CHARLES COBURN
INFORMATION IMDb
Date of birth
19 June 1877
Savannah, Georgia, USA
Date of death
30 August 1961
New York, New York, USA. (heart attack)
Birth name
Charles Douville Coburn
Spouse
Winifred Natzka (1959 - ?)
Ivah Wills (1906 - 1937) (widowed)
Trivia
One of the few Hollywood actors who actually lived on Hollywood Blvd.
His famous monocle was no affectation, but actually corrected an eye deficiency. "No point having two window panes where one will do," was always his explanation.
Mini biography
A cigar-smoking, monocled, swag-bellied character actor known for his Old South manners and charm. In 1918 he and his first wife formed the Coburn Players and appeared on Broadway in many plays. With her death in 1937, he accepted a Hollywood contract and began making films at the age of sixty.
IMDb mini-biography by James L. Mason
Mini Biography
from Leonard Maltin's Movie Encyclopedia:
Aristocratic Southern gentleman, very much at home wearing high collars and smoking big cigars. He played many gruff but lovable types in secondary roles and for a time became a top-billed character star. A former theater manager who at one time ran his own acting troupe, he entered films in 1938, already an elderly man. Coburn's best remembered characters include the card sharp in The Lady Eve (1941), the matchmaker in The More the Merrier (1943, for which he won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor), and in a change of pace, the vengeful doctor who amputates Ronald Reagan's legs in Kings Row (1942). At the age of 80 he starred in How to Murder a Rich Uncle (1957), and two years later he was cast as Benjamin Franklin in John Paul Jones (1959).
Copyright © 1994 Leonard Maltin, used by arrangement with Signet, a division of Penguin Putnam, Inc.
Filmography
Actor
1. "General Electric Theater"
... aka G.E. Theatre (USA)
- Sam (1962) TV Episode .... Sam
2. "The Best of the Post"
- Six Months More to Live (1961) TV Episode
3. Pepe (1960) .... Cameo appearance
4. "Startime"
... aka Ford Startime
... aka Lincoln-Mercury Startime
- The Wicked Scheme of Jebal Deeks (1959) TV Episode .... Colonel Sykes
5. John Paul Jones (1959) .... Benjamin Franklin
6. A Stranger in My Arms (1959) .... Vance Beasley
... aka And Ride a Tiger (USA)
7. The Remarkable Mr. Pennypacker (1959) .... Grampa Pennypacker
8. "The Bob Cummings Show"
... aka Love That Bob (USA: rerun title)
- Bob Goes Birdwatching (1958) TV Episode
9. "The Betty White Show"
- Episode dated 5 February 1958 (1958) TV Episode .... Old Gentleman
10. The Story of Mankind (1957) .... Hippocrates
11. How to Murder a Rich Uncle (1957) .... Uncle George
... aka Uncle George
12. Town on Trial (1957) .... Dr. John Fenner
13. "Ethel Barrymore Theater"
- Winter and Spring (1956) TV Episode
14. Around the World in Eighty Days (1956) .... Steamship Company Clerk
15. The Power and the Prize (1956) .... Guy Eliot
16. "The Ford Television Theatre"
... aka Ford Theatre (USA: short title)
- Mr. Kagle and the Baby Sitter (1956) TV Episode .... Christopher Kagle
- Pretend You're You (1955) TV Episode .... Uncle Henry
- The World's My Oyster (1953) TV Episode .... C.C. Cunningham/Louie Spencer
17. "Kraft Television Theatre"
... aka Kraft Mystery Theatre (new title)
... aka Kraft Theatre (new title)
- The Gentle Grafters (1956) TV Episode
18. "Damon Runyon Theater"
- Hot Oil (1956) TV Episode .... Harvard
19. "Jane Wyman Presents The Fireside Theatre"
... aka Jane Wyman Presents (USA: rerun title)
... aka Jane Wyman Theater (USA)
- Kristi (1956) TV Episode .... Dr. Cutler
20. "Henry Fonda Presents the Star and the Story"
... aka The Henry Fonda Show (USA)
- The Difficult Age (1956) TV Episode
- The Lady's Game (1955) TV Episode
21. "December Bride"
- Lily and the Wolf (1955) TV Episode
22. How to Be Very, Very Popular (1955) .... Dr. Tweed
23. "Justice"
- Uncommon Thief (1955) TV Episode
24. "Studio 57"
... aka Heinz Studio 57 (USA: alternative title)
- Sam (1955) TV Episode .... Theodore J. Gulch
25. "Studio One"
... aka Studio One Summer Theatre (summer title)
... aka Studio One in Hollywood (new title)
... aka Summer Theatre (summer title)
... aka Westinghouse Studio One
... aka Westinghouse Summer Theatre (summer title)
- The Cuckoo in Spring (1954) TV Episode .... Louis Hurst
26. "The United States Steel Hour"
... aka The U.S. Steel Hour (USA: alternative title)
- One for the Road (1954) TV Episode .... Judge Purdy
27. "The Pepsi-Cola Playhouse"
... aka Action Tonight (USA: syndication title)
- Sal (1954) TV Episode
28. "The Best of Broadway"
- The Royal Family (1954) TV Episode .... Oscar Wolfe
29. "Center Stage"
- The Worthy Opponent (1954) TV Episode
30. The Long Wait (1954) .... Gardiner
31. The Rocket Man (1954) .... Mayor Ed Johnson
32. "Lux Video Theatre"
... aka Summer Video Theatre (USA: summer title)
- Will Power (1953) TV Episode
33. "Willys Theatre Presenting Ben Hecht's Tales of the City"
- Episode #1.4 (1953) TV Episode
34. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953) .... Sir Francis 'Piggy' Beekman
... aka Howard Hawks' Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (USA: complete title)
35. Trouble Along the Way (1953) .... Father Burke
... aka Alma Mater
36. Monkey Business (1952) .... Mr. Oliver Oxley
... aka Be Your Age
... aka Howard Hawks' Monkey Business (USA: complete title)
37. Has Anybody Seen My Gal? (1952) .... Samuel Fulton/John Smith
38. The Highwayman (1951) .... Lord Walters
39. Oh Money, Money (1951)
40. Mr. Music (1950) .... Alex Conway
41. "Pulitzer Prize Playhouse"
- You Can't Take It with You (1950) TV Episode
42. Louisa (1950) .... Abel Burnside
43. Peggy (1950) .... Professor Brookfield
44. Everybody Does It (1949) .... Major Blair (Doris's father)
45. Yes Sir That's My Baby (1949) .... Professor Jason Hartley
46. The Gal Who Took the West (1949) .... General Michael O'Hara
47. The Doctor and the Girl (1949) .... Dr. John Corday
48. Impact (1949) .... Lt. Tom Quincy
49. Green Grass of Wyoming (1948) .... Beaver Greenway
50. B.F.'s Daughter (1948) .... Burton F. 'B.F.' Fulton
... aka Polly Fulton (UK)
51. The Paradine Case (1947) .... Sir Simon Flaquer
52. Lured (1947) .... Inspector Harley Temple
... aka Personal Column (UK)
53. The Green Years (1946) .... Alexander 'Dandy' Gow
... aka A.J. Cronin's The Green Years (USA: complete title)
54. Colonel Effingham's Raid (1946) .... Col. Will Seaborn Effingham
... aka Man of the Hour (UK)
55. Rhapsody in Blue (1945) .... Max Dreyfus
56. Shady Lady (1945) .... Col. Appleby
57. Over 21 (1945) .... Robert Gow
58. A Royal Scandal (1945) .... Chancellor Nicolai Iiyitch
... aka Czarina (UK)
59. Together Again (1944) .... Jonathan Crandall Sr
60. The Impatient Years (1944) .... William Smith
61. Wilson (1944) .... Professor Henry Holmes
62. Knickerbocker Holiday (1944) .... Peter Stuyvesant
63. My Kingdom for a Cook (1943) .... Rudyard Morley
64. Princess O'Rourke (1943) .... Holman - Maria's Uncle
65. Heaven Can Wait (1943) .... Hugo Van Cleve
66. The Constant Nymph (1943) .... Charles Churchill
67. The More the Merrier (1943) .... Benjamin Dingle
68. Forever and a Day (1943) (uncredited) .... Sir William
69. George Washington Slept Here (1942) .... Uncle Stanley J. Menninger
70. In This Our Life (1942) .... William Fitzroy
71. Kings Row (1942) .... Dr. Henry Gordon
72. H.M. Pulham, Esq. (1941) .... John Pulham
73. Unexpected Uncle (1941) .... Seton Mansley aka Alfred Crane
74. Our Wife (1941) .... Professor Drake
75. The Devil and Miss Jones (1941) .... J. P. Merrick
76. The Lady Eve (1941) .... 'Colonel' Harrington
77. Three Faces West (1940) .... Dr. Karl Braun
... aka The Refugee
78. The Captain Is a Lady (1940) .... Captain Abe Peabody
79. Florian (1940) .... Hofer
80. Edison, the Man (1940) .... General Powell
81. Road to Singapore (1940) .... Joshua Mallon IV
82. Stanley and Livingstone (1939) .... Lord Tyce, Publisher London Globe
83. In Name Only (1939) .... Mr. Walker
84. Bachelor Mother (1939) .... John B. Merlin
85. The Story of Alexander Graham Bell (1939) .... Gardner Hubbard
... aka The Modern Miracle (UK)
86. Made for Each Other (1939) .... Judge Joseph M. Doolittle
87. Idiot's Delight (1939) .... Dr. Hugo Waldersee
88. Lord Jeff (1938) .... Captain Briggs
... aka The Boy from Barnardo's (UK)
89. Yellow Jack (1938) .... Dr. Finlay
90. Vivacious Lady (1938) .... Peter Morgan Sr.
91. Of Human Hearts (1938) .... Dr. Charles Shingle
92. Old Timers (1936)
93. The People's Enemy (1935) .... Judge
... aka Racketeers (USA: reissue title)
94. Boss Tweed (1933)
