Posted on 03/29/2016 7:21:12 AM PDT by Borges
James Noble, the actor best known for his role as the absent-minded governor on the hit 1980s sitcom “Benson,” died on Monday at Norwalk Hospital in Connecticut. He was 94.
His death was confirmed by Douglas Moser, a spokesman for the family, who said that Mr. Noble, who lived in Norwalk, had a stroke last week.
From 1979 to 1986, Mr. Noble played Eugene Gatling, the well-meaning but somewhat bumbling governor of an unnamed state, on the ABC series “Benson.”
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Another show where the white guy was “bumbling” and the black guy was the smartest guy in the room
One of my favorite bits from the show;
( Gretchen Kraus is calling all local video store desperately searching for a new movie to rent and having no luck. Benson walks in; )
Benson: “What’s wrong?”
Gretchen Kraus: “I’m looking for un Officer und a Gentleman.”
Benson: “The way you look, you’d be lucky to get a sailor and a six pack.”
There’s an episode of “Columbo” that was shot in 1973 or thereabouts and has exterior shots of the house that was later used in the “Benson” intros. Noble also played one of Jack Warden’s presidential advisors in “Being There”. Sad to see someone like that go, as he was that familiar face from his acting work, but RIP nonetheless.
-PJ
-PJ
“Benson” was one of the better spin-offs from that time. One could say that the Robert Guillaume character was better on “Soap” but “Benson had a good ensemble cast that included Noble, as well as Inga Swenson, Rene Auberjonois, Caroline McWilliams (also RIP), Missy Gold, and a young Jerry Seinfeld.
I didn’t know that Caroline was dead either.
RIP Governor Gatling.
Benson was a good show as was the parent SOAP.
I hear you.
Played the dentist who treated Dudley Moore in “10.”
The White Shadow is dead too? I missed that one.
I have to admit I hated this show as a kid. I just didnt get the humor.
But then again, I was like 4 at the time.
I was a big fan of Benson. James Noble was excellent as Governor Gatling; actually, the entire cast was great. RIP.
Robert Guillaume was one of the greatest straight-men in sitcom history, especially getting to play off an excellent supporting cast (Rene Auberjonois and Inga Swenson, especially). I’m glad they were able to spin off his character from “Soap”, one of the few instances of a spinoff being more successful than the parent show.
James Noble didn’t play the Governor as a complete buffoon, and could swing from comedy to heavier scenes without missing a beat. I noted recently on “General Hospital”, they paid tribute to Noble’s character by naming the fictitious Governor of New York as “Governor Gatling.”
I was sorry we never got to find out in the series finale cliffhanger who won the Governor’s race for 1986. Benson as Governor would’ve presented a whole new set of comic possibilities.
RIP.
I’ve seen “Benson” and “Soap” a few times.
Any idea what party the fictional Governor was, or what state? The show ended on 3-way election cliff hanger right?
I saw a fake article suggesting that Benson won the election, that he was Connecticut RINO and he was being suggested as a running mate for Al Gore or something.
Good call - they did indeed have numerous moments in the show where the Governor showed deep insights into human nature and politics, putting Benson back on his heels.
A very sweet show. Came on right after Barney Miller - another gem of a show.
The Grim Reaper has been busy over the past week or so: Joe Santos, Joe Garagiola, Ken Howard, Garry Shandling, Patty Duke, and now James Nobel.
Correction: James Noble.
(We need an "edit" feature!)
The state was never quite made clear. I always pictured it as Connecticut, but it could’ve been just about anywhere (one ep had them crash in a helicopter in the desert, which was still supposed to be in the state). The capital, like the city in “The Simpsons”, was Springfield, IIRC.
We had a discussion about the politics of the show on IMDb some time back (the thread is still there), but since Gatling was elected in 1978, he did mention he was a Democrat (there were only 18 GOP Governors after the 1978 elections, IIRC), but was a fiscal Conservative and mentioned about having to make drastic cuts to the budget and laying off state workers (one episode, which got Katie upset with him, was where he was forced to fire an old lady pastry chef who worked in the mansion because he couldn’t justify the expense to the taxpayers).
The Democrats dumped Gatling for a 2nd term and he ran and won as an Independent. He was in the process of running for a 3rd term in the last season of the show, and he emphasized that Governors were forbidden from seeking a third (4-year) term, but cited a truly unusual law in the fictional state that said they could serve a maximum of two terms as a member of a given party, and since he had been elected just once as each (Dem and Ind), he could exploit it by running a second time as an Independent.
He chose to run a 3rd time after the Dems had given Benson the nod for Governor, so it was a 3-way race. Presumably, Gatling had enough appeal from both parties he could win with a plurality (similar to the margins we’ve seen for candidates in Maine for Governor).
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