Robert Coote(4 February 1909 – 26 November 1982) was an English actor. He played aristocrats or British military types in many films, and created the role of Colonel Hugh Pickering in the long-running original Broadway production ofMy Fair Lady.
Robert Coote | |
|---|---|
 Coote in the trailer forGunga Din,1939 | |
| Born | 4 February 1909 London,UK |
| Died | 26 November 1982(aged 73) New York City,U.S. |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1931–1981 |
| Father | Bert Coote |
Biography
editCoote was born inLondonand educated atHurstpierpoint CollegeinSussex.He began hisstage careerat the age of 16, performing inBritain,South Africa,andAustraliabefore arriving inHollywoodin the late 1930s. He played a succession of pompous British types in supporting roles, including a brief but memorable turn as Sgt. Bertie Higginbotham inGunga Din(1939). His acting career was interrupted by his service as asquadron leaderin theRoyal Canadian Air ForceduringWorld War II.He played Bob Trubshawe inPowell and Pressburger'sA Matter of Life and Death(1946), chosen for the first-everRoyal Film Performanceon 1 November 1946, before he returned to Hollywood, where his films includedThe Ghost and Mrs. Muir(1947),Forever Amber(1947),The Three Musketeers(1948), andOrson Welles'Othello(1951).[1]
In 1956, Coote created the role of Colonel Pickering in the originalBroadwayproduction ofMy Fair Lady(1956–62), which he reprised in the musical's 1976–77 Broadway revival. He also originated the role ofKing Pellinorein the Broadway production ofCamelot(1960–63). He was nominated for anEmmy Awardfor his performance as Timmy St. Clair in the NBC TV seriesThe Rogues(1964–65). In 1966, Coote appeared withJackie GleasonandArt Carneyin an episode ofThe Honeymoonersentitled "The Honeymooners in England", broadcast on CBS-TV fromMiami.
In his last feature film performance, Coote portrayed one of the critics dispatched byVincent PriceinTheatre of Blood(1973).
Coote guest-starred in an episode of the 1979NBCtelevisionanthology series$weepstake$.His final role was on television, playingorchid nurseTheodore Horstmannin the 1981 NBC-TV seriesNero Wolfe,starringWilliam Conradin the title role. In most film and TV adaptations of Nero Wolfe mysteries, before and since, Horstmann has been a very minor character, but Coote's Horstmann got considerable screen time in the series.
Coote died in his sleep at theNew York Athletic Clubin November 1982, at the age of 73.[2]
Coote was a close friend of actorDavid Niven,sharing a house with Niven for a time in the late 1930s and living in a flat over Niven's garage for several years after the Second World War.
Partial filmography
edit- Sally in Our Alley(1931) as Waiter At Party (uncredited)
- Loyalties(1933) as Robert
- Radio Parade of 1935(1934) as Executive
- Rangle River(1936) as Reggie Mannister, Flight-Lieutenant
- The Thirteenth Chair(1937) as Stanby
- The Sheik Steps Out(1937) as Lord Eustace Byington
- A Yank at Oxford(1938) as Wavertree
- Blond Cheat(1938) as Gilbert Potts
- The Girl Downstairs(1938) as Karl, Paul's Butler
- Mr. Moto's Last Warning(1939) as Rollo Venables
- Gunga Din(1939) as Sgt. Bertie Higginbotham
- The House of Fear(1939) as Robert Morton
- Bad Lands(1939) as Eaton
- Nurse Edith Cavell(1939) as Bungey
- Vigil in the Night(1940) as Dr. Caley
- You Can't Fool Your Wife(1940) as 'Batty' Battincourt
- Commandos Strike at Dawn(1942) as Robert Bowen
- Forever and a Day(1943) as Blind Officer
- A Matter of Life and Death(1946) as Bob Trubshawe
- Cloak and Dagger(1946) as Cronin (uncredited)
- The Ghost and Mrs. Muir(1947) as Mr. Coombe
- Lured(1947) as Detective
- The Exile(1947) as Dick Pinner
- Forever Amber(1947) as Sir Thomas Dudley
- Berlin Express(1948) as Sterling
- The Three Musketeers(1948) asAramis
- The Red Danube(1949) as Brigadier C.M.V. Catlock
- The Elusive Pimpernel(1950) as Sir Andrew ffloulkes
- Soldiers Three(1951) as Maj. Mercer
- The Lavender Hill Mob(1951) as Waiter in Restaurant (uncredited)
- The Desert Fox: The Story of Rommel(1951) as British Medical Officer (uncredited)
- Othello(1951) as Roderigo
- Scaramouche(1952) as Gaston Binet
- The Merry Widow(1952) as Marquis De Crillon
- The Prisoner of Zenda(1952) as Fritz von Tarlenheim
- The Constant Husband(1955) as Friends and Relations: The Best Man
- The Swan(1956) as Capt. Wunderlich
- Merry Andrew(1958) as Dudley Larabee
- The Horse's Mouth(1958) as Sir William Beeder
- The League of Gentlemen(1960) as Bunny Warren
- The V.I.P.s(1963) as John Coburn
- The Rogues(1964–1965, TV Series) as Timmy St. Clair
- The Golden Head(1964) as Braithwaite
- A Man Could Get Killed(1966) as Hatton / Jones
- The Swinger(1966) as Sir Hubert Charles
- The Cool Ones(1967) as Stanley Krumley
- The Whitehall Worrier(1967, TV series) as Rt. Hon. Mervyn Pugh
- Prudence and the Pill(1968) as Henry Hardcastle
- Kenner(1969) as Henderson
- Up the Front(1972) as General Burke
- Theatre of Blood(1973) as Oliver Larding
- Institute for Revenge(1979, TV Movie) as Wellington
- Nero Wolfe(1981, TV Series) asTheodore Horstmann(final appearance)
References
edit- ^Katz, Ephraim,The Film Encyclopedia(1994, second editionISBN0-06-273089-4), p. 289
- ^Krebs, Albin,The New York Times(obituary), 1 December 1982;Time,13 December 1982
External links
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