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James Noble

Acting Born Mar 5, 1922 Dallas, Texas, USA 24 credits

Biography

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).

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Known for

Law & Order

as Judge Nelson Kurland

Murder, She Wrote

as Paul Carlisle

Peak Practice

as Mr. Naughton

Starsky & Hutch

as Treasury Agent Kendall

The Bill

1984

The Defenders

as Ron Mayberry
Film

Land of the Lost

as Max Smiley
Film

Au Revoir les Enfants

1987

Father Dowling Mysteries

as Judge Karnes

La mujer en el espejo

as Dr. Miles
Film

Chances Are

as Dr. Bailey
Film

Being There

as Kaufman

Full filmography

  • Law & Order (1990) as Judge Nelson Kurland
  • The Love Boat (1977)
  • The Love Boat (1977) as Martin Corell
  • Murder, She Wrote (1984) as Paul Carlisle
  • Peak Practice (1993) as Mr. Naughton
  • Starsky & Hutch (1975) as Treasury Agent Kendall
  • The Bill (1984)
  • Scarecrow and Mrs. King (1983)
  • The Defenders (1961) as Ron Mayberry
  • McCloud (1970)
  • ABC Afterschool Special (1972) as Max Smiley
  • Faerie Tale Theatre (1982) as King Rupert III
  • Benson (1979) as Governor Eugene Xavier Gatling
  • Perfect Strangers (1986)
  • Father Dowling Mysteries (1989) as Judge Karnes
  • Airplane II: The Sequel (1982) as Father O'Flanagan
  • 10 (1979) as Dr. Miles
  • Chances Are (1989) as Dr. Bailey
  • The Adams Chronicles (1976) as Jonathan Sewall
  • Being There (1979) as Kaufman
  • The Andros Targets (1977) as Tierney
  • 1776 (1972) as Rev. John Witherspoon (NJ)
  • Perry Mason: The Case of the Murdered Madam (1987) as Leonard Weeks
  • Summer of My German Soldier (1978) as Pierce