Frederick Coffin

Frederick D. Coffin (January 16, 1943 – July 31, 2003) was an American actor, singer, songwriter, and musician whose career spanned stage, film, and television. Born in Detroit, Michigan, he was one of five children of actress Winifred Deforest Coffin and writer Dean Coffin. He attended Western Reserve Academy in Hudson, Ohio, where he pursued both theater and athletics before graduating in 1961. Enrolling at the University of Michigan in 1962, Coffin initially intended to play football but shifted his focus to acting, ultimately earning both a bachelor's degree and a master's degree in theater from the institution.

Coffin's Broadway career ran from 1972 to 1976 and encompassed five productions: Much Ado About Everything, the musical Boom Boom, the comedy Boy Meets Girl, We Interrupt This Program..., and Secret Service. In 1979, he took on the role of Eliot Rosewater in the world premiere of the Howard Ashman and Alan Menken musical adaptation of Kurt Vonnegut's God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater. In 1997, Western Reserve Academy recognized him with its Knight Fellowship, one of the school's most distinguished honors.

His screen career began in 1973 with a television film adaptation of Much Ado About Nothing, in which he starred. His first feature film appearance came in 1976 in the drama Dragonfly, alongside Beau Bridges and Susan Sarandon. He subsequently appeared in King of the Gypsies, which received a Golden Globe nomination, and featured Shelley Winters. Throughout the 1980s, Coffin accumulated a range of film credits, including the horror film Alone in the Dark with Donald Pleasence, Without a Trace, Mother's Day (credited as Holden McGuire), Nothing Lasts Forever, the Richard Pryor biography Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling, the Ted Danson action comedy A Fine Mess, and The Bedroom Window. His film work in the 1990s included Wayne's World with Mike Myers and Dana Carvey, and the Steven Seagal film Hard to Kill. In 1999, he portrayed corrupt businessman Parker Wyndham in the Disney Channel original movie Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century. Two final films appeared before his death: View from the Top with Gwyneth Paltrow, and Identity with John Cusack.

Television occupied a substantial portion of Coffin's professional life. His first series appearance was on Great Performances, which featured presenters and performers including Walter Cronkite, Julie Andrews, and Liza Minnelli. He went on to make guest appearances on Kojak, Hill Street Blues, Moonlighting, The Twilight Zone, Remington Steele, Dallas (in six episodes), L.A. Law, The X-Files, Walker, Texas Ranger, Murder, She Wrote, Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, and the soap operas Ryan's Hope and The Edge of Night. Among his television film credits were Under Siege and a 1995 adaptation of A Streetcar Named Desire. He portrayed buffalo hunter Big Zwey in the 1989 epic miniseries Lonesome Dove. He was originally cast as the voice of the father in the animated series Family Dog but was later replaced by Martin Mull.

Coffin married actress Barbara Monte-Britton on September 25, 1977, and remained married to her until his death. He died on July 31, 2003, from lung cancer, having been a long-time chain smoker.