Charles Coburn
Acting • Born 1877-06-18 – Died 1961-08-30
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.
Filmography
81 credits
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
Movie • 1953
Sir Francis Beekman
The Lady Eve
Movie • 1941
'Colonel' Harrington
Lured
Movie • 1947
Harley Temple
Monkey Business
Movie • 1952
Oliver Oxley
The Paradine Case
Movie • 1947
Sir Simon Flaquer
Together Again
Movie • 1944
Jonathan Crandall Sr
Impact
Movie • 1949
Lieutenant Quincy
In Name Only
Movie • 1939
Richard Walker
Princess O'Rourke
Movie • 1943
Uncle Holman
Vivacious Lady
Movie • 1938
Mr. Morgan
George Washington Slept Here
Movie • 1942
Stanley Menninger
Trouble Along the Way
Movie • 1953
le Père Matthew William Burke
Three Faces West
Movie • 1940
Dr. Karl Braun
Bachelor Mother
Movie • 1939
J. B. Merlin
The Story of Mankind
Movie • 1957
Hippocrates
The Gal Who Took the West
Movie • 1949
General Michael O'Hara
The Long Wait
Movie • 1954
Gardiner
Rhapsody in Blue
Movie • 1945
Max Dreyfus
In This Our Life
Movie • 1942
William Fitzroy
The Devil and Miss Jones
Movie • 1941
John P. Merrick/Thomas Higgins
Edison, the Man
Movie • 1940
General Powell
Idiot's Delight
Movie • 1939
Dr. Hugo Waldersee
Made for Each Other
Movie • 1939
Judge Joseph M. Doolittle
The Story of Alexander Graham Bell
Movie • 1939
Gardner Hubbard
Heaven Can Wait
Movie • 1943
Hugo Van Cleve
Green Grass of Wyoming
Movie • 1948
Beaver Greenway
The More the Merrier
Movie • 1943
Benjamin Dingle
Pepe
Movie • 1960
Charles Coburn
Kings Row
Movie • 1942
Henry Gordon
Has Anybody Seen My Gal?
Movie • 1952
Samuel Fulton / John Smith
John Paul Jones
Movie • 1959
Benjamin Franklin
B.F.'s Daughter
Movie • 1948
Burton F. 'B.F.' Fulton
Wilson
Movie • 1944
Professor Henry Holmes
The People's Enemy
Movie • 1935
Judge
The Constant Nymph
Movie • 1943
Charles Creighton
A Royal Scandal
Movie • 1945
Nicolai Iiyitch
Our Wife
Movie • 1941
Professor Drake
H.M. Pulham, Esq.
Movie • 1941
John Pulham
Over 21
Movie • 1945
Robert Drexel Gow
The Doctor and the Girl
Movie • 1949
Dr. John Corday
Stanley and Livingstone
Movie • 1939
Lord Tyce
The Green Years
Movie • 1946
Alexander Gow
Town on Trial
Movie • 1957
Dr. John Fenner
Lord Jeff
Movie • 1938
Captain Briggs
Mr. Music
Movie • 1950
Alex Conway
Of Human Hearts
Movie • 1938
Dr. Charles Shingle
Shady Lady
Movie • 1945
Col. John Appleby
How to Murder a Rich Uncle
Movie • 1957
Uncle George Clitterbern
How to Be Very, Very Popular
Movie • 1955
Dr. Tweed
The Rocket Man
Movie • 1954
Mayor Ed Johnson
Yellow Jack
Movie • 1938
Dr. Finlay
The Impatient Years
Movie • 1944
William Smith
The Highwayman
Movie • 1951
Lord Walters
The Power and the Prize
Movie • 1956
Guy Eliot
Unexpected Uncle
Movie • 1941
Seton Mansley
Florian
Movie • 1940
Dr. Johannes Hofer
A Stranger in My Arms
Movie • 1959
Vance Beasley
Knickerbocker Holiday
Movie • 1944
Peter Stuyvesant
Everybody Does It
Movie • 1949
Major Blair
Road to Singapore
Movie • 1940
Joshua Mallon IV
The Remarkable Mr. Pennypacker
Movie • 1959
Grampa Pennypacker
Barbara Stanwyck: Straight Down the Line
Movie • 1997
Self (archive footage)
Yes Sir, That's My Baby
Movie • 1949
Professor Jason Hartley
My Kingdom for a Cook
Movie • 1943
Rudyard Morley
Around the World in 80 Days
Movie • 1956
Steamship Company Clerk
Peggy
Movie • 1950
Professor Brookfield
Louisa
Movie • 1950
Mr. Burnside
The Captain is a Lady
Movie • 1940
Captain Abe Peabody
Colonel Effingham's Raid
Movie • 1946
Colonel Will Seaborn Effingham
It's Showtime
Movie • 1976
Self (archive footage)
Breakdowns of 1942
Movie • 1942
Self
December Bride
TV • 1954
The Colgate Comedy Hour
TV • 1950
Self
Studio One
TV • 1948
Louis Hurst
Lux Video Theatre
TV • 1950
Pa Harrington
This Is Your Life
TV • 1952
Self
Studio 57
TV • 1954
The George Gobel Show
TV • 1954
Self
The Ed Sullivan Show
TV • 1948
Self
The Rosemary Clooney Show
TV • 1956
Self
What's My Line?
TV • 1950
Self