He quickly became a busy working actor, with guest spots on almost literally every detective show, domestic comedy, and anthology series of the day, including recurring character runs on "That Girl" (ABC, 1966-1971) and "The Fugitive" (ABC, 1963-67). During his brief period in New York, Coleman appeared in regional theater productions and debuted on Broadway in the play "A Call on Kuprin," but eventually the promise of a screen career uprooted him to Los Angeles in 1962. In New York City, Coleman joined the up-and-comers studying Method Acting at The Neighborhood Playhouse School. He was well into earning a law degree when he changed his course, eventually earning a Drama degree from UT in 1954.
After a teenage stint at the Military Institute in Lexington, VA, Coleman spent two years in the service before returning to Austin and the University of Texas.
With his sharp comic timing and a Texas drawl that simultaneously suggested folksiness and moral laxity, the mustachioed Coleman carve out a unique career as an instantly recognizable and improbably likable screen actor.Ĭoleman was born Jan. On television, the Emmy and Golden Globe winner was among the busiest character players of the 1960s before making his mark on the "brilliant-but-canceled" soap opera spoof "Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman" (syndicated, 1976-77) before acclaimed leading roles on the sitcom "The Slap Maxwell Story" (ABC, 1987-88), and the CBS legal drama "The Guardian" (2001-04).
Among Coleman's most memorable film roles was the misogynist corporate boss of empowered Dolly Parton, Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda in "9 to 5" (1980), and the egomaniacal soap opera director whose sexist attitude inspired the title "Tootsie" (1982). A prolific character actor whose trademark was villainous egotists and endearing curmudgeons, Dabney Coleman was a recognizable film star during the 1980s, though he was ever-present on television throughout the entirety of his five-decade career.
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