
The Andros Targets
Series · 1977
The Love Boat
Series · 1977
Dragonfly
Film · 1976
Death Play
Film · 1976
The Adams Chronicles
Series · 1976
Starsky & Hutch
Series · 1975
Who?
Film · 1974
1776
Film · 1972
ABC Afterschool Special
Series · 1972
The Sporting Club
Film · 1971
Been Down So Long It Looks Like Up to Me
Film · 1971
McCloud
Series · 1970
A World Apart
Series · 1970
What's So Bad About Feeling Good?
Film · 1968
The Doctors
Series · 1963
The Defenders
Series · 1961