Acting · Macon, Georgia, USA · Born June 18, 1877
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.
MovieBarbara Stanwyck: Straight Down the Line
1997
as Self (archive footage)
MovieIt's Showtime
1976
as Self (archive footage)
MoviePepe
1960
as Charles Coburn
TVStartime
1959
as Colonel Sykes
MovieJohn Paul Jones
1959
as Benjamin Franklin
MovieA Stranger in My Arms
1959
as Vance Beasley
MovieThe Remarkable Mr. Pennypacker
1959
as Grampa Pennypacker
MovieThe Story of Mankind
1957
as Hippocrates
MovieHow to Murder a Rich Uncle
1957
as Uncle George Clitterbern
MovieTown on Trial
1957
as Dr. John Fenner
MovieAround the World in 80 Days
1956
as Steamship Company Clerk
MovieThe Power and the Prize
1956
as Guy Eliot
The Rosemary Clooney Show
1956
as Self
MovieHow to Be Very, Very Popular
1955
as Dr. Tweed
TVDecember Bride
1954
The George Gobel Show
1954
as Self
TVStudio 57
1954
MovieThe Long Wait
1954
as Gardiner
MovieThe Rocket Man
1954
as Mayor Ed Johnson
MovieGentlemen Prefer Blondes
1953
as Sir Francis 'Piggy' Beekman
MovieTrouble Along the Way
1953
as le Père Matthew William Burke
TVThis Is Your Life
1952
as Self
MovieMonkey Business
1952
as Oliver Oxley
MovieHas Anybody Seen My Gal?
1952
as Samuel Fulton / John Smith
MovieThe Highwayman
1951
as Lord Walters
MovieMr. Music
1950
as Alex Conway
Lux Video Theatre
1950
as Pa Harrington
TVThe Colgate Comedy Hour
1950
as Self
MoviePeggy
1950
as Professor Brookfield
MovieLouisa
1950
as Mr. Burnside
TVWhat's My Line?
1950
as Self
MovieEverybody Does It
1949
as Major Blair
MovieThe Doctor and the Girl
1949
as Dr. John Corday
MovieYes Sir, That's My Baby
1949
as Jason Hartley
MovieThe Gal Who Took the West
1949
as General Michael O'Hara
MovieImpact
1949
as Lieutenant Quincy
TVStudio One
1948
as Louis Hurst
TVThe Ed Sullivan Show
1948
as Self
MovieGreen Grass of Wyoming
1948
as Beaver Greenway
MovieB.F.'s Daughter
1948
as Burton F. 'B.F.' Fulton
MovieThe Paradine Case
1947
as Sir Simon Flaquer
MovieLured
1947
as Harley Temple
MovieThe Green Years
1946
as Alexander Gow
MovieColonel Effingham's Raid
1946
as Colonel Will Seaborn Effingham
MovieShady Lady
1945
as Col. John Appleby
MovieOver 21
1945
as Robert Drexel Gow
MovieRhapsody in Blue
1945
as Max Dreyfus
MovieA Royal Scandal
1945
as Nicolai Iiyitch
MovieTogether Again
1944
as Jonathan Crandall Sr
MovieThe Impatient Years
1944
as William Smith
MovieWilson
1944
as Professor Henry Holmes
MovieKnickerbocker Holiday
1944
as Peter Stuyvesant
MovieMy Kingdom for a Cook
1943
as Rudyard Morley
MoviePrincess O'Rourke
1943
as Uncle Holman
MovieHeaven Can Wait
1943
as Hugo Van Cleve
MovieThe Constant Nymph
1943
as Charles Creighton
MovieThe More the Merrier
1943
as Benjamin Dingle
MovieBreakdowns of 1942
1942
as Self
MovieGeorge Washington Slept Here
1942
as Stanley Menninger
MovieIn This Our Life
1942
as William Fitzroy
MovieKings Row
1942
as Henry Gordon
MovieH.M. Pulham, Esq.
1941
as John Pulham
MovieUnexpected Uncle
1941
as Seton Mansley
MovieOur Wife
1941
as Professor Drake
MovieThe Devil and Miss Jones
1941
as John P. Merrick/Thomas Higgins
MovieThe Lady Eve
1941
as 'Colonel' Harrington
MovieThree Faces West
1940
as Dr. Karl Braun
MovieThe Captain is a Lady
1940
as Captain Abe Peabody
MovieFlorian
1940
as Dr. Johannes Hofer
MovieEdison, the Man
1940
as General Powell
MovieRoad to Singapore
1940
as Joshua Mallon IV
MovieIn Name Only
1939
as Richard Walker
MovieStanley and Livingstone
1939
as Lord Tyce
MovieBachelor Mother
1939
as J. B. Merlin
MovieThe Story of Alexander Graham Bell
1939
as Gardner Hubbard
MovieMade for Each Other
1939
as Joseph Doolittle
MovieIdiot's Delight
1939
as Dr. Hugo Waldersee
MovieLord Jeff
1938
as Captain Briggs
MovieYellow Jack
1938
as Dr. Finlay
MovieVivacious Lady
1938
as Mr. Morgan
MovieOf Human Hearts
1938
as Dr. Charles Shingle
MovieThe People's Enemy
1935
as Judge
