For many decades, Coleman played sleazy or thuggish or twisted baddies, sometimes comedic, sometimes not. There were exceptions where he played good guys (That Girl, On Golden Pond, The Guardian) but something about the combination of his imposing height, heartless demeanor, beady eyes, permanently mustachioed (practically being twirled) but otherwise average looks, and fast-talking Texan shyster physiognomy copper-fastened the bad guy stereotype. In between the two extremes, good and bad, was the flawed but very human Slap Maxwell. (The Slap Maxwell Story had a briefer run than it deserved perhaps because for its time it hit too close to home, although tame by later standards.)
Dabney Wharton Coleman was born in Austin, Texas, to Mary Wharton (Johns) and Melvin Randolph Coleman. He attended the Virginia Military Institute, and studied law in Texas. Coleman had a well deserved reputation as a fine character actor, and a reliable presence for almost any role in TV and movies.
Coleman's early appearances in the cinema were in Stimme am Telefon (1965) and Schussfahrt (1969). On TV he starred in Süß, aber ein bißchen verrückt (1966). As the 1970s approached he became a well-known character actor in television and movies, appearing in Flammendes Inferno (1974), Schlacht um Midway (1976), and Zapfenstreich (1973). Television seemed Coleman's forum in the 1970s as he played the role of Merle Jeeter in Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman (1976) and Fernwood 2 Night (1977). Coleman made appearances in the popular Die Bullen von Dallas (1979) and the Oscar-winning Melvin und Howard (1980).
He first garnered a measure of fame for some satirical movies, starring in the comedy Zahltag im Supermarkt (1980) and snatched a lead role for the TV movie Pray TV (1980). Coleman's reputation for playing world-class jerks became cemented in 1980 as the boss to Dolly Parton , Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin in Warum eigentlich... bringen wir den Chef nicht um? (1980). The next year, he was in very good company working with legends Henry Fonda and Katharine Hepburn in Am goldenen See (1981). His hit streak would not end there.
In 1982, Coleman landed a key role in the classic Tootsie (1982), further cementing his role as a very dislikable wealthy boss in some capacity. In 1983, he starred in the Cold War classic WarGames: Kriegsspiele (1983). During this period he also found many parts in lesser known movies like Küss mich, Doc (1982) and Das Schicksal kennt kein Erbarmen (1981). In 1984 he starred in Die Muppets erobern Manhattan (1984) and in 1985 he starred with Tom Hanks in Der Verrückte mit dem Geigenkasten (1985). In 1987, he won an Emmy for Cold Silence (1987). In 1990, he took two lead roles, one in the disastrous Die Zeit der bunten Vögel (1990), and the other in the quirky comedy Short Time - Nichts als Ärger mit dem Kamikaze-Cop! (1990).
In 1993, Coleman starred in the slapstick comedy Amos & Andrew - Zwei fast perfekte Chaoten (1993) and the big screen version of Die Beverly Hillbillies sind los (1993) as Milburn Drysdale. He appeared in an extensive line of TV movies. He took part in Disneys Große Pause (1997), and then starred in a couple of big money grossers, the Tom Hanks comedy, e-m@il für Dich (1998), as Chief Quimby in Inspektor Gadget (1999), and in Stuart Little (1999) (both in 1999).
Coleman died in 2024, aged 92, in Santa Monica, California.
