Coote was educated at Hurstpierpoint College in Sussex. He began his stage career at the age of 16, performing in England, South Africa and Australia before arriving in Hollywood in the late 1930s. He played a succession of pompous British types in supporting roles, including a brief but memorable turn as Sgt. Bertie Higginbotham in Gunga Din (1939). His acting career was interrupted by his service as a squadron leader in the Canadian Air Force during World War II. He played Bob Trubshawe in Powell and Pressburger's A Matter of Life and Death (1946), chosen for the first-ever Royal Film Performance on November 1, 1946, before he returned to Hollywood, where his films included The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947), Forever Amber (1947), The Three Musketeers (1948) and Orson Welles' Othello (1952).

In 1956 Coote created the role of Colonel Pickering in the original Broadway production of My Fair Lady (1956-1962), which he reprised in the musical's 1976-1977 Broadway revival. He also originated the role of King Pellinore in the Broadway production of Camelot (1960-1963). He was nominated for an Emmy Award for his performance as Timmy St. Clair in the NBC TV series The Rogues (1964-1965).

In his last feature film performance, Coote portrayed one of the critics dispatched by Vincent Price in Theatre of Blood (1973). His final role was that of orchid nurse Theodore Horstmann in the 1981 NBC TV series Nero Wolfe, starring William Conrad.

The veteran British character actor died in his sleep at the New York Athletic Club in November 1982, at the age of 73.

• Sally in our Alley (UK 1931) (uncredited) as Waiter at Party
• Loyalties (UK 1933) as Robert
• A Yank at Oxford(US-UK 1938) as Wavertree
• Gunga Din (1939) as Sgt. Bertie Higginbotham
• Commandos Strike at Dawn (1942) as Robert Bowen
• Forever and a Day (1943) as Blind Officer
• A Matter of Life and Death (UK 1946) as Bob Trubshawe
• The Ghost and Mrs. Muir(1947) as Mr. Coombe
• Forever Amber(1947) as Sir Thomas Dudley
• The Three Musketeers (1948) as Aramis
• The Elusive Pimpernel(UK 1950) as Sir Andrew ffloulkes
• The Desert Fox: The Story of Rommel(1951) (uncredited) as British Officer
• Scaramouche(1952) as Gaston Binet
• Othello(1952) as Roderigo
• The Merry Widow (1952) as Marquis De Crillon
• The Prisoner of Zenda(1952) as Fritz von Tarlenheim
• The Swan(1956) as Capt. Wunderlich
• Merry Andrew(1958) as Dudley Larabee
• The Horse's Mouth(UK 1958) as Sir William Beeder
• The League of Gentlemen (UK 1960) as Bunny Warren
• The Rogues(1964-1965, TV series) as Timmy St. Clair
• A Man Could Get Killed(1966) as Hatton
• Prudence and the Pill(1968) as Henry Hardcastle
• Theatre of Blood (UK 1973) as Oliver Larding
• Nero Wolfe(1981, TV series) as Theodore Horstmann

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