James Wilkes Noble (March 5, 1922 â€" March 28, 2016) was an American
actor, best known for his portrayal of sweet-natured, naive Governor
Eugene X. Gatling on ABC's 1979â€"1986 sitcom Benson.Noble was born in
Dallas, Texas, the son of Lois Frances (née Wilkes) and Ralph Byrne
Noble. He studied acting and engineering at Southern Methodist
University before leaving to serve in the United States Navy during
World War II.Returning from the war, Noble studied acting under Lee
Strasberg and made appearances in Broadway theatre, and his television
career started in soap operas, such as The Brighter Day, As the World
Turns, The Doctors and A World Apart. His big screen roles included:
Reverend John Witherspoon in the film version of the Broadway musical
1776 (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 (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 (1988) and
Dr. Bailey in Chances Are (1989). He was also the spokesman in various
commercials for Pepto-Bismol in the 1970s.
actor, best known for his portrayal of sweet-natured, naive Governor
Eugene X. Gatling on ABC's 1979â€"1986 sitcom Benson.Noble was born in
Dallas, Texas, the son of Lois Frances (née Wilkes) and Ralph Byrne
Noble. He studied acting and engineering at Southern Methodist
University before leaving to serve in the United States Navy during
World War II.Returning from the war, Noble studied acting under Lee
Strasberg and made appearances in Broadway theatre, and his television
career started in soap operas, such as The Brighter Day, As the World
Turns, The Doctors and A World Apart. His big screen roles included:
Reverend John Witherspoon in the film version of the Broadway musical
1776 (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 (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 (1988) and
Dr. Bailey in Chances Are (1989). He was also the spokesman in various
commercials for Pepto-Bismol in the 1970s.
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