‘Benson’ Star James Noble Dies At 94

Veteran actor James Noble, known for the hit sitcom show Benson, died on Monday at the age of 94.

JAMES NOBLE DEAD AT 94

The news was confirmed by Noble’s daughter, Jessica Katherine Noble Cowan. She said he died at Norwalk Hospital in Connecticut after suffering a stroke.

The Dallas-born actor had impressive parts before Benson, including roles in the soap opera The Doctors and in films like 10, Airplane II and Being There.

His Broadway roles include 1776, A Far Country, Strange Interlude, and The Runner Stumbles. He also appeared in the movie version of 1776 with Blythe Danner and John Cullum.

His best known role was the goofy and scatterbrained governor, Eugene Xavier Gatling. His co-star, Rene Auberjonois paid tribute to the actor on Twitter after learning of his death. He tweeted, “Just learned of James Noble’s passing at the venerable age of 94. A dear man, a superb actor…Safe passage James. Love to your family.”

Just learned of James Noble’s passing at the venerable age of 94. A dear man, a superb actor…Safe passage James. Love to your family.

— Rene Auberjonois (@reneauberjonois) March 29, 2016

The sitcom ran from 1979-1986 and was unique among other shows due to featuring a black actor, Robert Guillaume, in the leading role at time when that was unusual.

Nobel’s other TV spots include most of the hits of the 1970s and 1980s, including Fantasy Island, Hart to Hart, Starsky and Hutch, and The Love Boat. 

Before his death, the actor formed Open the Gate Pictures with his producing partner Colleen Murphy and made a short film “Glacier Bay.”

Fans also took to social media to send condolences to the star.

RIP James Noble aka legend #rip #benson #jamesnoble #robertguillaume #classictv #tvshow #classictvshow #f4f #follow #instafollow

A photo posted by @tmax44 on Mar 29, 2016 at 11:09pm PDT