Charles Coburn

Personal Info

Known For

Acting

Known Credits

84

Gender

Male

Birthday

1877-06-18

Deathday

1961-08-30 (84 years old)

Place of Birth

Macon, Georgia, USA

Also Known As

  • Charles Douville Coburn

Charles Coburn

Biography

Charles Douville Coburn (June 19, 1877 – August 30, 1961) was an American film and theatre actor. Best known for his work in comedies, Coburn received the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for 1943's The More the Merrier.

Coburn was born in Macon, Georgia, the son of Scotch-Irish Americans Emma Louise Sprigman (May 11, 1838 Springfield, Ohio – November 12, 1896 Savannah, Georgia) and Moses Douville Coburn (April 27, 1834 Savannah, Georgia – December 27, 1902 Savannah, Georgia). Growing up in Savannah, he started out at age 14 doing odd jobs at the local Savannah Theater, handing out programs, ushering, or being the doorman. By age 17 or 18, he was the theater manager. He later became an actor, making his debut on Broadway in 1901. Coburn formed an acting company with actress Ivah Wills in 1905. They married in 1906. In addition to managing the company, the couple performed frequently on Broadway.

After his wife's death in 1937, Coburn relocated to Los Angeles, California and began film work. He won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as a retired millionaire playing Cupid in The More the Merrier in 1943. He was also nominated for The Devil and Miss Jones in 1941 and The Green Years in 1946. Other notable film credits include Of Human Hearts (1938), The Lady Eve (1941), Kings Row (1942), The Constant Nymph (1943), Heaven Can Wait (1943), Wilson (1944), Impact (1949), The Paradine Case (1947), Everybody Does It (1950), Has Anybody Seen My Gal? (1952), Monkey Business (1952), Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953), and John Paul Jones (1959). He usually played comedic parts, but Kings Row and Wilson were dramatic parts, showing his versatility.

For his contributions to motion pictures, in 1960, Coburn was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6268 Hollywood Boulevard.

Description above from the Wikipedia article Charles Coburn, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Known For

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
7.3%

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes

Jul 14, 1953

The Lady Eve
7.2%

The Lady Eve

Feb 25, 1941

Monkey Business
6.7%

Monkey Business

Sep 3, 1952

The Paradine Case
6.2%

The Paradine Case

Dec 31, 1947

Heaven Can Wait
6.9%

Heaven Can Wait

Aug 5, 1943

Lured
6.3%

Lured

Aug 28, 1947

The More the Merrier
6.9%

The More the Merrier

May 13, 1943

Bachelor Mother
7.1%

Bachelor Mother

Jun 30, 1939

In Name Only
7.0%

In Name Only

Aug 18, 1939

Impact
6.1%

Impact

Mar 20, 1949

Vivacious Lady
6.9%

Vivacious Lady

May 13, 1938

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Acting

1997
Barbara Stanwyck: Straight Down The Line as Self (archive footage)
1986
Marilyn Monroe: Beyond the Legend as Self (from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes [1953]) (archive footage)
1985
George Stevens: A Filmmaker's Journey
1976
It's Showtime as Self (archive footage)
1963
Marilyn as Sir Francis 'Piggy' Beekman (archive footage) (uncredited)
1960
Pepe as Charles Coburn
1959
John Paul Jones as Benjamin Franklin
1959
A Stranger in My Arms as Vance Beasley
1959
The Remarkable Mr. Pennypacker as Grampa Pennypacker
1957
The Story of Mankind as Hippocrates
1957
Town on Trial as Dr. John Fenner
1957
How to Murder a Rich Uncle as Uncle George Clitterbern
1956
Around the World in Eighty Days as Steamship Company Clerk
1956
The Power and the Prize as Guy Eliot
1956
The Rosemary Clooney Show as Self
1955
How To Be Very, Very Popular as Dr. Tweed
1954
December Bride
1954
The George Gobel Show as Self
1954
Studio 57
1954
The Long Wait as Gardiner
1954
The Rocket Man as Mayor Ed Johnson
1953
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes as Sir Francis Beekman
1953
Trouble Along the Way as le Père Matthew William Burke
1952
This Is Your Life as Self
1952
Monkey Business as Oliver Oxley
1952
Has Anybody Seen My Gal? as Samuel Fulton / John Smith
1951
The Highwayman as Lord Walters
1950
Mr. Music as Alex Conway
1950
Lux Video Theatre as Pa Harrington
1950
The Colgate Comedy Hour as Self
1950
Peggy as Professor Brookfield
1950
Louisa as Mr. Burnside
1950
What's My Line? as Self - Mystery Guest
1949
Everybody Does It as Major Blair
1949
The Doctor and the Girl as Dr. John Corday
1949
Yes Sir, That's My Baby as Professor Jason Hartley
1949
The Gal Who Took the West as General Michael O'Hara
1949
Impact as Lieutenant Quincy
1948
Studio One as Louis Hurst
1948
The Ed Sullivan Show as Self
1948
Green Grass of Wyoming as Beaver Greenway
1948
B.F.'s Daughter as Burton F. 'B.F.' Fulton
1947
The Paradine Case as Sir Simon Flaquer
1947
Lured as Inspector Harley Temple
1946
The Green Years as Alexander Gow
1946
Colonel Effingham's Raid as Colonel Will Seaborn Effingham
1945
Shady Lady as Col. John Appleby
1945
Over 21 as Robert Drexel Gow
1945
Rhapsody in Blue as Max Dreyfus
1945
A Royal Scandal as Nicolai Iiyitch
1944
Together Again as Jonathan Crandall Sr
1944
The Impatient Years as William Smith
1944
Wilson as Professor Henry Holmes
1944
Knickerbocker Holiday as Peter Stuyvesant
1943
My Kingdom for a Cook as Rudyard Morley
1943
Princess O'Rourke as Uncle Holman
1943
Heaven Can Wait as Hugo Van Cleve
1943
The Constant Nymph as Charles Creighton
1943
The More the Merrier as Benjamin Dingle
1942
Breakdowns of 1942 as Self
1942
George Washington Slept Here as Stanley Menninger
1942
In This Our Life as William Fitzroy
1942
Kings Row as Henry Gordon
1941
H.M. Pulham, Esq. as John Pulham
1941
Unexpected Uncle as Seton Mansley
1941
Our Wife as Professor Drake
1941
The Devil and Miss Jones as John P. Merrick/Thomas Higgins
1941
The Lady Eve as 'Colonel' Harrington
1940
Three Faces West as Dr. Karl Braun
1940
The Captain Is a Lady as Captain Abe Peabody
1940
Florian as Dr. Johannes Hofer
1940
Edison, the Man as General Powell
1940
Road to Singapore as Joshua Mallon IV
1939
In Name Only as Richard Walker
1939
Stanley and Livingstone as Lord Tyce
1939
Bachelor Mother as J. B. Merlin
1939
The Story of Alexander Graham Bell as Gardner Hubbard
1939
Made for Each Other as Judge Joseph M. Doolittle
1939
Idiot's Delight as Dr. Hugo Waldersee
1938
Lord Jeff as Captain Briggs
1938
Yellow Jack as Dr. Finlay
1938
Vivacious Lady as Peter Morgan Sr.
1938
Of Human Hearts as Dr. Charles Shingle
1935
The People's Enemy as Judge
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