James Noble obit

James Noble, Absent-Minded Governor on ‘Benson,’ Dies at 94

He was not on the list.

James Noble, the actor best known for his role as the absent-minded governor on the hit 1980s sitcom “Benson,” died on Monday in Norwalk, Conn. He was 94.

Douglas Moser, a family spokesman, said Mr. Noble, who lived in Norwalk, had a stroke a few days before his death, in a hospital.

Mr. Noble was primarily known as a stage actor when he took the role of Eugene Gatling, the well-meaning but somewhat bumbling governor of an unnamed state on “Benson,” which appeared on ABC from 1979 to 1986.

The show starred Robert Guillaume, playing the same character he had played on the sitcom “Soap.” Benson was originally the governor’s “director of household affairs,” but over the course of the series he rose to state budget director and then to lieutenant governor.

The two men’s friendly if sometimes fraught working relationship was the focus of the series. After its original run ended it has been seen in syndication on the cable channels Nick at Nite and TV Land.

James Wilkes Noble was born in Dallas on March 5, 1922. He studied drama and engineering at Southern Methodist University but left to join the Navy during World War II. After the war he studied acting under Lee Strasberg at the Actors Studio in New York.

Mr. Noble made his Broadway debut in 1949 in a production of the comedy “The Velvet Glove” and went on to appear in four more Broadway shows, including the musical “1776.” (He was also in the 1972 film version.)

His other movie and television work included the soap operas “One Life to Live” and “Another World” and played Bo Derek’s father in the hit 1979 film “10.” He appeared in an episode of Father Dowling Mysteries. In 2005, he co-founded Open the Gate Pictures with actress Colleen Murphy, and produced and starred in the short film Glacier Bay which won several awards at film festivals in the United States. Noble played the live action version of Archie Comics character Hiram Lodge in the movie, Archie: To Riverdale and Back Again.

Mr. Noble was married to the actress Carolyn Coates, whom he met when they were both appearing in a production of Shaw’s “Pygmalion.” She died in 2005. He is survived by his daughter, Jessica Katherine Noble Cowan.


Filmography

Year Title Role Notes

1968 What's So Bad About Feeling Good? Board Member Uncredited

1971 The Sporting Club Canon Pritchard

1971 Been Down So Long It Looks Like Up to Me Father Pettis

1972 1776 Rev. John Witherspoon (NJ)

1974 Who? General Deptford

1976 One Summer Love Dr. Lee

1976 Death Play Norman

1978 Summer of My German Soldier FBI Agent Pierce

1979 10 Dr. Miles

1979 Promises in the Dark Dr. Blankenship

1979 Being There Kaufman

1982 Airplane II: The Sequel Father O'Flanagan

1987 A Tiger's Tale Sinclair

1987 You Talkin' to Me? Peter Archer

1988 Paramedics Chief Wilkins

1989 Chances Are Dr. Bailey

1995 Bang Rooftop Dealer 2011 Fake Mssr. Rousseau