George Coe Dead: ‘Saturday Night Live,’ ‘Archer,’ ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’ Actor Dies Aged 86

Oscar-nominated actor George Coe has died at the age of 86 after a long illness. Coe died on Saturday in Santa Monica, California.

Coe had a long and eclectic career as an actor. In fact, he was an original cast member of Saturday Night Live, while he also appeared in a number of other roles over a 50-year period.

Coe was credited as a cast member on Saturday Night Live‘s first show, which aired in October, 1975. After this debut, Coe appeared in a number of other skits on the celebrated sketch show. However, he was never actually credited again.

In 1968, Coe was nominated for an Academy Award for his work as the co-director of The Dove. The Dove is a short comedy film that poked fun at the films of legendary Swedish director Ingmar Bergman, and it even borrowed heavily from a variety of Bergman’s films — including Wild Strawberries and The Seventh Seal.

Television fans will primarily recognize Coe from his work on Archer, where, since the beginning of the series, he was voiced the character of Woodhouse — who is the valet and servant for the titular character that is repeatedly abused by the secret agent.

Coe also appeared in a variety of other hugely popular television shows, including the likes of Curb Your Enthusiasm, Gilmore Girls, Star Trek: The Next Generation, The Golden Girls, Murder, She Wrote, and The King Of Queens, while he also portrayed cult character Senator Howard Stackhouse in The West Wing, too.

Coe’s film career included roles in The Stepford Wives, Kramer vs Kramer — where he played the head of Dustin Hoffman’s character’s advertising firm — Transformers: Dark Of The Moon, The Mighty Ducks, and Funny People.

Born in Jamaica, Queens, George Coe originally honed his craft and excelled on Broadway, appearing in a number of plays from his debut in 1957. This included Not Ready For Prime Time Players, where he was an original cast member, which ultimately led to him being cast in Saturday Night Live.

Coe also worked tirelessly as a member on the Screen Actors Guild’s national board of directors, where he also served as the vice president for two years. According to Variety, he even helped to create the original template for what became SAG’s first low-budget production contract.

[Image via HNGN]