James Wilkes Noble (March 5, 1922 – March 28, 2016) was an American actor, best known for his portrayal of sweet-natured, dense, naive Governor Eugene X. Gatling on ABC's 1979–1986
sitcom
A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...
''
Benson Benson may refer to:
Animals
*Benson (fish), largest common carp caught in Britain
Places Geography
Canada
*Rural Municipality of Benson No. 35, Saskatchewan; rural municipality
*Benson, Saskatchewan; hamlet
United Kingdom
* Benson, Oxfordshire ...
''.
Life and career
Noble was born in
Dallas
Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
,
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
, the son of Lois Frances (née Wilkes) and Ralph Byrne Noble. He studied acting and engineering at
Southern Methodist University
, mottoeng = "The truth will make you free"
, established =
, type = Private research university
, accreditation = SACS
, academic_affiliations =
, religious_affiliation = United Methodist Church
, president = R. Gerald Turner
, prov ...
before leaving to serve in the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.
Returning from the war, Noble studied acting under
Lee Strasberg
Lee Strasberg (born Israel Strassberg; November 17, 1901 – February 17, 1982) was an American theatre director, actor and acting teacher. He co-founded, with theatre directors Harold Clurman and Cheryl Crawford, the Group Theatre in 1931 ...
and made appearances in
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences), 130 of the 144 extant and extinct Broadway venues use (used) the spelling ''Th ...
, and his television career started in soap operas, such as ''
The Brighter Day
''The Brighter Day'' is an American daytime soap opera which aired on CBS from January 4, 1954, to September 28, 1962. Originally created for NBC Radio by Irna Phillips in 1948, the radio and television versions ran simultaneously from 1954&ndash ...
'', ''
As the World Turns
''As the World Turns'' (often abbreviated as ''ATWT'') is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS for 54 years from April 2, 1956, to September 17, 2010. Irna Phillips created ''As the World Turns'' as a sister show to her other soa ...
'', '' The Doctors'' and '' A World Apart''. His big screen roles included: Reverend John Witherspoon in the film version of the Broadway musical ''
1776
Events January–February
* January 1 – American Revolutionary War – Burning of Norfolk: The town of Norfolk, Virginia is destroyed, by the combined actions of the British Royal Navy and occupying Patriot forces.
* January 1 ...
'' (1972); assorted roles as doctors in films such as '' One Summer Love'' (1976), '' 10'' (1979) and '' Promises in the Dark'' (1979); Kaufman, the president's chief of staff, in ''
Being There
''Being There'' is a 1979 American satire film directed by Hal Ashby. Based on the 1970 novel of the same name by Jerzy Kosiński, it was adapted for the screen by Kosiński and the uncredited Robert C. Jones. The film stars Peter Sellers a ...
'' (1979); Father O'Flanagan in the comedy sequel '' Airplane II: The Sequel'' (1982); Sinclair in '' A Tiger's Tale'' (1987); Chief Wilkins in the comedy ''
Paramedics
A paramedic is a registered healthcare professional who works autonomously across a range of health and care settings and may specialise in clinical practice, as well as in education, leadership, and research.
Not all ambulance personnel are p ...
'' (1988) and Dr. Bailey in '' Chances Are'' (1989). He was also the spokesman in various commercials for
Pepto-Bismol
Bismuth subsalicylate, sold generically as pink bismuth and under the brand names Pepto-Bismol and BisBacter, is an antacid medication used to treat temporary discomforts of the stomach and gastrointestinal tract, such as nausea, heartburn, indig ...
in the 1970s.
Noble played the father of Larry Appleton in the 1980s sitcom ''Perfect Strangers'' (TV series). 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
Archie Comic Publications, Inc., is an American comic book publisher headquartered in Pelham, New York.Hiram Lodge
Hiram P. Lodge is a fictional character in the Archie Comics. He is married to Hermione Lodge and they have a daughter, Veronica Lodge. He is an industrialist and the CEO of his multi-billion-dollar company, Lodge Industries. Hiram himself is a m ...
Noble was married to actress Carolyn Coates from 1956 until her death in 2005. They had one child, a daughter.
Noble had lived with his family in
Leonia, New Jersey
Leonia is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States census, the borough's population was 8,937,
University of Wisconsin
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...