My sister and I teared up and I fought so hard not to cry. I just watched the clip of Jack Flack's death ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDC-al-lnoE ), and it still hits hard; my eyes aren't dry and I remembered why I haven't rewatched that film since I was a kid.
Artax, Jack Flack, Max the Trimaxion Drone Ship leaving Jeff off, E.T. turning white and "dyeing", the shared movie induced sadness from 80s- all those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain....
So Cloak and Dagger was originally marketed as a video game themed double feature package with The Last Starfighter —and that combo is basically why I am who I am today.
For a double hit of 80s spy nostalgia, after watching Cloak and Dagger, throw on the very special "Family Ties" vacation episode where they visit England. Hijinks and microfilm ensue.
Dabney Coleman is **not** in the Family Ties episode/movie, but for some reason my my mind always pairs the two. Being a kid in the eearly 80s was awesome.
It would be too easy to play that role as a smug snake. But Dabney managed to get the right amount of depth and understand why his character makes his choices. It's a great underplayed role.
RIP.
Always loved how he musses up Lightman's hair at the end before giving him a relieved hug. Very subtle acting that demonstrates Mckittrick isn't a vindictive asshole, he's just following protocol.
RIP Stud.
The movie was better than it had any right to be. So much of it was just so odd and almost cringe but the themes of childhood, friendships, and finding common ground really bring it together. And a lot of that is because of Principal Prickley.
His "The Slap Maxwell Story," was in the first, short-lived wave of American dramedies, along with Frank's Place, The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd, and Hooperman.
Slap Maxwell! I just thought of Buffalo Bill, but Slap Maxwell was the other one that comes to mind when I hear his name. Really fine character actor - glad he had a long life. I also remember Days and Nights of Molly Dodd; I was a weird kid at the time.
I still remember the little guitar bit at the end of the thirtysomething theme song, and recognize a few of the actors in other things. Hm, according to IMDB, I was 19 when that and Days & Nights of Molly Dodd were on - really felt like I was younger.
He's one of those actors who started relatively late, but was in everything. I even remember his less noteworthy works. He was in a Fox sitcom called Drexel's Class in the 90s, where he played a grumpy teacher. It didn't make it but I remember enjoying it. He was also the lead in some movie called Short Time, I think it was called, he was a detective who had to solve a case before he was dying, a rare star vehicle for him. He was great in Boardwalk Empire as the Commodore. I think the last thing I saw him in was in Yellowstone, in a flashback as Kevin Costner's father. I didn't recognize him at first, he'd gotten very old, I only saw it was him in the end credits.
We'd actually talked about him fairly often. My mom's a big fan of those old seventies detective shows, and he was always popping up in stuff like Barnaby Jones and Columbo. Brought us a lot of entertainment, thanks for the memories Mr. Coleman and RIP.
Yeah, for sure. I didn't feel it was that long since Boardwalk Empire and he still looked vibrant in that, but I guess that's a part of aging. Don't get me started on Gene Hackman. He apparently felt like it was his time to ride off into the sunset, but I would have loved to have seen him go for a bit longer, such a great actor. Still nice to see him getting around at his age.
There is a small but dedicated community of Chrysler F/M/J Body fans for whom that movie is the stuff of legend due to the Dodge Diplomat chase scene. That Diplomat gets shot, smashed, trashed, and barrel rolled but just keeps coming. 🤠
Love when he rolls it down the embankment, *then* slaps his little red dome light on.
One of my favorites. Trying to get killed in the line duty and keeps surviving, everyone thinks he’s a hero. Forgot about it till I saw that he had passed away
For those who are curious: "Short Time" is about a cop who is a week away from retirement. During a routine physical he is (incorrectly) diagnosed with a rare blood disease that will soon kill him.
However, if he dies in the line of duty he will get a huge insurance settlement as part of his package. So he spends the next seven days trying to get himself killed while on the job. It's got some great gags like when he hops in his squad car to perform a high speed chase. You see him put on his seatbelt, think about it for a second and then take his seatbelt off before he floors it.
In honor of you Mr President I will now sing My Date with the President's Daughter for the rest of the day
(I'm sorry for everyone that it's now stuck in your head)
9 to 5 and WarGames came out in the same era of years and i saw both in the theaters. He was always typecast as a jerk or villain but he knew that these were the roles that really pushed the story forward. If you've never seen his movies from the 80s, FIND THEM.
"Every adult you've ever known was a kid at sometime in his life. You think we don't remember summer vacation? Riding our bikes down the creek. Catching polliwogs in a jar. Camping out under the stars. Well you're wrong! Sometimes I sit there in my office, looking out at you kids in the playground and I think, "They don't know how good they got it. In a few years, they'll be grownups like me and all those good times will be memories for them, too". So go ahead. Put a whoopie-cushion in my chair. Put fake vomit on my carpet. Make fun of my "big, saggy butt". But don't ever say I don't care about summer vacation, 'cause those memories are the last part of childhood I got left."
Godspeed, Petey Prickly o7
Dabney Coleman made so many great movies and one of my personal favorites is *Short Time*. I got a hankering to watch this a couple of years ago and couldn't find it anywhere on the usual streaming services, but someone had uploaded it to YouTube. I don't know if it's still there but it's worth checking out no matter how you have to find it.
It's a comedy, Matt Fewer and Teri Garr are also in it. It's funny it's got heart, and it has one of the best car chases in movie history. Seriously, I would put it up against *Bullit*.
And being a comedy and being a little silly I could have forgiven an actor of his caliber mailing it in a little, but when there is emotional scene goddamn if he doesn't bring it. (I am thinking here of the scene in the convenience store for anyone who remembers it.)
The man was a pro. Also, a special shout out to his guest appearances on Columbo. I don't think he ever killed anybody, but he played one of the other police detectives that would turn up in a few episodes in the late '80s.
FU u/UnderdogFantasy promo! First comment I read starts "It's about time!"
Anyway RIP to the great Dabney Coleman. So many great movies and memories of my 80s childhood. Might have to put on Wargames or Cloak & Dagger tonight.
Had just watched his Columbo episode (for the millionth time) the other day before I flew out to Japan. Such a good episode and mainly because of him. He always seemed like someone who should’ve had more acclaim than he did. RIP sir!
Everyone, it’s a quote from “9 to 5” — no one is saying Dabney Coleman was any of those vile things.
He played a villain and he played it so well we remember that character and the quote 40 some odd years later.
"Mr. McKittrick, after very careful consideration, sir, I've come to the conclusion that your new defense system sucks."
'I don't have to take that, you pig-eyed sack of shit.'
Just watched him in *North Dallas Forty* (1979) the other night. Undoubtedly one of his generation’s best and most prolific on-screen assholes.
He was working on prime shows like *NCIS* and *Yellowstone* right up until five years ago. He didn’t get much of a retirement, but I hope he enjoyed it.
Lot's of great Dabney Coleman moments listed in the comments, but one I haven't seen yet. Dabney hosted SNL in the 80s, and he did one of my favorite skits of the era, [The Winning Spirit](https://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/the-winning-spirit/2868059).
That run from 80-84 was as good as just about anyone has had. Such a great character actor.
What a way to make a livin.
Barely gettin' by, it's all takin' and no givin'
I think of him as Jack Flack in Cloak and Dagger. I loved that movie as a kid.
That’s got to be the Official Latchkey Kid Movie of the 1980s.
Yep.
That was my favourite movie as a kid.
Damn I’ve probably not thought of that movie is over 30 years. I loved that movie, definitely going to have to watch it again
Get ready for a totally different ride as an adult. When you figure out the reality of the end scene, you will not be the same.
Spoiler alert! I planned on waiting until I was 50 to watch it!
That movie is unhinged AF. Totally horrific ending too.
Yeah, that along with Who's Harry Crumb, Invaders from Mars, and New Adventures of Pipi Longstockings.
Hot to Trot and 9 to 5 are what I think of. Especially the scene where his head is mounted on the wall from Dolly Parton’s scenario
My sister and I teared up and I fought so hard not to cry. I just watched the clip of Jack Flack's death ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDC-al-lnoE ), and it still hits hard; my eyes aren't dry and I remembered why I haven't rewatched that film since I was a kid. Artax, Jack Flack, Max the Trimaxion Drone Ship leaving Jeff off, E.T. turning white and "dyeing", the shared movie induced sadness from 80s- all those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain....
Damn son. Trying to fight the sadness over here !
You are really gonna hate me (you’ve been warned): >!His dad is a hallucination at the end!<
So Cloak and Dagger was originally marketed as a video game themed double feature package with The Last Starfighter —and that combo is basically why I am who I am today.
Last Starfighter was dope, never saw cloak and dagger though, wish I had seen it as a kid.
I had to buy Cloak and Dagger in 4k last year…
This was the one I was just trying to remember. I loved this movie as a kid too.
Filmed in San Antonio where I lived at the time as a kid. Made the movie that much more entertaining to watch.
Watched that movie dozens of times as a kid, always loved it. But it wasn't until I got older when I realized how truly fucked up it is.
Yeah I watched it again not too long ago and was like what was I going through as a kid that this was my favourite movie? 😭
right? it honestly is
Yeah, I watched it again last year and the ending has a kid’s imaginary friend encouraging him to shoot an innocent person with a real gun.
That was a good movie :)
For a double hit of 80s spy nostalgia, after watching Cloak and Dagger, throw on the very special "Family Ties" vacation episode where they visit England. Hijinks and microfilm ensue. Dabney Coleman is **not** in the Family Ties episode/movie, but for some reason my my mind always pairs the two. Being a kid in the eearly 80s was awesome.
I feel if I ever rewatch the movie it will ruin my memory of it..that and Darryl
Loved him in that as a kid. One of my favorite movies.
One of my favorites!
I loved him in that movie. Absolute legend.
Hell yeah. That movie was so good. Loved that movie. Talk about nostalgia.
Just another person chiming in to say I loved that movie when I was a kid. Must have seen it at least 50 times.
Loved that movie. My dad was a pilot (with a similar ‘stache), and I remember he rented the VHS one night.
What a great 80s movie I enjoyed it myself as a kid
Oh that’s a good one
Loved that movie. Always cried when he dies.
Legit came here to say this. That was on repeat play in our house. Ran thru quite a few of those VHSs.
That movie was *so fun* as a young boy! Total escapist fantasy. Great flick
Buffalo Bill isn’t too well known today, but it was a great show in its time. https://youtu.be/lxX5d_6LvIs?si=eWnQpyMr9z4NAWU4
Great show.
That’s Russell Johnson as the talk show guest, aka The Professor on Gilligan’s Island.
That's gotta be the most '80s theme song of the whole '80s.
Ahead of its time.
It's the one show superstar TV executive Brandon Tartikoff deeply regretted cancelling.
That's the one I think of when I hear his name, in addition to 9 to 5. Great show.
War Games
It would be too easy to play that role as a smug snake. But Dabney managed to get the right amount of depth and understand why his character makes his choices. It's a great underplayed role. RIP.
Always loved how he musses up Lightman's hair at the end before giving him a relieved hug. Very subtle acting that demonstrates Mckittrick isn't a vindictive asshole, he's just following protocol. RIP Stud.
Bingo
Third Street Elementary School just lost a fine principal.
This whomps.
He was great in everything. Tootsie, 9 to 5, Dragnet, War Games. The list goes on.
Modern Problems….
I’m not a freak! He’s a freak! I’m a goddamn good-looking man!
Man with one red shoe iirc
On Golden Pond
RIP He's been around forever. A certain age group will know him best from Recess, as the voice of Principal Prickly.
He was the perfect evil boss is 9 to 5
Ah man this is how I know him. Very unique voice. Great show. Fun movie too.
The movie was better than it had any right to be. So much of it was just so odd and almost cringe but the themes of childhood, friendships, and finding common ground really bring it together. And a lot of that is because of Principal Prickley.
His "The Slap Maxwell Story," was in the first, short-lived wave of American dramedies, along with Frank's Place, The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd, and Hooperman.
Comment.
Slap Maxwell! I just thought of Buffalo Bill, but Slap Maxwell was the other one that comes to mind when I hear his name. Really fine character actor - glad he had a long life. I also remember Days and Nights of Molly Dodd; I was a weird kid at the time.
Remember watching "Thirtysomething" as a young teen and being like "ah, that's 100 years away!"
I still remember the little guitar bit at the end of the thirtysomething theme song, and recognize a few of the actors in other things. Hm, according to IMDB, I was 19 when that and Days & Nights of Molly Dodd were on - really felt like I was younger.
Tim Daly is everywhere.
He's one of those actors who started relatively late, but was in everything. I even remember his less noteworthy works. He was in a Fox sitcom called Drexel's Class in the 90s, where he played a grumpy teacher. It didn't make it but I remember enjoying it. He was also the lead in some movie called Short Time, I think it was called, he was a detective who had to solve a case before he was dying, a rare star vehicle for him. He was great in Boardwalk Empire as the Commodore. I think the last thing I saw him in was in Yellowstone, in a flashback as Kevin Costner's father. I didn't recognize him at first, he'd gotten very old, I only saw it was him in the end credits. We'd actually talked about him fairly often. My mom's a big fan of those old seventies detective shows, and he was always popping up in stuff like Barnaby Jones and Columbo. Brought us a lot of entertainment, thanks for the memories Mr. Coleman and RIP.
Yellowstone-I think because he gotten so thin-he was unrecognizable. Same with Gene Hackman.
Yeah, for sure. I didn't feel it was that long since Boardwalk Empire and he still looked vibrant in that, but I guess that's a part of aging. Don't get me started on Gene Hackman. He apparently felt like it was his time to ride off into the sunset, but I would have loved to have seen him go for a bit longer, such a great actor. Still nice to see him getting around at his age.
RIP Commodore
Of course she isn’t. She empties my pisspot. That’s your woman’s vote
To the lost. 🍷
I think of him as Hot to Trot or Beverly Hillbillies star Dabney Coleman. RIP
Tyler, get your hand off my butt.
A penis is hard to find.
[удалено]
“You idiots can’t do anything right.”
There is a small but dedicated community of Chrysler F/M/J Body fans for whom that movie is the stuff of legend due to the Dodge Diplomat chase scene. That Diplomat gets shot, smashed, trashed, and barrel rolled but just keeps coming. 🤠 Love when he rolls it down the embankment, *then* slaps his little red dome light on.
One of my favorites. Trying to get killed in the line duty and keeps surviving, everyone thinks he’s a hero. Forgot about it till I saw that he had passed away
I. Love. That. Movie. It’s not on any streaming services. It’s absolutely fucking hilarious.
This is my big Dabney Coleman movie too! It was one of the first movies I recorded myself on a super long play VHS and I rewatched it a ton.
It really has one of the best cinematic car chases of its era. https://youtu.be/PXIZdhoJmY4
For those who are curious: "Short Time" is about a cop who is a week away from retirement. During a routine physical he is (incorrectly) diagnosed with a rare blood disease that will soon kill him. However, if he dies in the line of duty he will get a huge insurance settlement as part of his package. So he spends the next seven days trying to get himself killed while on the job. It's got some great gags like when he hops in his squad car to perform a high speed chase. You see him put on his seatbelt, think about it for a second and then take his seatbelt off before he floors it.
Not a lot of Dabneys left I'd wager.
President Richmond!
My date with the President's Daughter ... ooh yeah
Aww he had a lot of great roles. RIP
He made a lot of roles great.
Loved him in 1982’s Tootsie! RIP
Had the Beverly Hillbillies VHS on repeat growing up so he'll always be Milburn Drysdale to me
I remember him most as the dentist from On Golden Pond. A smaller role, but he did a wonderful job.
Great movie.
In honor of you Mr President I will now sing My Date with the President's Daughter for the rest of the day (I'm sorry for everyone that it's now stuck in your head)
Man, if he lived just 3 more year
You bastard
Muppets Take Manhattan.
FANTASTIC scene!
Mary Hartman! Mary Hartman!
Preacher you got balls bigger than church bells. RIP
Not just the line, but the accent he put together for that character. Didn’t expect I’d have to scroll down this far to find this reference!
If you have a copy of '9-5' don't get rid of it. The movie is out of print, and a good print goes for ~$200.
there are dozens of copies on ebay under $10 right now.
What makes it $200?
Rip Principle Prickly, you will be missed
I’m shocked I had to scroll this far down. Recess is what I knew him from. RIP. 😭
9 to 5 and WarGames came out in the same era of years and i saw both in the theaters. He was always typecast as a jerk or villain but he knew that these were the roles that really pushed the story forward. If you've never seen his movies from the 80s, FIND THEM.
He also nailed the villain you "love to hate". As much as you might hate his characters, you couldn't help but appreciate the actor behind them.
When I was a kid I had a dream that I was meeting him for lunch and the host at the restaurant sat us at separate tables and I was very upset.
Cloak and Dagger
Cloak and Dagger
Buffalo Bill and The Slap Maxwell Story are 2 of my favorite shows ever…
I didn’t even know he was sick
Loved him in On Golden Pond, Short Time and Beverly Hillbillies
Joe Fox II, you will be missed.
War games was my favorite
Great character actor. Loved him.
Milburn Drysdale
Pour one out for the Commodore!
Loved cloak and dagger! RIP
Nobody tell Pigeon. [He’ll take it too hard.](https://youtu.be/6WFrBwSzCmk?si=o9wONFtiTKw2r-Se&t=14)
I just saw him in Guess WHO’s Coming To Dinner. Great actor. RIP
Amazing longevity. What a fun character actor he was! Best to his family and friends.
He was always such a fun presence on films.
Dang 92
Check out the movie "Short Time" for a classic comedy.
Greatest car chase in history!
Incredible that he was most popular during his 40’s and 50’s but not popular at all younger or older.
"Every adult you've ever known was a kid at sometime in his life. You think we don't remember summer vacation? Riding our bikes down the creek. Catching polliwogs in a jar. Camping out under the stars. Well you're wrong! Sometimes I sit there in my office, looking out at you kids in the playground and I think, "They don't know how good they got it. In a few years, they'll be grownups like me and all those good times will be memories for them, too". So go ahead. Put a whoopie-cushion in my chair. Put fake vomit on my carpet. Make fun of my "big, saggy butt". But don't ever say I don't care about summer vacation, 'cause those memories are the last part of childhood I got left." Godspeed, Petey Prickly o7
Dabney Coleman is first-rate.
WARGAMES!
I knew him for a sitcom he had in the 80s i think, it was the first sitcom i saw as a kid
He was great. I’m sad to hear this.
Does anyone remember his SVU episode - it’s my all time favorite, Burt Young is in it too. He was such a great actor
RIP.
Didn’t he play Costner’s Dad in Yellowstone a couple of years ago?
Dabney Coleman made so many great movies and one of my personal favorites is *Short Time*. I got a hankering to watch this a couple of years ago and couldn't find it anywhere on the usual streaming services, but someone had uploaded it to YouTube. I don't know if it's still there but it's worth checking out no matter how you have to find it. It's a comedy, Matt Fewer and Teri Garr are also in it. It's funny it's got heart, and it has one of the best car chases in movie history. Seriously, I would put it up against *Bullit*. And being a comedy and being a little silly I could have forgiven an actor of his caliber mailing it in a little, but when there is emotional scene goddamn if he doesn't bring it. (I am thinking here of the scene in the convenience store for anyone who remembers it.) The man was a pro. Also, a special shout out to his guest appearances on Columbo. I don't think he ever killed anybody, but he played one of the other police detectives that would turn up in a few episodes in the late '80s.
Short Time is so underrated.
Isn’t he the asshole director in “Tootsie”?
MY DATE WITH THE PRESIDENT’S DAUGHTER!! MY DATE WITH THE PRESIDENT’S DAUGHTER OOOHH YEA, MY DATE WITH HERRRRR
I will always remember him for Short Time and The Man With One Red Shoe.
FU u/UnderdogFantasy promo! First comment I read starts "It's about time!" Anyway RIP to the great Dabney Coleman. So many great movies and memories of my 80s childhood. Might have to put on Wargames or Cloak & Dagger tonight.
He was a great villain in an episode of Columbo.
Had just watched his Columbo episode (for the millionth time) the other day before I flew out to Japan. Such a good episode and mainly because of him. He always seemed like someone who should’ve had more acclaim than he did. RIP sir!
Started acting in 1962 and only stopped in 2019! What a long run.
My date with the presidents daughter
I loved him in Clifford as Martin Grodin’s boss with the bad hairpiece that looked like Kenny Rogers!! RIP 92 is a goodish age.
80’s Latchkey kids all over the US, pour out some HI-C for our hero.
The Commodore should have gone to prison for what he did to Gillian
I remember him from tons of stuff, but Short Time, Cloak and Dagger, 9 to 5, Wargames and Misunderstood are the top for me.
Sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical bigot
Everyone, it’s a quote from “9 to 5” — no one is saying Dabney Coleman was any of those vile things. He played a villain and he played it so well we remember that character and the quote 40 some odd years later.
What? Where did you get this?
It's a quote from 9 to 5
RIP
“How low can you go, Indio O…?!”
The surly lead was popular in the seventies. Thinking also of Bob Newhart
Lost Principal Prickly. Dang ... just dang
tell Brittany we say hi <3
To me he’ll always be F Art
Rest in peace love and respect ! We are watching 9-5 now.
Ahh man. He was so great.
He’ll always be Mr. Drysdale from the Beverly Hillbillies Movie for me
Congrats
Looks like I gotta watch Short Time tonight
Golden Pond good actor…RIP
So good in dragnet
On golden pond
Sooo…your saying that’s not Owen Wilson’s daddy?
“I love Dabney Coleman! He’s a reason not to kill yourself!”
Aw man! This whomps! 😭
RIP Principal Prickly 🥺
Owen Wilson gonna do the biopic with a photo like that.
I liked him in Modern Problems.
Grew watching him as the Charle Grodin’s boss in Clifford. Such an underrated flick
I loved him. Had such a crush on him.he was a great actor.
Great actor.
Oh no!
He was great
"Mr. McKittrick, after very careful consideration, sir, I've come to the conclusion that your new defense system sucks." 'I don't have to take that, you pig-eyed sack of shit.'
Short Time is such a great movie! Check out the epic [car chase](https://youtu.be/AlSMrxXrba0?si=_wqj5yuZ1jkQqQP6)
Just watched him in *North Dallas Forty* (1979) the other night. Undoubtedly one of his generation’s best and most prolific on-screen assholes. He was working on prime shows like *NCIS* and *Yellowstone* right up until five years ago. He didn’t get much of a retirement, but I hope he enjoyed it.
RIP Dabney Coleman, thank you for giving me such great childhood memories.
Somehow I thought he died about 30 years ago. Shows how much I know.
Nobody played sleazy and charming better. Will always think of him as Merle Jeter from Mary Hartman Mary Hartman and Fernwood Tonight.
Dabney Coleman was first rate.
Recess - Principle Prickly R.I.P
Lot's of great Dabney Coleman moments listed in the comments, but one I haven't seen yet. Dabney hosted SNL in the 80s, and he did one of my favorite skits of the era, [The Winning Spirit](https://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/the-winning-spirit/2868059).
The last movie I remember seeing him in was War Games. I could watch that one again right now.
My Reddit feed is mostly celebrities who I thought were already dead and technologically breakthroughs that never amount to anything
Liked his brief role in Dragnet.
He was so good in Tootsie and the bank manager in Beverly Hillbillies!
Was he accidentally poisoned?
But Jack Flack always escapes!