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