Dabney Wharton Coleman (January 3, 1932 – May 16, 2024) was an American actor. He was recognized for his roles portraying egomaniacal and unlikeable characters in comedic performances. Throughout his career, he appeared in over 175 films and television programs and received awards for both comedic and dramatic performances.

Coleman's notable films include 9 to 5 (1980), On Golden Pond (1981), Tootsie (1982), WarGames (1983), Cloak & Dagger (1984), and You've Got Mail (1998). His significant television roles included Merle Jeeter on Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman (1976–1977), the title characters in Buffalo Bill (1983–1984) and The Slap Maxwell Story (1987–1988), and Burton Fallin on The Guardian (2001–2004). Later in his career, he portrayed Louis "The Commodore" Kaestner on Boardwalk Empire (2010–2011). His final role was an appearance on Yellowstone (2019). As a voice actor, he provided the voice of Principal Peter Prickly on Recess (1997–2001) and in several movies based on the series.

Coleman won one Primetime Emmy Award from six nominations and one Golden Globe Award from three nominations.

Dabney Coleman was born the youngest of four children in Austin, Texas, on January 3, 1932, to Randolph and Mary Johns Coleman. His father died from pneumonia when Dabney was four years old. He and his older brother and two older sisters were then raised by his mother in Corpus Christi, Texas. He attended Corpus Christi High School, where he excelled at tennis and became nationally ranked as a junior tennis player.

In 1949, at the age of 17, he enrolled at Virginia Military Institute, where he studied for two years and competed on the school's tennis team. He then attended the University of Texas at Austin for two years, graduating in 1954 with a B.A. in drama. Coleman later recalled that he did not pass many courses and that he was "too busy playing Ping-Pong at the Phi Delta Theta house and calling girls". He was drafted into the United States Army in 1953 and served in West Germany in the Army's Special Services for two years. He later told an interviewer, "I spent my military service either playing or teaching tennis." After being discharged by the Army in 1955, he returned to the University of Texas at Austin to enroll in law school.

That was the turning point in my career. I had done a comedy, That Girl, the first season, kind of a weird-ass character that didn't attract a lot of attention. It was okay in retrospect. When I've seen 'em in replays it wasn't bad, but it wasn't as colorful or as catchy as the Merle Jeeter character, which was supposed to be six episodes and then gone. But I was good in the part. The writing was very good, the people I worked with were excellent, and the character was just wonderful. Just a once-in-a-lifetime character ... he was just the worst human being, Merle Jeeter. [Laughs.] That's kind of where it all started, as far as people's belief that I could do comedy, particularly that negative, caustic, cynical kind of guy.

Coleman was not doing well in law school, and it seemed unlikely that he would become a lawyer. In 1957, while still in law school, Coleman married Ann Courtney Harrell. Though their marriage only lasted two years, it had a major impact on Coleman's career. A 45-minute visit from his wife's friend Zachary Scott inspired Coleman to drop out of law school and pursue acting as a career. Coleman recounted, "I'll never forget the way he stood and asked if my wife was at home. He had style. In that moment I knew I wanted to be an actor, to be like Zachary Scott. The next day I got on an airplane and flew to New York."

Once in New York City, Coleman started applying to acting schools. He enrolled in the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre, training with Sanford Meisner, and studied there from 1958 to 1960. Meisner told him: "You're ideal for us. You've lived some." Another one of his instructors was the future director Sydney Pollack, with whom Coleman would soon become friends.