Robert Coote

Robert Coote (4 February 1909 – 26 November 1982) was an English screen and stage actor. He played aristocrats or British military types in many Hollywood films, and originated the role of Colonel Pickering in the long-running original Broadway production of My Fair Lady, earning a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actor in a Musical. He arrived in Hollywood in the late 1930s, beginning with 1937's The Thirteenth Chair. He played a succession of pompous British types in supporting roles, including a brief but memorable turn as Sgt. Bertie Higginbotham in Gunga Din.

His acting career was interrupted by his service as a squadron leader in the Royal Canadian Air Force during World War II. During his service, he organized entertainment shows at CFB Rockcliffe. He played Bob Trubshawe in Powell and Pressburger's A Matter of Life and Death (1946), chosen for the first-ever Royal Film Performance on 1 November 1946, before he returned to Hollywood, where his films included The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947), Forever Amber (1947), The Three Musketeers (1948), and Orson Welles' Othello (1951).

Partial filmography

Sally in Our Alley (1931) as Waiter At Party (uncredited) Loyalties (1933) as Robert Radio Parade of 1935 (1934) as Executive Rangle River (1936) as Reggie Mannister, Flight-Lieutenant The Thirteenth Chair (1937) as Stanby The Sheik Steps Out (1937) as Lord Eustace Byington A Yank at Oxford (1938) as Wavertree Blond Cheat (1938) as Gilbert Potts The Girl Downstairs (1938) as Karl, Paul's Butler Mr. Moto's Last Warning (1939) as Rollo Venables Gunga Din (1939) as Sgt. Bertie Higginbotham The House of Fear (1939) as Robert Morton Bad Lands (1939) as Eaton Nurse Edith Cavell (1939) as Bungey Vigil in the Night (1940) as Dr. Caley You Can't Fool Your Wife (1940) as 'Batty' Battincourt Commandos Strike at Dawn (1942) as Robert Bowen Forever and a Day (1943) as Blind Officer A Matter of Life and Death (1946) as Bob Trubshawe Cloak and Dagger (1946) as Cronin (uncredited) The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947) as Mr. Coombe Lured (1947) as Detective The Exile (1947) as Dick Pinner Forever Amber (1947) as Sir Thomas Dudley Berlin Express (1948) as Sterling The Three Musketeers (1948) as Aramis The Red Danube (1949) as Brigadier C.M.V. Catlock The Elusive Pimpernel (1950) as Sir Andrew ffloulkes Soldiers Three (1951) as Maj. Mercer The Lavender Hill Mob (1951) as Waiter in Restaurant (uncredited) The Desert Fox: The Story of Rommel (1951) as British Medical Officer (uncredited) Othello (1951) as Roderigo Scaramouche (1952) as Gaston Binet The Merry Widow (1952) as Marquis De Crillon The Prisoner of Zenda (1952) as Fritz von Tarlenheim The Constant Husband (1955) as Friends and Relations: The Best Man The Swan (1956) as Capt. Wunderlich Merry Andrew (1958) as Dudley Larabee The Horse's Mouth (1958) as Sir William Beeder The League of Gentlemen (1960) as Bunny Warren The V.I.P.s (1963) as John Coburn The Rogues (1964–1965, TV Series) as Timmy St. Clair The Golden Head (1964) as Braithwaite A Man Could Get Killed (1966) as Hatton / Jones The Swinger (1966) as Sir Hubert Charles The Cool Ones (1967) as Stanley Krumley The Whitehall Worrier (1967, TV series) as Rt. Hon. Mervyn Pugh Prudence and the Pill (1968) as Henry Hardcastle Kenner (1969) as Henderson Up the Front (1972) as General Burke Theatre of Blood (1973) as Oliver Larding Institute for Revenge (1979, TV Movie) as Wellington Nero Wolfe (1981, TV Series) as Theodore Horstmann (final appearance)

Partial stage credits

Our Peg (1919–20) Frederica (1930–31) Wild Violets (1932–33) - Algernon Rutherford Mother of Pearl (1933–34) The Love of Four Colonels (1953) - Colonel Desmond De S. Rinder-Sparrow Someone Waiting (1953–54) - John Nedlow Dear Charles (1954–55) - Sir Michael Anstruther My Fair Lady (1956–57) - Colonel Pickering My Fair Lady (1958) - Colonel Pickering Camelot (1960–63) - Pellinore A Talent to Amuse (1969) The Magistrate (1969–70) - Colonel Luckyn The Jockey Club Stakes (1970–71) - Colonel Sir Robert Richardson The Jockey Club Stakes (1973) - Colonel Sir Robert Richardson Birds of Paradise (1973) - Major Farmer Birds of Paradise (1974–75) - Major Farmer My Fair Lady (1976–77) - Colonel Pickering Bedroom Farce (1979) - Ernest

Sources:

Awards and nominations Award Year Category WorkResult Tony Award 1957 Best Featured Actor in a MusicalMy Fair Lady