Carolyn Owen Coates"Find a Grave Index," database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:W3X8-2X6Z : 9 September 2022), Carolyn Owen Coates Noble; Burial, Muskogee, Muskogee, Oklahoma, United States of America, Greenhill Cemetery; citing record ID 160156959, Find a Grave, http://www.findagrave.com. (April 29, 1927 – March 27, 2005)Ragan, David (1992). Who's Who in Hollywood : The Largest Cast of International Film Personalities Ever Assembled. New York : Facts on File. p. 300. . "BORN: April 29, Oklahoma City, Okla." was an American stage, film and television actress.Associated Press (March 31, 2005). "Carolyn Coates, stage actress, AIDS worker". Newsday (Suffolk edition). p. A57. Noted for portraying formidable women, Coates earned a Theatre World Award for her performance as Hecuba in The Trojan Women.
Early life and career A native of Oklahoma City, Coates was the younger of two daughters born to Jessica Owen and Glenn Clinton Coates."Coates Rites Here Tuesday; Funeral Held in Christian Church". The Elk City Daily News. June 9, 1943. p. 1. Her parents soon divorced, however, and, as noted in a 1973 interview, subsequent remarriages led to a decidedly unsettled pre-adolescence. As Coates recalled, "I was in 10 different schools before 10th grade." The resulting anxiety made her all the more appreciative upon discovering that "[t]he theater is like a family, like a home—all of the things I missed as a child."Heimlich, Jane (January 18, 1973). "At Home — Cincinnati: A Noble Family of the Theater Settles Into Ft. Adams for a Six-Week Run". The Cincinnati Post. p. 17. Retrieved July 1, 2024.
After finally settling in Santa Monica, Coates studied acting at UCLA. There, she gained valuable experience, in roles such as Shakespeare's Juliet,Schallert, Edwin (July 31, 1946). "Drama and Film: A.A. Drama to Be Filmed". Los Angeles Times. pt. II, p. 3.Von Blon, Katherine (August 1, 1946). "Uclans Score in Bard Play". Los Angeles Times. pt. II, p. 2. Margaret in Thomas Dekker's The Shoemaker's Holiday (starring opposite a young William Schallert),"17th Century Play Billed at UCLA". West Los Angeles Independent. and Cybel in Eugene O'Neill's The Great God Brown."Group Offers New Play at U.C.L.A.". Valley Times. April 21, 1947. p. 11. During this period, Coates also appeared in summer stock with the Bolton Landing Players, earning kudos as Millie in Frederick Jackson's The Bishop Misbehaves,Dehner, Dorothy (July 28, 1948). "Comedy Is Staged by Bolton Players". The Post-Star. p. 14. and as Aunt Connie in Mark Reed's Yes, My Darling Daughter.Baker, Priscilla Lee (June 29, 1948). "Bolton Players Stage Play for Preview Audience". The Post-Star. p. 5.
In 1954, Coates appeared as Agatha in the American premiere of Jean Giraudoux's Electra, staged at the Henry Street Playhouse in New York's Greenwich Village. The following year, she and erstwhile Pygmalion co-star James Noble were wed. Shortly thereafter, and continuing for roughly six years, they became featured performers in Paul J. Curtis's American Mime Theatre.
In 1965, her portrayal of Hecuba in Euripides' The Trojan Women earned Coates a Theatre World Award.Willis, John; Hodges, Ben; eds. (2006). Theatre World. Volume 60: 2003-2004. New York: Applause Theatre & Cinema Books. p. 262. . In December of that year she was narrated "Sibelius: A Symphony for Finland," a 90-minute TV documentary commemorating the composer's centennial, which aired on NET's series Festival of the Arts."Sibelius Finnish Musical Program Scheduled Dec. 10". The North Adams Transcript. December 4, 1965. p. TV-4.
In May 1967, Coates co-starred with Martin Sheen, Eugene Roche, Frederick Rolf and Eleanor Phelps on The Catholic Hour, in a series of four episodes addressing the question, "Is God dead?""Sunday, May 14, 1967". TV Guide. May 13, 1967. pp. A-21, A-22."May 28, 1967; Sunday Morning". TV Guide. May 13, 1967. pp. A-21, A-22.
In 1985, Coates undertook what would later be termed, variously, a nine-year sabbatical or retirement, to volunteer in hospitals and on the phones for AIDS Project Los Angeles and the Gay Men's Health Crisis.
In 2001, New Haven's Long Wharf Theater hosted what would prove to be the actress's swan song, as Coates portrayed Gladys in Kenneth Lonergan's The Waverly Gallery. Hartford Courant critic Malcolm Johnson writes:This portrait of the mental disintegration of 85-year-old Gladys Green, acted by the tiny Carolyn Coates with shifts from lucidity and humor to crazy jumbles of words, will break the heart of anyone who has ever suffered through the decline of an aged parent or relative. [...] Coates' sometimes playful, sometimes dithering, occasionally volatile performance, sweet, charged with nostalgia and a confusion complicated by deafness, dominates Tillinger's production.Johnson, Malcolm (November 23, 2001). "The Unbearable Sadness of Aging; 'Waverly Gallery' Gives a Sensitive Tour of an Elderly Woman's Decline". The Hartford Courant. p. D3.
Personal life Having first met her future husband in 1951, playing Eliza Doolittle to his Henry Higgins in a summer stock production of Pygmalion in Worcester, Massachusetts, Coates married actor James Noble in 1955.Marks, Michelle (December 5, 1986) "Ask Michelle: Pigskin Performer?". The News-Messenger. p. 20. They had one child, a daughter.
On March 27, 2005, Coates died of cancer at the Connecticut Hospice in Branford, Connecticut, survived by her husband and daughter. Her remains are interred at the family plot in Muskogee, Oklahoma, alongside those of her husband.
TV appearances TV TV Show Role Episode Year Camera Three NA 1961"Late Additions, Deletions and Changes of the Previous Week's Listings". Ross Reports. July 24, 1961. p. 30-B. The Inheritance NA (Voice only) 1965"Sunday, May 23, 1965; Evening". TV Guide. May 22, 1965. p. A-19. Jean Sibelius Narrator 1965"Friday, December 10, 1965; Evening". TV Guide. December 4, 1965. p. A-84. New York Television Theatre Elmina Ruggles "The Club Bedroom" 1966"Pick of Tonight's Best TV Shows: The New York Television Theatre; Carolyn Coates, Ruth White in 'The Club Bedroom". The Herald Statesman. December 19, 1966. p. 34.The Catholic Hour Young Woman "A Sense of Loss" 1967 Young Woman "An Abundance of Perspectives" 1967 Young Woman "A Father's Death" 1967 Woman B "Rebirths of Hope" 1967 Critique Herself (reading translations of Russian poetry) "Poets on Street Corners" 1969"Wednesday Evening". TV Guide. July 5, 1969. p. A-51. Guideline Margaret ("a 35-year-old mother of three who refuses to bear a fourth child";her abortion "causes estrangement among members of her family.") "Whose Life" 1970"Sunday, January 18, 1970; Morning". TV Guide. January 17, 1970. p. A-16."Drama on 'Guideline' to Deal With Abortion". Florence Morning News. p. 19. The Doctors Alice Watson 1975 Dallas Nurse "Mastectomy: Part 1" 1979 Knots Landing Karen's Mother "Will the Circle Be Unbroken" 1980 Lou Grant Margaret Carruthers "Search" 1981 The Waltons Elvira Perkins "The Gold Watch" 1981 Palmerstown, U.S.A. "Roadhouse" 1981 Jessica Novac NA "Kenny" 1981Gianakos, Larry James (1983). Television Drama Series Programming : A Comprehensive Chronicle, 1980-1982 Metuchen, N.J. : Scarecrow Press. p. 213. . McClain's Law Margaret Stanton "The Sign of the Beast: Part 1" 1982Benson Mrs. Collingswood "The Honeymooners" 1983 Judge Watson Made in Hong Kong: Part 1 1984 Remington Steele Mayor Amaryllis MacKenzie "Small Town Steele" 1984 Glitter Mrs. Davis "A Minor Miracle" 1984St. Elsewhere Mrs. Fordham "Saving Face" 1985 Mrs. Fordham "Amazing Face" 1985 Mrs. Fordham "She Rote" 1985
Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes 1961 The Hustler Waitress Eagan, Daniel (2010). America's Film Legacy: The Authoritative Guide to the Landmark Movies in the National Film Registry New York: Continuum. p. 572. . 1972 The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds Mrs. McKay O'Brien, Daniel (2005). Paul Newman. London: Faber and Faber. p. 326. .1980 Barn Burning Aunt Skaggs, Calvin, ed. (1980). The American Short Story, Volume 2. New York: Dell. p. 215. . "Scene from Barn Burning. L-R, bottom row: Shawn Wittington (Sart Snopes) and Diane Kagan (Mrs. Snopes). L-R, top row: Tommy Lee Jones (Ab Snopes). Carolyn Coates (Aunt), Michael Ripley (Brother), and Jenny Hughes (Lena). (Photo by Meryl Joseph)" Joshua's World NA Kaplan, Mike (1981). Variety International Showbusiness Reference. Garland Publishing. p. 713. . Scared Straight! Another Story Mary Loring Marill, Alvin H. (2005). Movies Made for Television, 1964-2004. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press. pp. 34, 173, 250, 349, 365.1981 The Postman Always Rings Twice Twin Oaks Customer Ozer, Jerome, ed. (1983). Film Review Annual, 1982. Englewood, NJ: Film Review Publications. pp. 721, 892. . Murder in Texas Helen Fairchild Mommie Dearest Mother Superior Incident at Crestridge Mrs. Dobbs 1983 Starflight: The Plane That Couldn't Land Claire Blood Feud Kennedy's secretary 1984 The Buddy System Teacher Woodward, Byerly, ed. (1985). Annual Index to Motion Picture Credits. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. p. 17. . 1985 This Child Is Mine Grace
Playlist Plays Year Play Role Theater Notes 1947 The Great God Brown Cybel UCLA Campus Theatre April 22, 1947 - April 26, 1947"Group Offers New Drama at U.C.L.A.". Valley Times. April 21, 1947. p. 11. 1954 Electra Agatha Henry Street Playhouse April 19, 1954 - April 25, 1954 1963 The Trojan Women Trojan Woman Circle in the Square Downtown December 23, 1963 - ?1965 And Things That Go Bump in the Night Ruby (Standby) Royale Theatre April 26, 1965 – May 8, 1965 Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Martha (with James Noble as George) Williamstown Theatre Festival July 13, 1965 – July 17, 1965Stars at Williamstown Relax; Nobles Happy to Rejoin Williamstown Theater. The Springfield Union. July 3, 1965. p. 6. Three Sisters OlgaBullett, J. Gordon (July 28, 1965). "Play Review: Chekhov's 'Three Sisters' Presented to Full House". The North Adams Transcript. p. 7. Williamstown Theatre Festival July 27, 1965 – July 31, 1965 The Trojan Women Hecuba Circle in the Square Downtown September 3, 1965 – ? The Country Wife Miss Althea Vivian Beaumont Theatre December 9, 1965 – January 23, 19661966 The Condemned of Altona Johanna Vivian Beaumont Theatre February 3, 1966 – March 13, 1966 The Caucasian Chalk Circle NA Vivian Beaumont Theatre March 24, 1966 – June 18, 1966 A Whitman Portrait The Woman Gramercy Arts Theatre October 11, 1966 – ? 1967 The Party on Greenwich Avenue Helen Radmacher Cherry Lane Theatre May 10, 1967 – ? 1968 The Death of Bessie Smith / The American Dream Second Nurse / Mrs. Barker Billy Rose Theatre October 2, 1968 – October 26, 19681969 Fire! Lorna Longacre TheatreOppenheimer, George (January 29, 1969). "On Stage: 'Fire's' Fire dims as Symbols Clash". Newsday. p. 54A. January 28, 1969 - February 1, 1969 A Scent of Flowers Agnes Martinique Theatre October 20, 1969 – ? 1970 The Disintegration of James M. Cherry Woman Mitzi E. Newhouse Theatre January 29, 1970 – ? The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds Beatrice Mercer Arts Center April 7, 1970 – ? 1971 All Over The Wife, The Nurse (Standby) Martin Beck Theatre March 28, 1971 – May 1, 1971
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