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