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