# Dabney Coleman dies **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** celebrity-death\ **Created:** [May 18, 2024, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dabney-coleman-dies/1001734 "2024-05-18T12:18:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![2\_More\_Bits](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/2_more_bits/32/4148_2.png) [@2\_More\_Bits](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2_More_Bits)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2024, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dabney-coleman-dies/1001734/1 "2024-05-18T12:18:57Z")
> **[Dabney Coleman, Actor Audiences Loved to Hate, Is Dead at 92](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/17/arts/television/dabney-coleman-dead.html?unlocked_article_code=1.s00.chGl.7t9yOSpWSaPT&smid=url-share)** > > In movies like “9 to 5” and “Tootsie” and on TV shows like “Buffalo Bill,” he turned the portrayal of egomaniacal louts into a fine art. I can’t believe he was 92! ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2024, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dabney-coleman-dies/1001734/2 "2024-05-18T12:56:39Z")
I wasn’t aware he did so much work in minor roles that I actually remember. A really good run. RIP Dabney. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2024, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dabney-coleman-dies/1001734/3 "2024-05-18T15:21:31Z")
What are the iconic “bad bosses” in movies? Dabney Coleman in 9-5 Gary Cole in Office Space ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2024, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dabney-coleman-dies/1001734/4 "2024-05-18T15:22:11Z")
Side note: As a kid, I mixed up Dabney Coleman and Gerald McRaney. the mustache, I guess? ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2024, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dabney-coleman-dies/1001734/5 "2024-05-18T15:41:25Z")
And definitely the voice. I made that mistake the few times I watched **NCIS: Los Angeles**. He has a small part (maybe 1 minute) near the end of **Towering Inferno** and he is such a dick. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2024, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dabney-coleman-dies/1001734/6 "2024-05-18T16:18:06Z")
I liked it when he strangled his cheating wife and tried to frame her boyfriend on _ **Columbo** _. RIP, Dabney! ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2024, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dabney-coleman-dies/1001734/7 "2024-05-18T16:41:59Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > I liked it when he strangled his cheating wife and tried to frame her boyfriend on _ **Columbo** _. Always fun. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2024, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dabney-coleman-dies/1001734/8 "2024-05-18T17:09:07Z")
Who’s going to run Bait Magazine now? ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2024, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dabney-coleman-dies/1001734/9 "2024-05-18T17:09:43Z")
I knew he was around because I was surprised to see him playing “The Commodore” on HBO’s **Boardwalk Empire** a decade ago, but I hadn’t seen him in anything since. According to imdb, though, he’s been busy, even appearing in **Yellowstone.** ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2024, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dabney-coleman-dies/1001734/10 "2024-05-18T17:12:58Z")
I remember him from a lot of things, but one that stood out to me as a kid was **Cloak and Dagger** - instead of playing a weasel, as he usually does, he played a dual role - a brave (and fictional) secret agent, and a heroic father to the main character (a young boy). As a kid he was a terrifically warm and comforting presence in a fun kids movie that I recall was unusually violent (for a kids movie). ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2024, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dabney-coleman-dies/1001734/11 "2024-05-18T17:14:53Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Side note: As a kid, I mixed up Dabney Coleman and Gerald McRaney. the mustache, I guess? I always thought of Coleman is Discount Gene Hackman. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanubv.2/32/3260_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUBv.2)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2024, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dabney-coleman-dies/1001734/12 "2024-05-18T17:18:06Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > I knew he was around because I was surprised to see him playing “The Commodore” on HBO’s **Boardwalk Empire** a decade ago, but I hadn’t seen him in anything since. According to imdb, though, he’s been busy, even appearing in **Yellowstone.** I came here to mention the same thing. He was great as the Commodore and I remember being (pleasantly) surprised he was still alive and also thinking that would be his last role. He was great in every role, with my second favorite being the chauvinist director in **Tootsie**. RIP. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2024, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dabney-coleman-dies/1001734/13 "2024-05-18T17:27:21Z")
> [@2\_More\_Bits](#): > > I can’t believe he was 92! I don’t want to think about the fact that _9 to 5_ was released forty-three years ago. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2024, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dabney-coleman-dies/1001734/14 "2024-05-18T17:28:01Z")
So where were Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin and Dolly Parton on Thursday? Maybe they finally succeeded. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2024, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dabney-coleman-dies/1001734/15 "2024-05-18T18:52:20Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I don’t want to think about the fact that _9 to 5_ was released forty-three years ago. Wait, I’m about the same age now as that horrible boss was in 9 to 5? I need a breather. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2024, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dabney-coleman-dies/1001734/16 "2024-05-18T18:52:59Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > So where were Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin and Dolly Parton on Thursday? Maybe they finally succeeded. 1. It is interesting they are all alive. And thank God, especially Dolly is so fantastic. 2. They didn’t need him to die. They defeated him in the movie. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2024, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dabney-coleman-dies/1001734/17 "2024-05-18T18:57:52Z")
I will also remember how well he played the downtrodden, beaten-down, meek guy in 9 to 5 fantasy sequence. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/frjBdGczvHg/maxresdefault.jpg "My Favourite Scene From 9 to 5") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frjBdGczvHg&t=16) ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2024, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dabney-coleman-dies/1001734/18 "2024-05-18T18:59:14Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > - It is interesting they are all alive. And thank God, especially Dolly is so fantastic. Not only alive, but they’re all active and working. That’s pretty amazing. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2024, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dabney-coleman-dies/1001734/19 "2024-05-18T21:06:36Z")
I really like him in _War Games._ He played it perfectly. RIP. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2024, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dabney-coleman-dies/1001734/20 "2024-05-18T23:15:55Z")
I didn’t really remember him in war games. Now, Barry Corbin I remember, but not Coleman.