Noel Coleman

Noel Coleman (26 November 1919 – 12 October 2007) was an English actor whose career spanned stage, television, and film across several decades. He received his formal training at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.

Coleman's stage work encompassed both West End and Broadway productions. In 1951 he appeared on Broadway in two plays: Antony and Cleopatra and Caesar and Cleopatra.

Television formed a substantial part of Coleman's professional output. Among his most recognized roles was General Smythe in the 1969 Doctor Who serial The War Games, and he portrayed the Cat Priest in the Red Dwarf episode "Waiting for God." In 1971 he played General Webb across all eight episodes of the BBC series The Last of the Mohicans. During the mid-1980s he held a recurring role as Brian Palmer in the Channel 4 soap opera Brookside. His broader television credits included Emergency – Ward 10, The Adventures of Robin Hood, Z-Cars, The Invisible Man, Dixon of Dock Green, The Avengers, Play for Today, Doctor at Large, The Top Secret Life of Edgar Briggs, The Fenn Street Gang, Sykes, Yus My Dear, Emmerdale, The Adventures of Black Beauty, Happy Ever After, The Duchess of Duke Street, Mind Your Language, Terry and June, The New Statesman, Chancer, Lovejoy, and The Detectives.

Coleman's film appearances included You Can't Escape (1956), Burke & Hare (1971), Our Miss Fred (1972), Edge of Sanity (1989), and Under Suspicion (1991). In 1957 he served as the original narrator of the animated series Captain Pugwash, a role subsequently taken over by Howard Marion-Crawford and later by Peter Hawkins.