Dabney Coleman was born in Austin, Texas, on January 3, 1932, and was famous for appearing in popular films like 1980’s “9 to 5” alongside Dolly Parton, and 1982’s “Tootsie,” which was directed by Sydney Pollack. Coleman talked to Vulture about finding fame, saying that he owed part of his success to something unexpected. “Without the mustache, I looked too much like Richard Nixon,” he said. “There’s no question that when I grew that mustache, all of a sudden, everything changed.” Granted, Coleman wasn’t always aware of how things were about to change, even when it came to two of his most notable roles.
“In both ‘9 to 5’ and ‘Tootsie,’ we didn’t have a clue,” Coleman said in 2014 while getting a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, according to Variety. “We thought ‘Tootsie’ was going to be a bomb, and it went on to make, what, something like $200 million? And ‘9 to 5,’ with those little cartoons and stuff thrown in there, we thought, … ‘This is a stretch.’ So we didn’t have a clue, we didn’t know. And I think, as I look back, I’m not sure the critics knew either.” Coleman may not have known how popular the films would be, but that doesn’t change the fact that because of them, he’ll always be a part of Hollywood history.
Our condolences go out to Coleman’s family, friends, and fans.
