Dabney Coleman, Emmy-winning actor from '9 to 5', 'Tootsie', dies at 92
Dabney Coleman, the Emmy-winning TV and film actor who starred in "9 to 5," "Tootsie" and "On Golden Pond," has died.
He was 92 years old.
Coleman "took his last earthly breath peacefully and exquisitely" Thursday afternoon at his home in Santa Monica, California, his daughter, Quincy Coleman, said in a statement on Friday that was provided to USA TODAY by his manager.
"My father crafted his time here on earth with a curious mind, a generous heart, and a soul on fire with passion, desire and humor that tickled the funny bone of humanity," she said. "As he lived, he moved through this final act of his life with elegance, excellence and mastery.
"A teacher, a hero, and a king, Dabney Coleman is a gift and blessing in life and in death as his spirit will shine through his work, his loved ones and his legacy...eternally."
The Hollywood Reporter and Extra were first to report the news.
The Austin, Texas-born actor earned recognition for playing Merle Jeeter in the Norman Lear-produced soap opera spoof, “Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman," throughout its two-season run in 1976-77.
Over the course of his career, he earned six Emmy nominations for his roles in the short-lived '80s NBC sitcom "Buffalo Bill," the TV movie "Sworn to Silence," the one-season sitcom "The Slap Maxwell Story," ABC's miniseries "Baby M" and the crime drama "Columbo."
It was his role in ABC's "Sworn to Silence" that earned him his first – and only – Emmy Award in 1987. The following year, he won the Golden Globe Award for best performance in a musical or comedy TV series for playing a philandering sportswriter in "Slap Maxwell."
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In 1980's "9 to 5," Coleman starred alongside Lily Tomlin, Jane Fonda and Dolly Parton, playing the three working women's chauvinistic and misogynistic boss, Hart. He was also known for playing Tom Hanks' father in "You've Got Mail" and Commodore Kaestner in the HBO drama "Boardwalk Empire," for which he won two Screen Actors Guild awards.
His most recent roles saw Coleman in "Yellowstone," "NCIS" and "Ray Donovan."
Prior to his career in Hollywood, Coleman served in the United States Army in the '50s.
Coleman is survived by children Meghan, Kelly, Randy and Quincy Coleman and his grandchildren: Hale and Gabe Torrance, Luie Freundl and Kai and Coleman Biancaniello.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Dabney Coleman dead: '9 to 5', 'Tootsie' star dies at 92
