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. Description above from the Wikipedia article Charles Coburn, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
as Sir Francis BeekmanLorelei Lee is a beautiful showgirl engaged to be married to the wealthy Gus Esmond, much to the...
Movie page
Around the World in Eighty Days
as Steamship Company ClerkBased on the famous book by Jules Verne the movie follows Phileas Fogg on his journey around the...
Movie page
The Lady Eve
as 'Colonel' HarringtonIt's no accident when wealthy Charles falls for Jean. Jean is a con artist with her sights set...
Movie page
Monkey Business
as Oliver OxleyResearch chemist Barnaby Fulton works on a fountain of youth pill for a chemical company. One of...
Movie page
Heaven Can Wait
as Hugo Van CleveSpoiled playboy Henry van Cleve dies and arrives at the entrance to Hell, a final destination he...
Movie page
In Name Only
as Richard WalkerA wealthy man falls for a widow but is locked into a loveless marriage with a woman who has...
Movie page
Impact
as Lieutenant QuincyAfter surviving a murder attempt, an auto magnate goes into hiding so his wife can pay for the...
Movie page
The Paradine Case
as Sir Simon FlaquerAttorney Anthony Keane agrees to represent Londonite Mrs. Paradine, who has been fingered in her...
Movie page
Over 21
as Robert Drexel GowA woman screenwriter lives in a shabby bungalow in order to be near her husband, a 39-year-old...
Movie page
The More the Merrier
as Benjamin DingleIt's World War II and there is a severe housing shortage everywhere - especially in Washington,...
Movie page
The Devil and Miss Jones
as John P. Merrick/Thomas HigginsThe wealthiest man in the world, John P. Merrick, is a private person who likes to stay...
Movie page
Lured
as Harley TempleSandra Carpenter is a London-based dancer who is distraught to learn that her friend has...
Movie page
Bachelor Mother
as J. B. MerlinPolly Parrish, a clerk at Merlin's Department Store, is mistakenly presumed to be the mother of...
Movie page
In This Our Life
as William FitzroyAn unhappy, self-centered woman runs off with her sister's husband, wreaking havoc and ruining...
Movie page
Made for Each Other
as Judge Joseph M. DoolittleA couple struggle to find happiness after a whirlwind courtship.
Movie page
Road to Singapore
as Joshua Mallon IVTwo playboys try to forget previous romances in Singapore - until they meet Dorothy Lamour...
Movie page
Pepe
as Charles CoburnMario "Cantinflas" Moreno is a hired hand, Pepe, employed on a ranch. A boozing Hollywood...
Movie page
H.M. Pulham, Esq.
as John PulhamA middle-aged businessman who has lived a conservative life according to the routine conventions...
Movie page
Trouble Along the Way
as le Père Matthew William BurkeStruggling to retain custody of his daughter following his divorce, football coach Steve...
Movie page
Rhapsody in Blue
as Max DreyfusFictionalized biography of George Gershwin and his fight to bring serious music to Broadway.
Movie page
Vivacious Lady
as Mr. MorganCollege town life gets turned upside down after a button-down botany professor secretly weds a...
Movie page
Of Human Hearts
as Dr. Charles ShingleThis is a story about family relationships, set in the time before and during the American Civil...
Movie page
Green Grass of Wyoming
as Beaver GreenwayThe romance of a rancher's niece and a rival rancher's son parallels that of a stallion and a mare.
Movie page
Kings Row
as Henry GordonFive young adults in a small American town face the revelations of secrets that threaten to ruin...
Movie page
The Story of Mankind
as HippocratesThe devil and the spirit of mankind argue as to whether or not humanity is ultimately good or evil.
Movie page
The Constant Nymph
as Charles CreightonThe daughter of a musical mentor adores a promising composer, who is quite fond of the...
Movie page
The Long Wait
as GardinerSoon after thumbing a ride from a truck driver, Johnny McBride is badly burned and suffers from...
Movie page
Stanley and Livingstone
as Lord TyceWhen American newspaperman and adventurer Henry M. Stanley comes back from the western Indian...
Movie page
Idiot's Delight
as Dr. Hugo WalderseeA group of disparate travelers are thrown together in a posh Alpine hotel when the borders are...
Movie page
Edison, the Man
as General PowellIn flashback, fifty years after inventing the light bulb, an 82-year-old Edison tells his story...
Movie page
John Paul Jones
as Benjamin FranklinThe career of Revolutionary War naval hero John Paul Jones, from his youth in Scotland through...
Movie page
Marilyn Monroe: Beyond the Legend
as Self (from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes [1953]) (archive footage)Her story is well-known — the lonely child who yearned for affection and approval which she...
Movie page
The Story of Alexander Graham Bell
as Gardner HubbardAlexander Graham Bell falls in love with deaf girl Mabel Hubbard while teaching the deaf and...
Movie page
A Royal Scandal
as Nicolai IiyitchCatherine the Great falls in love with an army officer who is plotting against her.
Movie page
Wilson
as Professor Henry HolmesThe political career of Woodrow Wilson is chronicled, beginning with his decision to leave his...
Movie page
Yes Sir, That's My Baby
as Professor Jason HartleyAt a college, a group of ex-GIs clash with their wives about over playing football.
Movie page
George Washington Slept Here
as Stanley MenningerNew Yorkers Bill and Connie Fuller have to move from their apartment. Without Bill's knowledge,...
Movie page
George Stevens: A Filmmaker's Journey
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)Biography of the legendary filmmaker directed by his son.
Movie page
Princess O'Rourke
as Uncle HolmanA down-to-earth pilot charms a European princess on vacation in the United States.
Movie page
The Impatient Years
as William SmithStanding before a divorce court judge are Sergeant Andy Anderson and Janie Anderson asking him...
Movie page
Three Faces West
as Dr. Karl BraunViennese surgeon Dr. Braun and his daughter Leni come to a small town in North Dakota as...
Movie page
Peggy
as Professor BrookfieldProfessor Brookfield along with daughters Peggy and Susan move to small town Pasadena,...
Movie page
Has Anybody Seen My Gal?
as Samuel Fulton / John SmithWhen a 1920s millionaire tests the fiber of his Vermont family, a young lady and her boyfriend...
Movie page
My Kingdom for a Cook
as Rudyard MorleyWhile visiting Massachusetts, a famous English author (Charles Coburn) faces the wrath of a...
Movie page
Lord Jeff
as Captain BriggsSpoiled child Geoffrey Bramer teams up with a pair of small time crooks to pose as an aristocrat...
Movie page
Mr. Music
as Alex ConwayA golf-crazy songwriter tries to avoid the long, solitary hours of concentration needed to...
Movie page
Colonel Effingham's Raid
as Colonel Will Seaborn EffinghamThe story takes place in 1940. On the eve of America's entry in World War II, a colonel retired...
Movie page
Town on Trial
as Dr. John FennerWhen an attractive young girl is murdered, suspicion falls on several members of the local...
Movie page
Breakdowns of 1942
as SelfFlubs and bloopers that occurred on the set of some of the major Warner Bros. pictures of 1942.
Movie page
The Power and the Prize
as Guy EliotAn ambitious executive jeopardizes his career to marry a European refugee.
Movie page
The Doctor and the Girl
as Dr. John CordayDr. Michael Corday, a recent graduate of the Harvard Medical School, is the son of Dr. John...
Movie page
Louisa
as Mr. BurnsideArchitect Hal Norton and wife Meg invite his widowed mother Louisa to move in with them, only to...
Movie page
The People's Enemy
as JudgeMoney was what gangster Vince M. Falcone wanted most and he did lay hands on millions of dollars...
Movie page
Together Again
as Jonathan Crandall SrAnne Crandall is the mayor of a small town in Vermont. Her deceased husband had been the mayor...
Movie page
The Rocket Man
as Mayor Ed JohnsonAfter procuring a special ray gun, a precocious orphan helps his community by exposing the shady...
Movie page
The Gal Who Took the West
as General Michael O'HaraIn order to gain passage to the West, a woman poses as an opera singer, and causes a feud...
Movie page
How to Murder a Rich Uncle
as Uncle George ClitterbernA broke British nobleman targets his Canadian uncle, but other relatives get in the way.
Movie page
The Remarkable Mr. Pennypacker
as Grampa PennypackerIn early 1900s' Pennsylvania, Mr. Pennypacker has two company offices and two families with a...
Movie page
B.F.'s Daughter
as Burton F. 'B.F.' FultonWealthy Polly Fulton marries a progressive scholar whose attitudes toward capitalism and...
Movie page
Florian
as Dr. Johannes HoferSet against the backdrop of WWI Europe, a man and woman of different classes are brought...
Movie page
The Green Years
as Alexander GowAn orphaned young boy is guided by his great-grandfather and strives to go to university to...
Movie page
Yellow Jack
as Dr. FinlayA fairly accurate historical account of Walter Reed's search for the cause of "Yellow Jack" or...
Movie page
Knickerbocker Holiday
as Peter StuyvesantThe wild and woolly early days of New York -- when it was still known as New Amsterdam --...
Movie page
How To Be Very, Very Popular
as Dr. TweedTwo strippers on the run hide out in a college fraternity. Director Nunnally Johnson's 1955...
Movie page
Barbara Stanwyck: Straight Down The Line
as Self (archive footage)Born Ruby Stevens, she was orphaned when she was four. A chance audition led to a chorus job. By...
Movie page
A Stranger in My Arms
as Vance BeasleyAn Air Force pilot finds romance with his war buddy's widow.
Movie page
Unexpected Uncle
as Seton MansleyAn elderly gentleman comes to a young woman's aid by pretending to be her uncle. Comedy.
Movie page
Our Wife
as Professor DrakeA musician's ex-wife wants him back after he finds love and success.
Movie page
Shady Lady
as Col. John ApplebyA crook becomes the victim of a crafty card player who works for the District Attorney.
Movie page
Marilyn
as Sir Francis 'Piggy' Beekman (archive footage) (uncredited)This 1963 documentary, released less than a year after Marilyn Monroe's death, showcases the...
Movie page
It's Showtime
as Self (archive footage)A collection of film clips profiling animal actors.
Movie page
Everybody Does It
as Major BlairLeonard Borland loves his monied wife, but with his wrecking business looking shaky he treasures...
Movie page
The Captain Is a Lady
as Captain Abe PeabodyBecause of a bad investment, Captain and Mrs. Peabody are evicted from their home. Mrs. Peabody...
Movie page
The Colgate Comedy Hour
as SelfThe Colgate Comedy Hour is an American comedy-musical variety series that aired live on the NBC...
TV Show page
Studio One
as Louis HurstAn American radio–television anthology series, created in 1947 by Canadian director Fletcher...
TV Show page
What's My Line?
as Self - Mystery GuestFour panelists must determine guests' occupations - and, in the case of famous guests, while...
TV Show page
December Bride
as uncreditedDecember Bride is an American sitcom that aired on the CBS television network from 1954 to 1959,...
TV Show page
The Ed Sullivan Show
as SelfThe Ed Sullivan Show is an American TV variety show that originally ran on CBS from Sunday June...
TV Show page
This Is Your Life
as SelfThis Is Your Life is an American television documentary series broadcast on NBC, originally...
TV Show page
Studio 57
as uncreditedStudio 57 is an American anthology series that was broadcast on the now-defunct DuMont...
TV Show page