Robert Coote
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia 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 of My Fair Lady. Coote was born in London and educated at Hurstpierpoint College in Sussex. He began his stage career at the age of 16, performing in Britain, South Africa, and Australia before arriving in Hollywood in the late 1930s. He played a succession of pompous British types in supporting roles, including a brief but memorable turn as Sgt. Bertie Higginbotham in Gunga Din (1939). His acting career was interrupted by his service as a squadron leader in the Royal Canadian Air Force during World War II. He played Bob Trubshawe in Powell and Pressburger's A Matter of Life and Death (1946), chosen for the first-ever Royal Film Performance on 1 November 1946, before he returned to Hollywood, where his films included The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947), Forever Amber (1947), The Three Musketeers (1948), and Orson Welles' Othello (1952). In 1956, Coote created the role of Colonel Pickering in the original Broadway production of My Fair Lady (1956–62), which he reprised in the musical's 1976–77 Broadway revival. He also originated the role of King Pellinore in the Broadway production of Camelot (1960–63). He was nominated for an Emmy Award for his performance as Timmy St. Clair in the NBC TV series The Rogues (1964–65). In 1966, Coote appeared with Jackie Gleason and Art Carney in an episode of The Honeymooners entitled "The Honeymooners in England", broadcast on CBS-TV from Miami. In his last feature film performance, Coote portrayed one of the critics dispatched by Vincent Price in Theatre of Blood (1973). His final role was on television, playing orchid nurse Theodore Horstmann in the 1981 NBC-TV series Nero Wolfe, starring William Conrad in 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. The veteran British character actor died in his sleep at the New York Athletic Club in November 1982, at the age of 73. Coote was a close friend of actor David 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.
Known For
Credits
- 1981 · Nero Wolfe as Theodore Horstmann
- 1979 · Sweepstakes as
- 1979 · Institute for Revenge as Wellington
- 1978 · Filming Othello as
- 1973 · Theatre of Blood as Oliver Larding
- 1969 · Charley's Aunt as Col. Sir Francis Chesney
- 1968 · Prudence and the Pill as Henry Hardcastle
- 1968 · Kenner as
- 1967 · The Cool Ones as Stanley Krum
- 1967 · The Whitehall Worrier as
- 1966 · The Swinger as Sir Hubert Charles
- 1966 · Alice Through the Looking Glass as The Red King
- 1966 · A Man Could Get Killed as Hatton / Jones
- 1964 · The Rogues as Timmy St. Clair
- 1964 · The Golden Head as
- 1963 · The V.I.P.s as John Coburn
- 1962 · The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson as Self
- 1960 · The League of Gentlemen as Bunny Warren
- 1960 · Lord Arthur Savile's Crime as Baines
- 1959 · Rawhide as
- 1958 · The Horse's Mouth as Sir William Beeder
- 1958 · Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse as Terry
- 1958 · Merry Andrew as Dudley Larabee
- 1956 · The Swan as Capt. Wunderlich
- 1955 · The Constant Husband as The Best Man
- 1952 · The Prisoner of Zenda as Fritz von Tarlenheim
- 1952 · The Merry Widow as Marquis De Crillon
- 1952 · Scaramouche as Gaston Binet
- 1951 · Othello as Roderigo
- 1951 · The Desert Fox: The Story of Rommel as British Medical Officer
- 1951 · Soldiers Three as Maj. Mercer
- 1950 · The Elusive Pimpernel as Sir Andrew ffoulkes
- 1950 · Lux Video Theatre as Stephen
- 1950 · Lux Video Theatre as Joe Worton
- 1950 · Lux Video Theatre as Lawton
- 1950 · Robert Montgomery Presents as
- 1950 · Robert Montgomery Presents as Sir Archibald Bruern
- 1949 · The Red Danube as Brigadier C.M.V. Catlock
- 1948 · Studio One as Dr. Gordon
- 1948 · The Three Musketeers as Aramis
- 1948 · Berlin Express as Sterling
- 1947 · The Exile as Dick Pinner
- 1947 · Forever Amber as Sir Thomas Dudley
- 1947 · Lured as Detective Wilson
- 1947 · The Ghost and Mrs. Muir as Mr. Coombe
- 1946 · A Matter of Life and Death as Bob Trubshawe
- 1946 · Cloak and Dagger as Cronin
- 1943 · Forever and a Day as Blind Officer
- 1942 · Commandos Strike at Dawn as Robert Bowen
- 1940 · You Can't Fool Your Wife as Battincourt
- 1940 · Vigil in the Night as Dr. Caley
- 1939 · Nurse Edith Cavell as Bungey
- 1939 · Bad Lands as Eaton
- 1939 · The House of Fear as Robert Morton
- 1939 · Gunga Din as Bertie Higginbotham
- 1939 · Mr. Moto's Last Warning as Rollo Venables
- 1938 · The Girl Downstairs as Karl
- 1938 · Blond Cheat as Gilbert Potts
- 1938 · A Yank at Oxford as Wavertree
- 1937 · The Sheik Steps Out as Lord Eustace Byington
- 1937 · The Thirteenth Chair as Stanby
- 1936 · Rangle River as Reggie Mannister, Flight-Lieutenant
- Future · Best Of Enemies as
- 1933 · Loyalties as Robert
- 1931 · Sally in Our Alley as Waiter At Party