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.
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Acted in
Barbara Stanwyck: Straight Down The Line
1997
as Self (archive footage)
Marilyn Monroe: Beyond the Legend
1986
as Self (from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes [1953]) (archive footage)
George Stevens: A Filmmaker's Journey
1985
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
It's Showtime
1976
as Self (archive footage)
Marilyn
1963
as Sir Francis 'Piggy' Beekman (archive footage) (uncredited)
Pepe
1960
as Charles Coburn
John Paul Jones
1959
as Benjamin Franklin
A Stranger in My Arms
1959
as Vance Beasley
The Remarkable Mr. Pennypacker
1959
as Grampa Pennypacker
The Story of Mankind
1957
as Hippocrates
Town on Trial
1957
as Dr. John Fenner
How to Murder a Rich Uncle
1957
as Uncle George Clitterbern
Around the World in Eighty Days
1956
as Steamship Company Clerk
The Power and the Prize
1956
as Guy Eliot
The Rosemary Clooney Show
1956
as Self
How To Be Very, Very Popular
1955
as Dr. Tweed
December Bride
1954
The George Gobel Show
1954
as Self
Studio 57
1954
The Long Wait
1954
as Gardiner
The Rocket Man
1954
as Mayor Ed Johnson
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
1953
as Sir Francis Beekman
Trouble Along the Way
1953
as le Père Matthew William Burke
This Is Your Life
1952
as Self
Monkey Business
1952
as Oliver Oxley
Has Anybody Seen My Gal?
1952
as Samuel Fulton / John Smith
The Highwayman
1951
as Lord Walters
Mr. Music
1950
as Alex Conway
Lux Video Theatre
1950
as Pa Harrington
The Colgate Comedy Hour
1950
as Self
Peggy
1950
as Professor Brookfield
Louisa
1950
as Mr. Burnside
What's My Line?
1950
as Self - Mystery Guest
Everybody Does It
1949
as Major Blair
The Doctor and the Girl
1949
as Dr. John Corday
Yes Sir, That's My Baby
1949
as Professor Jason Hartley
The Gal Who Took the West
1949
as General Michael O'Hara
Impact
1949
as Lieutenant Quincy
Studio One
1948
as Louis Hurst
Green Grass of Wyoming
1948
as Beaver Greenway
B.F.'s Daughter
1948
as Burton F. 'B.F.' Fulton
The Paradine Case
1947
as Sir Simon Flaquer
Lured
1947
as Harley Temple
The Green Years
1946
as Alexander Gow
Colonel Effingham's Raid
1946
as Colonel Will Seaborn Effingham
Shady Lady
1945
as Col. John Appleby
Over 21
1945
as Robert Drexel Gow
Rhapsody in Blue
1945
as Max Dreyfus
A Royal Scandal
1945
as Nicolai Iiyitch
Together Again
1944
as Jonathan Crandall Sr
The Impatient Years
1944
as William Smith
Wilson
1944
as Professor Henry Holmes
Knickerbocker Holiday
1944
as Peter Stuyvesant
My Kingdom for a Cook
1943
as Rudyard Morley
Princess O'Rourke
1943
as Uncle Holman
Heaven Can Wait
1943
as Hugo Van Cleve
The Constant Nymph
1943
as Charles Creighton
The More the Merrier
1943
as Benjamin Dingle
Breakdowns of 1942
1942
as Self
George Washington Slept Here
1942
as Stanley Menninger
In This Our Life
1942
as William Fitzroy
Kings Row
1942
as Henry Gordon
H.M. Pulham, Esq.
1941
as John Pulham
Unexpected Uncle
1941
as Seton Mansley
Our Wife
1941
as Professor Drake
The Devil and Miss Jones
1941
as John P. Merrick/Thomas Higgins
The Lady Eve
1941
as 'Colonel' Harrington
Three Faces West
1940
as Dr. Karl Braun
The Captain Is a Lady
1940
as Captain Abe Peabody
Florian
1940
as Dr. Johannes Hofer
Edison, the Man
1940
as General Powell
Road to Singapore
1940
as Joshua Mallon IV
In Name Only
1939
as Richard Walker
Stanley and Livingstone
1939
as Lord Tyce
Bachelor Mother
1939
as J. B. Merlin
The Story of Alexander Graham Bell
1939
as Gardner Hubbard
Made for Each Other
1939
as Judge Joseph M. Doolittle
Idiot's Delight
1939
as Dr. Hugo Waldersee
Lord Jeff
1938
as Captain Briggs
Yellow Jack
1938
as Dr. Finlay
Vivacious Lady
1938
as Mr. Morgan
Of Human Hearts
1938
as Dr. Charles Shingle
The People's Enemy
1935
as Judge