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Dabney Coleman, best known for his portrayal of cantankerous characters in films such as Tootsie and 9 to 5, has died at age 92, BBC News reported.

Originally from Austin, Texas, he died at his home in Santa Monica, California, his daughter told US media.

Mr Coleman began his career on Broadway in the 1960s.

He later became known as a character actor in a variety of TV and film roles, as well as for his trademark moustache.

One of his breakthrough parts was as a devious politician in the soap opera Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman in the 1970s.

In 9 to 5, released in 1980, he starred opposite Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, and Dolly Parton, playing the role of Franklin Hart Jr - their obnoxious, sexist boss.

His character in 1982's Tootsie was similarly lacking in redeeming qualities, as was the title character of Buffalo Bill, the NBC sitcom Mr Coleman later starred in.

But although he was best known for playing nasty men for laughs, he also took on a range of dramatic roles and voice-over work.

"Acting is acting, in my opinion," he told an interviewer in 2012, about the shifts in his career. "And if you can't make that adjustment, something's awfully wrong."

Mr Coleman won an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe for his TV appearances.

More recently he appeared in the western drama Yellowstone, and had a recurring role as an influential businessman in the HBO gangster saga Boardwalk Empire.

His daughter, singer Quincy Coleman, told The Hollywood Reporter: "My father crafted his time here on Earth with a curious mind, a generous heart and a soul on fire with passion, desire and humour that tickled the funny bone of humanity."

"As he lived, he moved through this final act of his life with elegance, excellence and mastery," she said.