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
Sir Francis Beekman
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
'Colonel' Harrington
The Lady Eve
Harley Temple
Lured
Oliver Oxley
Monkey Business
Sir Simon Flaquer
The Paradine Case
Jonathan Crandall Sr
Together Again
Lieutenant Quincy
Impact
Richard Walker
In Name Only
Uncle Holman
Princess O'Rourke
Mr. Morgan
Vivacious Lady
Stanley Menninger
George Washington Slept Here
le Père Matthew William Burke
Trouble Along the Way
Dr. Karl Braun
Three Faces West
J. B. Merlin
Bachelor Mother
Hippocrates
The Story of Mankind
General Michael O'Hara
The Gal Who Took the West
Gardiner
The Long Wait
Max Dreyfus
Rhapsody in Blue
William Fitzroy
In This Our Life
John P. Merrick/Thomas Higgins
The Devil and Miss Jones
General Powell
Edison, the Man
Dr. Hugo Waldersee
Idiot's Delight
Judge Joseph M. Doolittle
Made for Each Other
Gardner Hubbard
The Story of Alexander Graham Bell
Hugo Van Cleve
Heaven Can Wait
Beaver Greenway
Green Grass of Wyoming
Benjamin Dingle
The More the Merrier
Charles Coburn
Pepe
Henry Gordon
Kings Row
Samuel Fulton / John Smith
Has Anybody Seen My Gal?
Benjamin Franklin
John Paul Jones
Burton F. 'B.F.' Fulton
B.F.'s Daughter
Professor Henry Holmes
Wilson
Judge
The People's Enemy
Charles Creighton
The Constant Nymph
Nicolai Iiyitch
A Royal Scandal
Professor Drake
Our Wife
John Pulham
H.M. Pulham, Esq.
Robert Drexel Gow
Over 21
Dr. John Corday
The Doctor and the Girl
Lord Tyce
Stanley and Livingstone
Alexander Gow
The Green Years
Dr. John Fenner
Town on Trial
Captain Briggs
Lord Jeff
Alex Conway
Mr. Music
Dr. Charles Shingle
Of Human Hearts
Col. John Appleby
Shady Lady
Uncle George Clitterbern
How to Murder a Rich Uncle
Dr. Tweed
How To Be Very, Very Popular
Mayor Ed Johnson
The Rocket Man
Dr. Finlay
Yellow Jack
William Smith
The Impatient Years
Lord Walters
The Highwayman
Guy Eliot
The Power and the Prize
Seton Mansley
Unexpected Uncle
Self (from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes [1953]) (archive footage)
Marilyn Monroe: Beyond the Legend
Dr. Johannes Hofer
Florian
Vance Beasley
A Stranger in My Arms
Peter Stuyvesant
Knickerbocker Holiday
Major Blair
Everybody Does It
Joshua Mallon IV
Road to Singapore
Grampa Pennypacker
The Remarkable Mr. Pennypacker
Self (archive footage)
Barbara Stanwyck: Straight Down The Line
Professor Jason Hartley
Yes Sir, That's My Baby
Rudyard Morley
My Kingdom for a Cook
Steamship Company Clerk
Around the World in Eighty Days
Professor Brookfield
Peggy
Mr. Burnside
Louisa
Captain Abe Peabody
The Captain Is a Lady
Colonel Will Seaborn Effingham
Colonel Effingham's Raid
Sir Francis 'Piggy' Beekman (archive footage) (uncredited)
Marilyn
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
George Stevens: A Filmmaker's Journey
Self (archive footage)
It's Showtime
Self
Breakdowns of 1942
Personal Info
Known For
Acting
Known Credits
74
Gender
Male
Birthday
1877-06-18
Place of Birth
Macon, Georgia, USA
Also Known As
Charles Douville Coburn