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Carolyn Owen Coates (April 29, 1927 – March 27, 2005) was an American stage, film and television actress. 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. 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 "he theater is like a family, like a home—all of the things I missed as a child."

After finally settling in Santa Monica, Coates studied acting at UCLA. There, she gained valuable experience, in roles such as Shakespeare's Juliet, Margaret in Thomas Dekker's The Shoemaker's Holiday (starring opposite a young William Schallert), and Cybel in Eugene O'Neill's The Great God Brown. 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, and as Aunt Connie in Mark Reed's Yes, My Darling Daughter.

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. 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.

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?"

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.

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. Their union produced 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

Filmography

Playlist

Notes

1. As per the gravestone photo featured on her Find a Grave page, the middle name Coates was given by her parents was Owen, her mother's maiden name.
2. On location at Circle in the Square Downtown, performing a scene from Jean Genet's The Balcony; episode also features producer Theodore Mann and director Jose Quintero.

References

1. "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.
2. Ragan, David (1992). Who's Who in Hollywood : The Largest Cast of International Film Personalities Ever Assembled. New York : Facts on File. p. 300. ISBN 0-8160-2011-6. "BORN: April 29, Oklahoma City, Okla."
3. ^ "Obituaries: Carolyn Coates". Variety. April 11, 2005. p. 59. ProQuest 236257020. Stage actress Carolyn Coates died March 27 of cancer in Branford, Conn. She was 77. Born in Oklahoma City, she grew up in Santa Monica, and started acting there in children's theater. After majoring in acting at UCLA, she worked in stock companies on the East Coast and met her future husband, James Noble in Worcester, Mass., playing Eliza Doolittle to his Henry Higgins in 'Pygmalion.' She appeared in many plays with Noble, including 'Long Day's Journey Into Night' and 'A Delicate Balance.' They studied with Lee Strasberg and were members of Paul Curtis' American Mime Theater.
4. ^ Carolyn Owen Coates Noble – Photo # 2. Find a Grave.
5. "United States, Social Security Numerical Identification Files (NUMIDENT), 1936-2007", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6K4H-QZQ8 : 11 February 2023), Jessica Owen in entry for Carolyn Coates, .
6. ^ Associated Press (March 31, 2005). "Carolyn Coates, stage actress, AIDS worker". Newsday (Suffolk edition). p. A57.
7. "Coates Rites Here Tuesday; Funeral Held in Christian Church". The Elk City Daily News. June 9, 1943. p. 1.
8. 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.
9. Schallert, Edwin (July 31, 1946). "Drama and Film: A.A. Drama to Be Filmed". Los Angeles Times. pt. II, p. 3.
10. Von Blon, Katherine (August 1, 1946). "Uclans Score in Bard Play". Los Angeles Times. pt. II, p. 2.
11. "17th Century Play Billed at UCLA". West Los Angeles Independent.
12. "Group Offers New Play at U.C.L.A.". Valley Times. April 21, 1947. p. 11.
13. Dehner, Dorothy (July 28, 1948). "Comedy Is Staged by Bolton Players". The Post-Star. p. 14.
14. Baker, Priscilla Lee (June 29, 1948). "Bolton Players Stage Play for Preview Audience". The Post-Star. p. 5.
15. ^ "Amusements: Off-Broadway Company Produces Giraudoux 'Electra'". Women's Wear Daily. April 19, 1954. p. 28. ProQuest 1565409412. An Off-Broadway group, the Playhouse Actors Company, lodged in the historic little Henry Street Playhouse, is the first to present a play by Jean Giraudoux, never before seen professionally in this country: 'Electra.' By special permission of Mme. Ninon Tallon Karlweis, who holds the rights to the Giraudoux script, and Winifred Smith, who did the translation, the company will present the play for seven nights opening April 19.
16. ^ Marks, Michelle (December 5, 1986) "Ask Michelle: Pigskin Performer?". The News-Messenger. p. 20.
17. Willis, John; Hodges, Ben; eds. (2006). Theatre World. Volume 60: 2003-2004. New York: Applause Theatre & Cinema Books. p. 262. ISBN 1-55783-651-5.
18. ^ "Friday, December 10, 1965; Evening". TV Guide. December 4, 1965. p. A-84.
19. "Sibelius Finnish Musical Program Scheduled Dec. 10". The North Adams Transcript. December 4, 1965. p. TV-4.
20. ^ "Sunday, May 14, 1967". TV Guide. May 13, 1967. pp. A-21, A-22.
21. ^ "May 28, 1967; Sunday Morning". TV Guide. May 13, 1967. pp. A-21, A-22.
22. 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.
23. "Goes Off-Broadway". The Bridgeport Post. July 20, 1961. p. 21.
24. "Late Additions, Deletions and Changes of the Previous Week's Listings". Ross Reports. July 24, 1961. p. 30-B.
25. "Sunday, May 23, 1965; Evening". TV Guide. May 22, 1965. p. A-19.
26. "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.
27. "Wednesday Evening". TV Guide. July 5, 1969. p. A-51.
28. "Sunday, January 18, 1970; Morning". TV Guide. January 17, 1970. p. A-16.
29. "Drama on 'Guideline' to Deal With Abortion". Florence Morning News. p. 19.
30. Gianakos, Larry James (1983). Television Drama Series Programming : A Comprehensive Chronicle, 1980-1982 Metuchen, N.J. : Scarecrow Press. p. 213. ISBN 0810816261.
31. Eagan, Daniel (2010). America's Film Legacy: The Authoritative Guide to the Landmark Movies in the National Film Registry New York: Continuum. p. 572. ISBN 978-0826-42977-3.
32. O'Brien, Daniel (2005). Paul Newman. London: Faber and Faber. p. 326. ISBN 9780571219872.
33. Skaggs, Calvin, ed. (1980). The American Short Story, Volume 2. New York: Dell. p. 215. ISBN 0-440-30297-8. "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)"
34. Kaplan, Mike (1981). Variety International Showbusiness Reference. Garland Publishing. p. 713. ISBN 9780824093419.
35. ^ Marill, Alvin H. (2005). Movies Made for Television, 1964-2004. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press. pp. 34, 173, 250, 349, 365.
36. ^ Ozer, Jerome, ed. (1983). Film Review Annual, 1982. Englewood, NJ: Film Review Publications. pp. 721, 892. ISBN 0-89198-126-8.
37. Woodward, Byerly, ed. (1985). Annual Index to Motion Picture Credits. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. p. 17. ISBN 9780942102031.
38. "Group Offers New Drama at U.C.L.A.". Valley Times. April 21, 1947. p. 11.
39. ^ Stars at Williamstown Relax; Nobles Happy to Rejoin Williamstown Theater. The Springfield Union. July 3, 1965. p. 6.
40. Bullett, J. Gordon (July 28, 1965). "Play Review: Chekhov's 'Three Sisters' Presented to Full House". The North Adams Transcript. p. 7.
41. Cooke, Richard P. (February 7, 1966). "The Theater: Black Illusion". Wall Street Journal. p. 14. ProQuest 133161514. Carolyn Coates plays Johanna with warmth and authority and along with George Coulouris as the Father, she produces the best moments of the play.
42. Oppenheimer, George (January 29, 1969). "On Stage: 'Fire's' Fire dims as Symbols Clash". Newsday. p. 54A.

External links

• Carolyn Coates at the Internet Broadway Database
• Carolyn Coates at IMDb

• 1927 births
• 2005 deaths
• 20th-century American actresses
• Actresses from Oklahoma
• American film actresses
• American television actresses
• American stage actresses
• Deaths from cancer in Connecticut
• People from Oklahoma City
• University of California, Los Angeles alumni