James Coburn
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James Coburn (born August 31, 1928 in Laurel, Nebraska – November 18, 2002) was an Oscar-winning American movie actor. His grandfather, Charles Coburn, was an Oscar-winning actor who led the charge in the 1950's to blacklist anyone suspected of Communist-leaning.
Coburn became famous as the "tough guy" in a variety of films, first mostly with his friends Robert Vaughn and Charles Bronson (whom he co-starred with in The Magnificent Seven and The Great Escape). In 1966, Coburn finally became a bona-fide star with the release of Our Man Flint, a James Bond spoof released by 20th Century Fox as competition. After a sequel, Coburn decided to branch off into the independent film world. Due to his interests in karate (which he discovered by training with Bruce Lee), Buddhism, and gong-playing, the remainder of the decade (which included less-than-forgettable films), proved uneventful to Coburn.
In 1973, however, Coburn teamed up with radical director Sam Peckinpah for the film Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid (they had first worked together in 1965 on Major Dundee). But Peckinpah's drinking and budget problems caused the film to be drastically edited when it opened. Both Peckinpah and Coburn were disappointed and delved into Cross of Iron, a war epic which also flopped. The two still remained good friends until the legendary director's death in 1984 of a stroke.
Due to severe rheumatoid arthritis, he appeared in very few films during the 1980s. He claimed to have healed himself with pills containing sulfur, and returned to screen in the 1990s.
He then appeared in films such as Young Guns II (1990), Sister Act 2 (1993), The Nutty Professor (1996), Maverick (1994), and Payback (1999), mostly in small but memorable roles. For his appearance as the abusive father of protagonist Nick Nolte in Affliction he received an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1998.
He died suddenly on November 18, 2002 from a heart attack, at the age of 74.
Filmography
- Ride Lonesome (1959)
- Face of a Fugitive (1959)
- The Magnificent Seven (1960)
- The Murder Men (1961)
- Hell Is for Heroes (1962)
- The Great Escape (1963)
- Charade (1963)
- The Man from Galveston (1963)
- Kings of the Sun (1963) (narrator)
- Action on the Beach (1964) (short subject)
- The Americanization of Emily (1964)
- Major Dundee (1965)
- A High Wind in Jamaica (1965)
- The Loved One (1965)
- Our Man Flint (1966)
- What Did You Do in the War, Daddy? (1966)
- Dead Heat on a Merry-Go-Round (1966)
- In Like Flint (1967)
- Waterhole #3 (1967)
- The President's Analyst (1967)
- Duffy (1968)
- Candy (1968)
- Hard Contract (1969)
- Last of the Mobile Hot Shots (1970)
- A Fistful of Dynamite (1971)
- The Carey Treatment (1972)
- The Honkers (1972)
- A Reason to Live, a Reason to Die (1972)
- The Life and Legend of Bruce Lee (1973) (documentary)
- Harry in Your Pocket (1973)
- Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (1973)
- The Last of Sheila (1973)
- The Internecine Project (1974)
- Bite the Bullet (1975)
- Hard Times (1975)
- Sky Riders (1976)
- The Last Hard Men (1976)
- Midway (1976)
- White Rock (1977) (documentary) (narrator)
- Bruce Lee, the Legend (1977) (documentary)
- Cross of Iron (1977)
- Speed Fever (1978) (documentary)
- California Suite (1978) (Cameo)
- Firepower (1979)
- The Muppet Movie (1979) (Cameo)
- Goldengirl (1979)
- The Baltimore Bullet (1980)
- Loving Couples (1980)
- Mr. Patman (1980)
- High Risk (1981)
- Looker (1981)
- Martin's Day (1984)
- Death of a Soldier (1986)
- Walking After Midnight (1988) (documentary)
- Call from Space (1989) (short subject)
- Train to Heaven (1990)
- Young Guns II (1990)
- Hudson Hawk (1991)
- The Player (1992) (Cameo)
- Deadfall (1993)
- Curse of the Dragon (1993) (documentary)
- (1993)
- Maverick (1994)
- The Set Up (1995)
- Skeletons (1996)
- Eraser (1996)
- The Nutty Professor (1996)
- Ben Johnson: Third Cowboy on the Right (1996) (documentary)
- Keys to Tulsa (1997)
- The Disappearance of Kevin Johnson (1997)
- Affliction (1997)
- Payback (1999)
- The Good Doctor (2000) (short subject)
- Intrepid (2000)
- Proximity (2001)
- Texas Rangers (2001) (narrator)
- Yellow Bird (2001)
- The Man from Elysian Fields (2001)
- Monsters, Inc. (2001) (voice)
- Kurosawa (2001) (documentary)
- Snow Dogs (2002)
- American Gun (2002)
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Television Work
- Klondike (1960-1961)
- Acapulco (1961) (canceled after 8 episodes)
- The Dain Curse (1978) (miniseries)
- Jacqueline Susann's Valley of the Dolls (1981)
- Darkroom (1981-1982)
- Malibu (1983)
- Draw! (1984)
- Sins of the Father (1985)
- The Edge and Beyond (1988-1990) (narrator)
- The Infinite Voyage (host from 1990-1991)
- Captain Planet and the Planeteers (voice-over cast member from 1990-1993)
- Crash Landing: The Rescue of Flight 232 (1992)
- National Lampoon's True Facts (1992)
- The Fifth Corner (1992) (canceled after 6 episodes)
- Christmas Reunion (1993)
- The Hit List (1993)
- Greyhounds (1994)
- The Avenging Angel (1995)
- Ray Alexander: A Menu for Murder (1995)
- The Cherokee Kid (1996)
- The Second Civil War (1997)
- Mr. Murder (1998)
- Noah's Ark (1999)
- Shake, Rattle & Roll: An American Love Story (1999)
- Missing Pieces (2000)
- Walter and Henry (2001)
External links
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