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James Harrison Coburn III (August 31, 1928 – November 18, 2002) was an American actor who was featured in more than 70 films, largely action roles, and made 100 television appearances during a 45-year career.Allmovie Biography
Coburn was a perfect tough guy in numerous leading roles in Westerns and action films. He played supporting roles in The Magnificent Seven, Hell Is for Heroes, The Great Escape, Charade and Hard Times as well as the lead role in Our Man Flint and its sequel In Like Flint, The President's Analyst, Duck, You Sucker!, Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, and Cross of Iron. In 1998, Coburn won an Academy Award for his supporting role as Glen Whitehouse in Affliction. In 2002, he received a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Miniseries nomination for producing The Mists of Avalon.
During the New Hollywood era, he cultivated an image synonymous with "cool".
In 1950, Coburn was drafted into the U.S. Army, where he served as a truck driver and occasionally a disc jockey on an Army radio station in Texas. He also narrated Army training films in Mainz, West Germany.
He attended Los Angeles City College, where he studied acting with fellow actor Jeff Corey under Stella Adler's tutelage, and later made his stage debut at the La Jolla Playhouse in Herman Melville's Billy Budd.
He was selected for a Remington Products razor commercial, where he was able to shave off 11 days of beard growth in less than 60 seconds while joking that he had more teeth to show on camera than the other 12 candidates for the part.
Coburn's film debut came in 1959 as the sidekick of Pernell Roberts in the Randolph Scott Western Ride Lonesome. He soon got a job in another Western, Face of a Fugitive (1959). Filmink argued "he made a terrific cowboy and was thus easily castable in the scores of Westerns being made for American TV at the time; indeed, Coburn guest starred in pretty much all of them." These included several episodes of NBC's Bonanza and appearing twice each on three other NBC Westerns: Laramie with Robert Fuller, Tales of Wells Fargo with Dale Robertson, one episode in the role of Butch Cassidy; and The Restless Gun with John Payne in "The Pawn" and "The Way Back", the latter segment alongside Bonanza's Dan Blocker. The Restless Gun, DVD, Timeless Media Group "Butch Cassidy" aired in 1958. He played a rustler in The Rifleman - Season 1, Episode 13 - The Young Englishman.
Coburn's third film was a major breakthrough for him, as the knife-wielding Britt in The Magnificent Seven (1960), directed by John Sturges for the Mirisch Company. Coburn was hired on the recommendation of his friend Robert Vaughn. During the 1960–61 season, Coburn co-starred with Ralph Taeger and Joi Lansing in the NBC adventure/drama series Klondike, set in the gold rush town of Skagway. When Klondike was cancelled, Taeger and Coburn were regrouped as detectives in Mexico in NBC's equally short-lived Acapulco.
Coburn also made two guest appearances on CBS's Perry Mason, both times as the murder victim, in "The Case of the Envious Editor" and "The Case of the Angry Astronaut". In 1962, he portrayed Col. Briscoe in the "Hostage Child" of CBS's Rawhide.
Coburn was one of the villains in Charade (1963), starring Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn. He followed that role playing a glib naval officer in Paddy Chayefsky's The Americanization of Emily, replacing James Garner, who had moved up to the lead role when William Holden withdrew from the production. As a result, Coburn was signed to a seven-year contract with 20th Century Fox."Entertainment: Coburn Wins Pact, Role in 'High Wind' He'll Star with Anthony Quinn; Mrs. Ames Pens Kidnaping Tale" Hopper, Hedda. Los Angeles Times June 4, 1964: A10.
Coburn had another excellent supporting role as a one-armed Indian tracker in Major Dundee (1965), directed by Sam Peckinpah and starring Charlton Heston.
At Fox, he was second-billed in the pirate film A High Wind in Jamaica (1965), supporting Anthony Quinn in the lead role. He had a cameo in the black comedy The Loved One (1965).
Coburn followed it with What Did You Do in the War, Daddy? (1966), a wartime comedy from Blake Edwards, which was made for the Mirisches; Coburn was top billed although the lead was Dick Shawn. It was a commercial disappointment. Dead Heat on a Merry-Go-Round (1966) was a crime movie made at Columbia.
Back at Fox, Coburn made a second Flint film, In Like Flint (1967), which was popular, but Coburn did not wish to make any more movies in that series. This has been called a "mistake" by Coburn as films in which he starred in where he did not play Flint were not as successful. He went over to Paramount for a Western comedy made through Edwards' company, Waterhole No. 3 (1967) and the political satire The President's Analyst (1967). Neither performed particularly well commercially, but over the years, The President's Analyst has become a cult film. In 1967, Coburn was voted the 12th-biggest star in Hollywood."Star Glitter Is Catching" by Richard L. Coe. The Washington Post and Times-Herald Washington, January 7, 1968: H1.
Over at Columbia, Coburn was in a Swinging '60s heist film, Duffy (1968), which flopped. He was one of several stars who had cameos in Candy (1968), then played a hitman in Hard Contract (1969) for Fox, another flop.
Coburn tried a change of pace, an adaptation of a Tennessee Williams play, Last of the Mobile Hot Shots (1970) directed by Sidney Lumet, but the film was not popular. In July 1970, Richard F Zanuck of Fox dropped the $300,000 option it had with Coburn.
In 1971, Coburn starred in the Zapata Western Duck, You Sucker!, with Rod Steiger and directed by Sergio Leone, as an Irish explosives expert and revolutionary who has fled to Mexico during the time of the Mexican Revolution in the early 20th century. In 1964, Coburn had said he would do A Fistful of Dollars if they paid him $25,000, which was too expensive for the production's tiny budget. Duck You Sucker, also called A Fistful of Dynamite, was not as highly regarded as Leone's four previous Westerns, but was hugely popular in Europe, especially France.
Back in the US, Coburn made another film with Blake Edwards, the thriller The Carey Treatment (1972). It was badly cut by MGM and was commercially unsuccessful. So, too, was The Honkers (1972), where Coburn played a rodeo rider.
Coburn went back to Italy to make another Western, A Reason to Live, a Reason to Die (1973), or Massacre at Fort Holman. He then reteamed with director Sam Peckinpah for the 1973 film Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, playing Pat Garrett. In 1973, he was voted the 23rd-most popular star in Hollywood."EASTWOOD SELECTED BOX-OFFICE CHAMPION" Los Angeles Times January 2, 1974: d17.
In 1973, Coburn was among the featured celebrities dressed in prison gear on the cover of the album Band on the Run made by Paul McCartney and his band Wings.
Coburn was one of the pallbearers at the funeral of Bruce Lee along with Steve McQueen, Bruce's brother, Robert Lee, Peter Chin, Dan Inosanto, and Taky Kimura. Coburn gave a speech: "Farewell, Brother. It has been an honor to share this space in time with you. As a friend and a teacher, you have given to me, have brought my physical, spiritual, and psychological selves together. Thank you. May peace be with you."
Coburn was one of several stars in the popular The Last of Sheila (1973). He then starred in a series of thrillers: Harry in Your Pocket (1974), the debut feature from Mission Impossible creator Bruce Geller, and The Internecine Project (1975). Neither was widely seen.
Coburn played the lead in the action film Sky Riders (1976), then played Charlton Heston's antagonist in The Last Hard Men (1976). He narrated the official documentary film of the 1976 Innsbruck Winter Olympics, White Rock. He was one of the many stars in Midway (1976), then had the star role in Sam Peckinpah's Cross of Iron (1977) playing a German soldier. He finished directing the film because of Peckinpah's constant drunkenness. This critically acclaimed war epic performed poorly in the United States, but was a huge hit in Europe. Peckinpah and Coburn remained close friends until Peckinpah's death in 1984.
Coburn returned to television in 1978 to star in a three-part miniseries version of a Dashiell Hammett detective novel, The Dain Curse, tailoring his character to bear a physical resemblance to the author. During the previous year as a spokesman for the Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company, he was paid $500,000 to promote its new product in television advertisements by saying only two words: "Schlitz Light." Dougherty, Philip H. "Advertising: A Tough Guy to Sell Light Beer," The New York Times, Friday, May 27, 1977. Retrieved February 15, 2025. In Japan, his masculine appearance was so appealing, he became an icon for its leading cigarette brand. He also supported himself in later years by exporting rare automobiles to Japan. He was deeply interested in Zen and Tibetan Buddhism, and collected sacred Buddhist artwork. He narrated a film about the 16th Karmapa called The Lion's Roar.
Coburn starred in Firepower (1979) with Sophia Loren, replacing Charles Bronson when the latter pulled out. He had a cameo in The Muppet Movie (1979) and had leading roles in Goldengirl (1980) and The Baltimore Bullet (1980). He was Shirley MacLaine's husband in Loving Couples (1980) and had the lead in a Canadian film, Crossover (1980).
Because of his severe rheumatoid arthritis, Coburn appeared in very few films during the 1980s, despite continuing to work during his final years. This disease had left Coburn's body deformed and in pain. He told ABC News in a 1999 interview: "You start to turn to stone. See, my hand is twisted now because tendons have shortened." For 20 years, Coburn tried a host of both conventional and unconventional treatments, but none of them worked. "There was so much pain that...every time I stood up, I would break into a sweat," he recalled. Then, in 1996, Coburn tried methylsulfonylmethane (MSM), a sulfur compound available at most health food stores. The result, he said, was nothing short of miraculous. "You take this stuff and it starts right away," said Coburn. "Everyone I've given it to has had a positive response." Though the MSM did not cure Coburn's arthritis, it did relieve his pain, allowing him to move more freely and resume his career.
Coburn was in a four-year relationship with British singer-songwriter Lynsey de Paul from the late 1970s. They co-wrote her songs "Losin' the Blues for You" and "Melancholy Melon" that appeared on her album Tigers and Fireflies. Coburn resumed his film career in the 1990s, where he appeared in supporting roles in Young Guns II, Hudson Hawk, , Maverick, Eraser, The Nutty Professor, Affliction, and Payback. His performance as Glen Whitehouse in Affliction earned him an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. One of his final roles was in the Pixar animated film Monsters, Inc. as the voice of Henry J. Waternoose III.
Cal Spyder #2377 was repainted several times during Coburn's ownership; it has been black, silver, and possibly red. He kept the car at his Beverly Hills-area home, where it was often serviced by Max Balchowsky, who also worked on the suspension and frame modifications on the Ford Mustang used in the filming of McQueen's Bullitt. Coburn sold the Spyder in 1987 after 24 years of ownership. The car was restored, had several owners, and was sold in 2008 for $10,894,400 to English broadcaster Chris Evans. At that time, it set a new world record for the highest price ever paid for an automobile at auction.
Over time, he also owned a Ferrari Daytona, at least one Ferrari 308, and a 1967 Ferrari 412P sports racer. From 1998 until his death, Coburn did the voiceovers for Chevrolet's Like a Rock commercials.
He later married actress Paula Murad on October 22, 1993, in Versailles, France; they remained married until Coburn's death in 2002. The couple set up a charitable organization, the James and Paula Coburn Foundation.
In spite of his severe rheumatoid arthritis, Coburn was a martial arts student and a friend of fellow actor Bruce Lee. Upon Lee's early death, Coburn was one of his pallbearers at the funeral on July 25, 1973.
| Uncredited | |
| Television pilot of Temple Houston | |
| Also producer | |
| Renamed A Fistful of Dynamite for U.S. release | |
| Renamed Massacre at Fort Holman for U.S. release | |
| Unfinished film | |
| Uncredited | |
| Cameo | |
| Short | |
| Television film | |
| Television film | |
| Television film | |
| Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor Nominated—Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role | |
| Short | |
| Short | |
| Voice | |
| Final film role |
| Episode: "The Last Voyage" |
| Episode: "The Night America Trembled" |
| Episode: "The Voice in the Night" |
| Season 4 Episode 3: "The Jokester" |
| Episode: "Ah There, Beau Brummel" |
| "The Millie Davis Story" |
| 2 episodes |
| Uncredited 3 episodes |
| 2 episodes |
| 2 episodes |
| Episode: "Hard Lines" |
| Season 5 Episode 13: "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" |
| Episode: "Hard Money, Soft Touch" |
| Episode: "A Thread of Respect" |
| Episode: "Client: Steele" |
| Episode: "The Fire Makers" |
| Episode: "Deadfall" |
| 2 episodes |
| Episode: "The Arrival" |
| Episode: "Mr. Jinx" |
| Episode: "The Gunfighter" |
| Episode: "The Noble Outlaws" |
| Episode: "The Girl" |
| Episode: "Millionaire Timothy Mackail" |
| Episode: "Reunion for Revenge" |
| Episode: "The Black Pearls" |
| 2 episodes |
| 2 episodes |
| Episode: "Six Feet of Gold" |
| 2 episodes |
| 3 episodes |
| 2 episodes |
| 2 episodes |
| 4 episodes |
| Episode: "Friend of the Family" |
| "Blackwater Swamp" |
| Episode: "Contraband" |
| "Target of Hate" |
| Episode: "The Murder Clause" |
| Episode: "The Truly Yours" |
| Episode: "Home Town" |
| Episode: "Coat of Arms" |
| "Pamela's Oxen" |
| 2 episodes |
| 10 episodes |
| Episode: "Trouble Street" |
| Episode: "The Jamaica Ginger Story" |
| Episode: "The Best Policy" |
| Episode: "Come Home Again" |
| Episode: "The Frightened Ones" |
| Television film |
| Episode: "River Gold" |
| 2 episodes |
| Episode: "Goodbye Mama, Hello Auntie Maud" |
| Episode: "The Safari" (television pilot for a series based on The African Queen) |
| Episode: "A Chant of Silence" |
| Episode: "Hostage Child" |
| Episode: "Blues for a Junkman: Arthur Troy" |
| Episode: "The Test" |
| Episode: "Masquerade" |
| Episode: "Uncaged" |
| Episode: "Oh, You Shouldn't Have Done It" |
| Episode: "The Old Man in the Cave" |
| Episode: "Kiss the Monster - Make Him Sleep" |
| Episode: "The Man Who Saved His Country" |
| Episode: "Irving the Explainer" |
| Mini-series |
| Guest appearance |
| Television film |
| Series |
| Episode: "Pilot" |
| Mini-series |
| Episode: "James Coburn/Lindsey Buckingham" |
| Television film |
| Television film |
| Episode: "Pinocchio" |
| Television film |
| Television film |
| Television film |
| 15 episodes |
| 2 episodes |
| Television film |
| Television film |
| Television film |
| Television film |
| Episode: "Day of the Dead" |
| Television film |
| Television film |
| Episode: "Upbringings" |
| Television film |
| Television film |
| Television film |
| 2 episodes |
| Television film |
| Television film |
| Television mini-series |
| Episode: "The Wild Swans" |
| Uncredited Episode: "Judgment" |
| Television film |
| Television film |
| Television film |
| Television film |
| Episode: "The Immortal" (final appearance) |
| IMDb MobyGames |
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