Early life Born
Barry Clark Heacock, his name was changed to
Joseph Spalding Coe when his mother, Jean Elizabeth Shea, married Joseph Spalding Coe in 1940 in Los Angeles. His father, Francis Elmer "Frank" Heacock, a writer and publicist for
Warner Bros., was killed in an auto accident in North Hollywood, California, on April 5, 1940. Coe attended the
University of Southern California and was discovered by a talent scout during a trip with his fraternity to Palm Springs in the mid-1950s. He was signed by 20th Century Fox.
20th Century Fox Coe's early film roles included appearances in
House of Bamboo (1955),
How to Be Very, Very Popular (1955),
On the Threshold of Space (1956), and
D-Day the Sixth of June (1956). He had a small role in
Elvis Presley's
Love Me Tender (1956). He was in adaptations of
The Late George Apley and
Deep Water for
The 20th Century Fox Hour. Coe had supporting roles in
One Foot in Hell (1960) with
Alan Ladd and
The Wizard of Baghdad (1961). In 1960, he received a
Golden Globe for the Most Promising Newcomer - Male, along with
James Shigeta,
Troy Donahue, and
George Hamilton.
Follow the Sun In 1961, Coe and
Brett Halsey played magazine writers Paul Templin and Ben Gregory, respectively, with
Gary Lockwood as Eric Jason, on the ABC television network series
Follow the Sun from September 17, 1961, through April 8, 1962. The program was set in Honolulu, Hawaii, and the writers often ventured into private detective work. Despite some memorable episodes,
Follow the Sun was cancelled after 29 segments. After
Follow the Sun folded, Coe appeared in a supporting role in Fox's
The 300 Spartans (1962) then guest-starred in 1962 on the first episode of the fourth season of
Bonanza. He portrayed Clay Stafford, who reveals himself to be the "fourth" Cartwright, a half brother to Little Joe (
Michael Landon) via their mother Marie. Although stepfather Ben Cartwright (
Lorne Greene) and Joe take Clay at his word, the other Cartwright brothers, Hoss (
Dan Blocker) and Adam (
Pernell Roberts) are skeptical and intend to investigate Clay's claim. The episode, "The First Born", could have introduced Coe as a new cast member. Entertainment writer Hal Ericson reported that friction (i.e., job security) on the set caused
Bonanza producers to stick with the three brothers. Coe guest-starred on
Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea and appeared as a communications aide in
Fantastic Voyage (1966) and as Walt Kilby in
The Cat (1966) and
The Seven Minutes (1971). He had a semiregular role on ''
Bracken's World''.
Later career He starred as Fred Saunders in
Doctor Death: Seeker of Souls in 1973 and as a reporter in
Gregory Peck's
MacArthur in 1977. His last film role was as diving instructor Tom Andrews in
Jaws 2 in 1978. He had a brief stint as Dr. Rex Pierce in the soap opera
General Hospital in 1974. His other television appearances include
Mission: Impossible and
The Moneychangers. From the late 1970s into the early 1980s, Coe was "Mr. Goodwrench" in television advertising for
General Motors’ passenger vehicle dealer services. ==Personal life and death==