AncientFaces Your browser does not support JavaScript!
Please enable JavaScript to view the entire contents of this page.

James Coburn 1928 - 2002

James Coburn was born on August 31, 1928, and died at age 74 years old on November 18, 2002 in Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California United States. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember James Coburn.

James Coburn

August 31, 1928

November 18, 2002

Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California, United States

Male

Looking for another James Coburn?

James Coburn James Coburn (1928 - 2002)

ADVERTISEMENT BY ANCESTRY.COM

This page exists for YOU
and everyone who remembers James.

Share what you know,
even ask what you wish you knew.

Invite others to do the same,
but don't worry if you can't...

Someone, somewhere will find this page,
and we'll notify you when they do.

James Coburn's History: 1928 - 2002

Uncover new discoveries and connections today by sharing about people & moments from yesterday.

- Discover how AncientFaces works.

08/31

1928

Birthday

August 31, 1928

Birthdate

Unknown

Birthplace

ADVERTISEMENT BY
11/18

2002

Death

November 18, 2002

Death date

Cardiac Arrest

Cause of death

Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California United States
Death location

ADVERTISEMENT BY
Obituary

James Coburn, 74, Is Dead; A Sly Presence in 80 Films By Robert F. Worth Nov. 19, 2002 James Coburn, the rugged actor who reveled in playing rakish men of action and slyly humorous villains and overcame a debilitating illness to win an Academy Award for his performance in ''Affliction'' in 1998, died yesterday in Los Angeles. He was 74. A spokeswoman for Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles said Mr. Coburn was in cardiac arrest when he arrived there. A man of lean good looks, Mr. Coburn first established his reputation in ''The Magnificent Seven'' in 1960 and went on to star in more than 80 movies including ''The Great Escape,'' ''Charade,'' and ''Our Man Flint.'' His lanky body and Mephistophelean laugh led directors to type him as a villain, and though he became well known for those roles he never made it to the front rank of Hollywood stars. In the early 1980s, he developed rheumatoid arthritis so severe that it hampered his career for most of a decade. But in 1999, he received an Academy Award as Best Supporting Actor for his role as Nick Nolte's alcoholic father in Paul Schrader's acclaimed film ''Affliction.'' Although many critics hailed it as the best performance of his career, he found it difficult to find work afterward. Mr. Coburn was born in Laurel, Neb., the son of an auto mechanic and schoolteacher, and grew up in the Los Angeles suburb of Compton. He served briefly in the Army, where he worked as a radio service operator, and made his stage debut at the La Jolla Playhouse opposite Vincent Price in ''Billy Budd.'' He moved to New York City in the mid-1950s to study acting with Stella Adler, appearing in plays and some television dramas on programs including ''Studio One'' and ''General Electric Theater.'' He made his film debut as an outlaw in a Randolph Scott Western, ''Ride Lonesome,'' in 1959. By that time he was a veteran of the genre, having done at least 40 television shows, most of them Westerns. He appeared in another Western, ''Face of a Fugitive,'' the same year. But it was his role as the knife-throwing Britt in ''The Magnificent Seven,'' where he appeared with Steve McQueen and Charles Bronson, that first put him on the map. He had few lines, but his gaunt physique and bass-baritone voice had a powerful impact. Soon he was playing in Sam Peckinpah Westerns, including ''Major Dundee'' and ''Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid.'' He continued to play mostly supporting roles until the crime drama ''Dead Heat in a Merry-Go-Round'' (1966). His fame reached a new level with his portrayal of Derek Flint in the James Bond spoof ''Our Man Flint'' (1966) and its sequel in the following year, ''In Like Flint.'' In 1967 he starred in ''The President's Analyst,'' a satire he also produced. Despite his menacing screen personality, Mr. Coburn said he had never been in a real physical fight. He did take some martial arts lessons from Bruce Lee, a friend at whose funeral he served as a pallbearer in 1973. In the 1970s Mr. Coburn's box office appeal waned, and a bitter divorce in 1979 preceded the onset of his arthritis. He eventually defeated the illness with dietary supplements after experimenting with a number of alternative treatments. However, he struggled to find film work in the 1980s and earned much of his money doing television commercials, especially in Japan. In 1990 he returned to character roles, appearing as an enemy of Billy the Kid in ''Young Guns II'' and a philanthropist in the 1996 remake of ''The Nutty Professor.'' His marriage to Beverly Kelly ended in divorce. He is survived by his wife, Paula Murad, two children, Lisa and James Jr., and two grandchildren.

ADVERTISEMENT BY
Looking for more information?
Advertisement
Did you know?

ADVERTISEMENT BY
Looking for more information?
share

Memories

below