From Wikipedia the free encyclopedia Robert Coote 4 February 1909 26 November 1982 was an English actor He played aristocrats or British military types in many films and created the role of Colonel Hugh Pickering in the longrunning original Broadway production of My Fair Lady Coote was born in London and educated at Hurstpierpoint College in Sussex He began his stage career at the age of 16 performing in Britain 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 Royal Canadian Air Force during World War II He played Bob Trubshawe in Powell and Pressburgers A Matter of Life and Death 1946 chosen for the firstever 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 1952 In 1956 Coote created the role of Colonel Pickering in the original Broadway production of My Fair Lady 195662 which he reprised in the musicals 197677 Broadway revival He also originated the role of King Pellinore in the Broadway production of Camelot 196063 He was nominated for an Emmy Award for his performance as Timmy St Clair in the NBC TV series The Rogues 196465 In 1966 Coote appeared with Jackie Gleason and Art Carney in an episode of The Honeymooners entitled The Honeymooners in England broadcast on CBSTV from Miami 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 on television playing orchid nurse Theodore Horstmann in the 1981 NBCTV series Nero Wolfe starring William Conrad in the title role In most film and TV adaptations of Nero Wolfe mysteries before and since Horstmann has been a very minor character but Cootes Horstmann got considerable screen time in the series The veteran British character actor died in his sleep at the New York Athletic Club in November 1982 at the age of 73 Coote was a close friend of actor David Niven sharing a house with Niven for a time in the late 1930s and living in a flat over Nivens garage for several years after the Second World War
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