For decades, Dabney Coleman’s career has been one viewed with great fondness thanks to the man’s stellar resume as a character actor. Tackling roles in everything from The Outer Limits and Yellowstone, with Disney’s classic Saturday morning cartoon Recess and one of the best ‘80s movies, 9 To 5, in-between, his was another skill set that promised any part he played would be approached with precision.
It’s that legacy that we bittersweetly remember today, as Mr. Coleman has been reported to be dead at the age of 92. Both Extra and Cincinnati’s Local 12 reported the Boardwalk Empire star’s passing earlier in the day on Friday. Coleman’s daughter Quincy confirmed his passing had taken place on Thursday, via THR, with no cause of death specified.
Quincy Coleman’s statement reads as follows:
My father crafted his time here on Earth with a curious mind, a generous heart and a soul on fire with passion, desire and humor that tickled the funny bone of humanity,” she said. “As he lived, he moved through this final act of his life with elegance, excellence and mastery. A teacher, a hero and a king, Dabney Coleman is a gift and blessing in life and in death as his spirit will shine through his work, his loved ones and his legacy … eternally.
Born in 1932, Dabney Coleman’s acting career began in the early ‘60s through roles in theater, TV and film. Depending on who you talk to, the ‘80s was the decade that really propelled Coleman into stardom as a character actor; despite Coleman appearing on The Outer Limits and The Fugitive, as well as in the Irwin Allen produced disaster film The Towering Inferno
That phase started with his role as Franklin M. Hart, Jr, the “sexist egotistical lying hypocritical bigot” that was the antagonist in the feminist comedy classic 9 to 5. After which, Dabney would continue to rack up memorable movie performances in that decade with Tootsie, WarGames, and Cloak and Dagger.
Eventually another generation would come to know him as the voice of Principal Peter Prickly in Recess. Further showing his appeal, Dabney Coleman’s final TV role was in the Western drama hit Yellowstone, which inspired a reaction of respect and excitement among co-stars like Denim Richards.
If there were any words to sum up how revered Mr. Coleman truly was to the world, it’d be the ones that he spoke in a vintage interview in which he described his own career. Five words say it all: “Dabney Coleman is first rate.” Just ask anyone who knew the man and his work, and they’d probably agree without any objections.