Robert Coote

Robert Coote (4 February 1909, London, England – 26 November 1982, New York City) was an English actor. He played aristocrats or British military types in many films, and created the role of Colonel Hugh Pickering in the long-running original Broadway production of My Fair Lady.

Coote was educated at Hurstpierpoint College in Sussex. He began his stage career at the age of 16, performing in England, South Africa and Australia before arriving in Hollywood in the late 1930s. He played a succession of pompous British types in supporting roles, including a brief but memorable turn as Sgt. Bertie Higginbotham in Gunga Din (1939). His acting career was interrupted by his service as a squadron leader in the Canadian Air Force during World War II. 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 November 1, 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 (1952).^[1]

In 1956 Coote created the role of Colonel Pickering in the original Broadway production of My Fair Lady (1956–1962), which he reprised in the musical's 1976–1977 Broadway revival. He also originated the role of King Pellinore in the Broadway production of Camelot (1960–1963). He was nominated for an Emmy Award for his performance as Timmy St. Clair in the NBC TV series The Rogues (1964–1965).

In his last feature film performance, Coote portrayed one of the critics dispatched by Vincent Price in Theatre of Blood (1973). His final role was that of orchid nurse Theodore Horstmann in the 1981 NBC TV series Nero Wolfe, starring William Conrad.

The veteran British character actor died in his sleep at the New York Athletic Club in November 1982, at the age of 73.^[2]

Selected filmography

External links

• Robert Coote at the Internet Movie Database
• Robert Coote at the Internet Broadway Database
• Robert Coote performances in Theatre Archive, University of Bristol

References