Charles Coburn
68 movies · 5 TV shows
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- Jun 18, 1877
- Died
- Aug 30, 1961 (age 84)
- Place of birth
- Macon, Georgia, USA
- Also known as
- Charles Douville 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.
Read the full biography
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.
Profiles IMDb
Known for
Charles Coburn: movies and TV shows
Acting (73)
- 1960 Pepe
as Charles Coburn
- 1959
- 1959 John Paul Jones
as Benjamin Franklin
- 1959 A Stranger in My Arms
as Vance Beasley
- 1959 The Remarkable Mr. Pennypacker
as Grampa Pennypacker
- 1957 The Story of Mankind
as Hippocrates
- 1957 How to Murder a Rich Uncle
as Uncle George Clitterbern
- 1957 Town on Trial
as Dr. John Fenner
- 1956 Around the World in 80 Days
as Steamship Company Clerk
- 1956 The Power and the Prize
as Guy Eliot
- 1955 How to Be Very, Very Popular
as Dr. Tweed
- 1954
- 1954
- 1954 The Long Wait
as Gardiner
- 1954 The Rocket Man
as Mayor Ed Johnson
- 1953 Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
as Sir Francis 'Piggy' Beekman
- 1953 Trouble Along the Way
as le Père Matthew William Burke
- 1952 Monkey Business
as Oliver Oxley
- 1952 Has Anybody Seen My Gal?
as Samuel Fulton / John Smith
- 1951 The Highwayman
as Lord Walters
- 1950 Mr. Music
as Alex Conway
- 1950
- 1950 Peggy
as Professor Brookfield
- 1950 Louisa
as Mr. Burnside
- 1949 Everybody Does It
as Major Blair
- 1949 The Doctor and the Girl
as Dr. John Corday
- 1949 Yes Sir, That's My Baby
as Jason Hartley
- 1949 The Gal Who Took the West
as General Michael O'Hara
- 1949 Impact
as Lieutenant Quincy
- 1948
- 1948 Green Grass of Wyoming
as Beaver Greenway
- 1948 B.F.'s Daughter
as Burton F. 'B.F.' Fulton
- 1947 The Paradine Case
as Sir Simon Flaquer
- 1947 Lured
as Harley Temple
- 1946 The Green Years
as Alexander Gow
- 1946 Colonel Effingham's Raid
as Colonel Will Seaborn Effingham
- 1945 Shady Lady
as Col. John Appleby
- 1945 Over 21
as Robert Drexel Gow
- 1945 Rhapsody in Blue
as Max Dreyfus
- 1945 A Royal Scandal
as Nicolai Iiyitch
- 1944 Together Again
as Jonathan Crandall Sr
- 1944 The Impatient Years
as William Smith
- 1944 Wilson
as Professor Henry Holmes
- 1944 Knickerbocker Holiday
as Peter Stuyvesant
- 1943 My Kingdom for a Cook
as Rudyard Morley
- 1943 Princess O'Rourke
as Uncle Holman
- 1943 Heaven Can Wait
as Hugo Van Cleve
- 1943 The Constant Nymph
as Charles Creighton
- 1943 The More the Merrier
as Benjamin Dingle
- 1942 George Washington Slept Here
as Stanley Menninger
- 1942 In This Our Life
as William Fitzroy
- 1942 Kings Row
as Henry Gordon
- 1941 H.M. Pulham, Esq.
as John Pulham
- 1941 Unexpected Uncle
as Seton Mansley
- 1941 Our Wife
as Professor Drake
- 1941 The Devil and Miss Jones
as John P. Merrick/Thomas Higgins
- 1941 The Lady Eve
as 'Colonel' Harrington
- 1940 Three Faces West
as Dr. Karl Braun
- 1940 The Captain is a Lady
as Captain Abe Peabody
- 1940 Florian
as Dr. Johannes Hofer
- 1940 Edison, the Man
as General Powell
- 1940 Road to Singapore
as Joshua Mallon IV
- 1939 In Name Only
as Richard Walker
- 1939 Stanley and Livingstone
as Lord Tyce
- 1939 Bachelor Mother
as J. B. Merlin
- 1939 The Story of Alexander Graham Bell
as Gardner Hubbard
- 1939 Made for Each Other
as Joseph Doolittle
- 1939 Idiot's Delight
as Dr. Hugo Waldersee
- 1938 Lord Jeff
as Captain Briggs
- 1938 Yellow Jack
as Dr. Finlay
- 1938 Vivacious Lady
as Mr. Morgan
- 1938 Of Human Hearts
as Dr. Charles Shingle
- 1935 The People's Enemy
as Judge
Talk shows and appearances (9)
- 1997
- 1976
- 1956 The Rosemary Clooney Show
1 episode
- 1954 The George Gobel Show
1 episode
- 1952 This Is Your Life
1 episode
- 1950 The Colgate Comedy Hour
1 episode
- 1950 What's My Line?
1 episode
- 1948 The Ed Sullivan Show
1 episode
- 1942