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