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James Noble, the Governor on Benson, Dies at 94
The actor suffered a stroke last week and passed on Monday
James Noble, best known for playing bumbling Gov. Eugene Gatling on '80s sitcom Benson, died on Monday due to complications from a stroke he suffered last week, The New York Times reports. He was 94.
Noble costarred on Benson from 1979 to 1986, playing the boss/foil to Robert Guillaume's title character.
Noble was born in Dallas on March 5, 1922. He served in the Navy during World War II. Upon returning, he studied acting under legendary instructor Lee Strasberg at the Actors Studio, and rose up as a Broadway actor before breaking into television.
He is survived by his daughter, Jessica Katherine Noble Cowan. His wife Carolyn Coates died in 2005.