Coe had a truly interesting and varied career, without ever becoming truly famous. I knew his name for two reasons:
First, The Dove (De Duve). I wonder if people today are even aware of this very funny short, a parody of Bergman. Coe's co-director/producer was the uncle of a guy Mike in my high school class; Mike brought in a copy of the film for us to watch in Film Art class, sometime before it was nominated for best short subject. We all loved it. Then, the following year, it was shown in theatres along with the feature Goodbye, Columbus, and I can't tell you the number of people who said to me, the movie was good, but that short was hilarious. It's also memorable for being Madeline Kahn's screen debut.
The second thing was, Coe was in the original cast of Company, and all things related to that are in my brain permanently.
Still, I didn't realize the extent of his career and life; it appears to have been a bountiful one.
R.I.P. George Coe
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R.I.P. George Coe
George Coe, Oscar-Nominated Actor and SAG Activist, Dies at 86
July 19, 2015 | 06:04PM PT Variety by Dave McNary
George Coe, an actor with extensive credits and a longtime activist in the Screen Actors Guild, died Saturday in Santa Monica, Calif., after battling a long illness. He was 86.
Coe acted for more than 50 years of film, television, commercial and stage work. He had a lengthy career as a commercial performer both on camera and voiceover, including six years as the voice of Toyota.
He served more than a dozen years on the SAG national board of directors, having the vice president title for two years and creating the template for what became SAG’s first low-budget production contract.
Coe was born in Jamaica, Queens. His Broadway theater career began in 1957 and included performing as M. Lindsey Woolsey opposite Angela Lansbury in the original cast of Jerry Herman’s “Mame” and as Owen O’Malley in “On The Twentieth Century.”
Coe was also an original member of “Not Ready For Prime Time Players,” the original cast of “Saturday Night Live,” and was credited as a cast member for the first show in October, 1975.
He portrayed the head of an ad agency in “Kramer vs. Kramer” and was nominated for an Academy Award for the 1968 comedy short film “The Dove,” a parody of Ingmar Bergman’s films, which he co-directed as well as starred in.
Coe’s TV credits included “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” “Max Headroom,” “Murder, She Wrote,” “Bones,” “Judging Amy,” “The King of Queens,” “Nip/Tuck,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Columbo,” “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” “Gilmore Girls,” ” The Golden Girls” and “The West Wing.”
He voiced the character of Woodhouse in the FX animated series “Archer” and the Autobot Wheeljack in Michael Bay’s “Transformers: Dark of the Moon.”
The Hollywood Division of SAG awarded Coe with the Ralph Morgan Award for service to the guild in 2009.
Service information is pending.
July 19, 2015 | 06:04PM PT Variety by Dave McNary
George Coe, an actor with extensive credits and a longtime activist in the Screen Actors Guild, died Saturday in Santa Monica, Calif., after battling a long illness. He was 86.
Coe acted for more than 50 years of film, television, commercial and stage work. He had a lengthy career as a commercial performer both on camera and voiceover, including six years as the voice of Toyota.
He served more than a dozen years on the SAG national board of directors, having the vice president title for two years and creating the template for what became SAG’s first low-budget production contract.
Coe was born in Jamaica, Queens. His Broadway theater career began in 1957 and included performing as M. Lindsey Woolsey opposite Angela Lansbury in the original cast of Jerry Herman’s “Mame” and as Owen O’Malley in “On The Twentieth Century.”
Coe was also an original member of “Not Ready For Prime Time Players,” the original cast of “Saturday Night Live,” and was credited as a cast member for the first show in October, 1975.
He portrayed the head of an ad agency in “Kramer vs. Kramer” and was nominated for an Academy Award for the 1968 comedy short film “The Dove,” a parody of Ingmar Bergman’s films, which he co-directed as well as starred in.
Coe’s TV credits included “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” “Max Headroom,” “Murder, She Wrote,” “Bones,” “Judging Amy,” “The King of Queens,” “Nip/Tuck,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Columbo,” “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” “Gilmore Girls,” ” The Golden Girls” and “The West Wing.”
He voiced the character of Woodhouse in the FX animated series “Archer” and the Autobot Wheeljack in Michael Bay’s “Transformers: Dark of the Moon.”
The Hollywood Division of SAG awarded Coe with the Ralph Morgan Award for service to the guild in 2009.
Service information is pending.