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).
Known for
Law & Order
Judge Nelson Kurland
Murder, She Wrote
Paul Carlisle
Starsky & Hutch
Treasury Agent Kendall
The Love Boat
The Love Boat
Martin Corell
Peak Practice
Mr. Naughton
The Bill
ABC Afterschool Special
Max Smiley
The Defenders
Ron Mayberry
McCloud
Scarecrow and Mrs. King
Faerie Tale Theatre
King Rupert III
Benson
Governor Eugene Xavier Gatling
Perfect Strangers
Father Dowling Mysteries
Judge Karnes
Archie: To Riverdale and Back Again
Mr. Hyrum Lodge
The Day My Kid Went Punk
Max Smiley
10
Dr. Miles
Being There
Kaufman
Dragonfly
Dr. Lee
Perry Mason: The Case of the Murdered Madam
Leonard Weeks
Airplane II: The Sequel
Father O'Flanagan
A Tiger's Tale
Sinclair
Chances Are
Dr. Bailey
Lovey: A Circle of Children, Part II
Ed
Cinderella
King Rupert III
They Bite
Scientist #1
What's So Bad About Feeling Good?
Board Member
Deadly Deception
Ed Shoat
The Absent-Minded Professor: Trading Places
Dr. Gilmore Blount
Paramedics
Chief Wilkins
When the Bough Breaks
Dr. Warren Towle
The Andros Targets
Tierney
Promises in the Dark
Dr. Blankenship
Been Down So Long It Looks Like Up to Me
Father Pettis
Born Kicking
Hudson
Dempsey
Gavin McNab
The Adams Chronicles
Jonathan Sewall
Bang
Rooftop Dealer
You Talkin' To Me?
Peter Archer
A World Apart
Faerie Tale Theatre: Cinderella
King Rupert III
Breaking Up
Haberle
1776
Rev. John Witherspoon (NJ)
Summer of My German Soldier
Pierce
This Is Kate Bennett...
Tom Fairmont
Hart to Hart
Dr. Metz
Who?
General Deptford
Beech is Back
The Sporting Club
Canon Pritchard
First Impressions
Raymond Voss
Night of 100 Stars II
Self
The Woman Who Willed a Miracle
Dr. Edwards
Death Play
Fake
Mr. Rousseau
Baby Comes Home
Dr. Elliott Olsen