From Wikipedia the free encyclopedia Dabney Wharton Coleman January 3 1932 May 16 2024 was an American actor Colemans best known films include 9 to 5 1980 On Golden Pond 1981 Tootsie 1982 WarGames 1983 Cloak Dagger 1984 The Muppets Take Manhattan 1984 The Beverly Hillbillies 1993 Youve Got Mail 1998 Inspector Gadget 1999 Recess Schools Out 2001 Moonlight Mile 2002 and Rules Dont Apply 2016 Colemans television roles included the title characters of Buffalo Bill 19831984 and The Slap Maxwell Story 19871988 as well as Burton Fallin on The Guardian 20012004 the voice of Principal Peter Prickly on Recess 19972001 and Louis The Commodore Kaestner on Boardwalk Empire 20102011 He won one Primetime Emmy Award from six nominations and one Golden Globe Award from three nominations Coleman was a character actor with roles in well over 60 films and television programs to his credit He trained with Sanford Meisner at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre in New York City from 1958 to 1960 Coleman made his Broadway debut in the shortlived A Call on Kuprin in 1961 In a 1964 episode of Kraft Suspense Theatre titled The Threatening Eye Coleman played private investigator William Gunther Two years later he played Dr Leon Bessemer with Bonnie Scott as his wife Judy neighbors and friends of the protagonist in Season 1 of That Girl episode 3 Never Change a Diaper on Opening Night Noted for his moustache which he grew in 1973 he appeared in the sitcom wearing hornrimmed glasses and with no facial hair Other early roles in his career included a US Olympic skiing team coach in Downhill Racer 1969 a highranking fire chief in The Towering Inferno 1974 and a wealthy Westerner in Bite the Bullet 1975 He portrayed an FBI agent in Attack on Terror The FBI vs the Ku Klux Klan 1975 Description above from the Wikipedia article Dabney Coleman licensed under CCBYSA full list of contributors on Wikipedia