James Noble, The Goofy Governor On 'Benson,' Dies At 94

James Noble, the veteran TV, film and stage character actor who starred in the 1980s sitcom Benson, died Monday. He was 94.

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

Noble, whose career dated to the early 1950s, was best known for his role as Eugene Xavier Gatling, the scatterbrained-to-the-point-of-bumbling white governor of an unnamed state who is forever getting into scrapes only to be rescued by his sharp and sharp-tongued black "director of household affairs," Benson DuBois, played by Robert Guillaume.

The Dallas-born Noble had extensive credits before Benson, including roles in the soap opera The Doctors and in films like 10, Airplane II, and Being There. His Broadway credits 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.

Nobel's other TV credits include most of the hits of the 1970s and 1980s, including Fantasy Island, Hart to Hart, Starsky and Hutch, and The Love Boat, according to his Internet Movie Database page.

He married actress Carolyn Coates, and the two appeared onstage together in a number of regional productions, including Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf. His wife died in 2005.

After his years in Hollywood, Noble returned to Connecticut and his theatrical roots. He was an active member of the Theatre Artists Workshop since 1988.