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Robert Coote(1909-1982)

  • Actor
  • Soundtrack
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Robert Coote in A Matter of Life and Death (1946)
Trailer for this historical drama
Play trailer3:32
Scaramouche (1952)
5 Videos
34 Photos
Robert Coote (1909-1982) was an English actor who had a thriving career for 50 years. He is best remembered for originating the role of Colonel Pickering in My Fair Lady (1964), Alan Jay Lerner & Frederick Loewe's musical adaptation of George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion (1938), for which he was nominated for a Tony Award as Best Featured Actor in a Musical in 1957. He also originated the role of King Pellinore in Lerner & Loewe's 1960 Broadway musical Camelot (1967).

Coote played Colonel Pickering on Broadway and London, but Wilfrid Hyde-White was cast in the Oscar-winning 1964 movie despite Coote's extensive movie career. In fact, Coote had specialized in playing aristocrats and military men in countless films, most notably as Sergeant Bertie Higginbotham in George Stevens's 1939 classic Gunga Din (1939). (In real life, Coote served with the Royal Canadian Air Force during World War Two, becoming a squadron leader.)

He possibly was overlooked for the movie (as was Julie Andrews, more notably) due to a strained relationship with star Rex Harrison, who stole business originated by Coote during the original Broadway production. Harrison resented Coote after unsuccessfully demanding to take over a famous piece of business created by Coote, Colonel Pickering's telephone call. Coote recreated the role in the 1976 Broadway revival.
BornFebruary 4, 1909
DiedNovember 26, 1982(73)
BornFebruary 4, 1909
DiedNovember 26, 1982(73)
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
  • Nominated for 1 Primetime Emmy
    • 1 nomination total

Photos34

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Known for

David Niven and Kim Hunter in A Matter of Life and Death (1946)
A Matter of Life and Death
8.0
  • Bob Trubshaw
  • 1946
Gene Tierney, Rex Harrison, and George Sanders in The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947)
The Ghost and Mrs. Muir
7.8
  • Mr. Coombe
  • 1947
Stewart Granger, Janet Leigh, and Eleanor Parker in Scaramouche (1952)
Scaramouche
7.5
  • Gaston Binet
  • 1952
Deborah Kerr, James Mason, Stewart Granger, and Jane Greer in The Prisoner of Zenda (1952)
The Prisoner of Zenda
6.9
  • Fritz von Tarlenheim
  • 1952

Credits

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IMDbPro

Actor



  • William Conrad in Nero Wolfe (1981)
    Nero Wolfe
    7.2
    TV Series
    • Theodore Horstmann
    • 1981
  • Sweepstakes (1979)
    Sweepstakes
    5.6
    TV Series
    • Butler
    • 1979
  • George Hamilton, Lauren Hutton, and Ray Walston in Institute for Revenge (1979)
    Institute for Revenge
    5.3
    TV Movie
    • Wellington
    • 1979
  • Target Risk (1975)
    Target Risk
    7.7
    TV Movie
    • Julian Ulrich
    • 1975
  • The Lives of Benjamin Franklin (1974)
    The Lives of Benjamin Franklin
    7.6
    TV Mini Series
    • 1974
  • BBC Play of the Month (1965)
    BBC Play of the Month
    6.8
    TV Series
    • Mr. Eager
    • Col. Sir Francis Chesney
    • 1969–1973
  • Vincent Price and Diana Rigg in Theater of Blood (1973)
    Theater of Blood
    7.1
    • Oliver Larding
    • 1973
  • Up the Front (1972)
    Up the Front
    4.5
    • General Burke
    • 1972
  • From a Bird's Eye View (1970)
    From a Bird's Eye View
    6.3
    TV Series
    • Barker
    • 1970
  • Tim Barrett and Robert Coote in Best of Enemies (1968)
    Best of Enemies
    TV Series
    • Willie Gordon MP
    • 1968–1969
  • Kenner (1968)
    Kenner
    5.1
    • Henderson
    • 1968
  • Deborah Kerr, David Niven, Judy Geeson, and Joyce Redman in Prudence and the Pill (1968)
    Prudence and the Pill
    5.7
    • Henry Hardcastle
    • 1968
  • The Cool Ones (1967)
    The Cool Ones
    4.5
    • Stanley Krumley
    • 1967
  • Stiff Upper Lip
    TV Movie
    • Sir Claud Polk-Mowbray
    • 1967
  • The Whitehall Worrier
    TV Series
    • Rt. Hon. Mervyn Pugh
    • 1967

Soundtrack



  • The Cool Ones (1967)
    The Cool Ones
    4.5
    • performer: "Where Did I Go Wrong?"
    • 1967
  • Judi Rolin in Alice Through the Looking Glass (1966)
    Alice Through the Looking Glass
    5.9
    TV Movie
    • performer: "Through the Looking Glass" (opening & closing theme), "There Are two Sides to Everything" ("There Are two Sides to Everything" (Hay dos lados para todo)., "Opening & Closing Theme" (Tema de apertura y cierre).)
    • 1966
  • Merry Andrew (1958)
    Merry Andrew
    6.6
    • performer: "Chin Up, Stout Fellow" (1958) (uncredited)
    • 1958

Videos5

Trailer
Trailer 1:35
Trailer
Trailer
Trailer 1:23
Trailer
Trailer
Trailer 1:23
Trailer
The Ghost And Mrs. Muir
Trailer 2:39
The Ghost And Mrs. Muir
Gunga Din
Trailer 2:12
Gunga Din
Scaramouche
Trailer 3:32
Scaramouche

Personal details

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  • Alternative name
    • Flying Officer Robert Coote RCAF
  • Height
    • 5′ 10″ (1.78 m)
  • Born
    • February 4, 1909
    • London, England, UK
  • Died
    • November 26, 1982
    • New York City, New York, USA(heart attack in his sleep)
  • Parents
    • Bert Coote
  • Other works
    Created the role of Colonel Pickering in the stage production of "My Fair Lady" with Rex Harrison and Julie Andrews. He played it both on Broadway and in London.
  • Publicity listings
    • 5 Articles
    • 1 Pictorial

Did you know

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  • Trivia
    Served In The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) during the Second World War.

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