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