Actor George Coe Remembered

He was an original member of “Saturday Night Live,” he played opposite Dustin Hoffman and Meryl Streep in the divorce drama “Kramer vs. Kramer,” and he voiced such characters as Woodhouse on the animated series “Archer” and Wheeljack in “Transformers: Dark of the Moon.”

Actor George Coe was one of those faces you may have not known by name but may have recognized onscreen, and around town, as Coe lived in the Highlands for many years. Coe died in Santa Monica on July 18 at the age of 86.

“George was a lover of life. He worked all the way to last July,” said wife Susan Coe, before succumbing to complications from lymphoma, which he had been managing for 20 years.

In addition to wife Susan, Coe is survived by twin daughters Amy, of Chicago, and Jennifer of Milan, Italy, from a previous marriage; and four grandsons.

Born George Julian Cohen in Jamaica, Queens, Coe started out on the Broadway stage, where he originated the role of “David” in “Company.”

Coe scored an Academy Award nomination for his 1968 short “The Dove (De Düva),” an Ingmar Bergman spoof which he starred in and co-directed with Anthony Lover.

“It was Madeline Kahn’s first movie,” Susan Coe noted.

At 46, Coe became the oldest male to join the Not Ready for Prime Time Players on the inaugural 1975-76 season of “Saturday Night Live.”

“He was kind of a foil for them. He loved it,” Susan Coe said.

On the 1980s oddity “Max Headroom,” Coe played Network 23 head Ben Cheviot. The actor’s myriad TV credits also included “Curb Your Enthusiasm” (starring Larry David), “Wilfred,” “Two and a Half Men,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Supernatural,” “Nip/Tuck,” “Judging Amy,” “The West Wing” (as Sen. Howard Stackhouse), “The King of Queens,” “Smallville,” “Crossing Jordan,” “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” “Murphy Brown,” “Remington Steele” and “The Golden Girls.”

In 2009, Coe portrayed Adam Sandler’s dad in then-Palisades resident Judd Apatow’s feature film dramedy, “Funny People.”

“He really had a good time doing it,” Susan Coe recalled. “I remember we went to the opening night on a roof in Hollywood. George loved working, didn’t matter the circumstances.”

TV writer/playwright Jerry Mayer, a longtime Paseo Miramar resident and friend of Coe, was instrumental in introducing the actor to his wife, the former Susan Massaron. Mayer had befriended the English-native Massaron, taking her baking class at Pritikin Longevity Center in Santa Monica.

“They were both attractive, articulate, humorous and single,” Mayer said of the pair. “Emily and I invited them both to dinner and they fell in love. They got married in an elegant ceremony at the Ritz-Carlton in Laguna Beach and they enjoyed 16 years of wedded bliss.”

To be honest, Susan was not initially interested in dating another actor. As a longtime producer of commercials, she discovered too many of them tended to be “full of themselves.”

However, “when I first went to George’s house, what impressed me the most was that there was not one photo of him in his house, only his kids.”

Coe was the voice of Toyota for some seven years, his widow added.

Other voiceover credits by Coe included Tee Watt Kaa in “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” animated series and video games such as “Star Wars: The Old Republic ~ Rise of the Hutt Cartel” and “Guild Wars 2.”

Of the diverse credits Coe amassed, “the most fan mail he ever got was from ‘Archer,’ also for a ‘Star Trek’ episode he did years ago from Trekkies [as well as fans of] ‘Clone Wars’ and ‘Transformers.’

The couple was always astounded by the intellect of these sci-fi fans.

“These were erudite letters we would get from people,” she said.

Nevertheless, Coe never appeased this fandom by making convention appearances.

“He was very lucky, he had an internal clock,” she continued. “I went to one of the last recording sessions. It was a commercial and there was about 30 seconds of copy in 26 seconds. George had a knack to cut time without it sounding hurried.”

The Coes loved to go see movies, watch quality television or catch a play at the Geffen Playhouse.

Coe was also a big fan of Woody Allen’s work and James Gandolfini.

“He was terribly upset when he died,” Coe said of the “Sopranos” star. “He thought he was an absolutely terrific actor.”

Mayer will miss his dear friend as well as working with the actor, as he did on Santa Monica Playhouse productions of his plays, “A Love Affair” and “Black and Bluestein.”

“Our relationship as playwright and outstanding actor was never blemished by any disagreements,” Mayer said. “George was always a total mensch. He was loved by directors, his fellow actors, everyone backstage and most of all anyone lucky enough to be in the audience.”

People were important to Coe, who maintained friendships from high school, military prep school and many points of his professional career.

“Martin Sheen was a good friend,” Susan Coe said.

Coe also worked with Bryan Cranston pre-“Breaking Bad” while one of his first wife’s card game buddies was Marlon Brando.

Restaurant-wise, “George loved Modo Mio [Cucina Rustica] very much,” Susan Coe said.

The woman at reception once told Susan, “‘We have a lot of married couples that come in here, they sit and eat dinner and they don’t talk to each other. You two never stop talking.’”

Indeed, she feels that she and “my best friend” had worlds in common.

“We loved each other’s company,” she said.

Evidently, Coe’s fans also appreciated his company via their televisions, as the Internet was rife with Coe tributes last week.

“George would have been astounded,” Susan Coe said.

—MICHAEL AUSHENKER