James Coburn

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James Harrison Coburn III (born August 31, 1928 in Laurel , Nebraska , † November 18, 2002 in Beverly Hills , California ) was an American film actor .

Life

Coburn was the son of auto mechanic James Harrison Coburn Sr. and his wife Mylet. Coburn's maternal grandparents were immigrants from Sweden. He then grew up in Compton , California.

Coburn made his film debut in 1959 in the western On Your Own, alongside Randolph Scott and Pernell Roberts . He played in some of the classics of this genre and was initially best known for western roles. The high point of his career was the 1999 Oscar for Best Supporting Role as a violent and domineering father in The Hunted , in which he played alongside Nick Nolte and Sissy Spacek . Coburn's last film role was in American Gun in 2002, as a father traveling the United States in search of the owner of the gun that shot his daughter. He then played a role in the television series Arli $$ in the episode "The Immortal".

At the age of forty, Coburn developed rheumatoid arthritis , which is why he temporarily retired from the film business in the 1980s. He has acted in over 100 films. Coburn was also a Jeet Kune Do student of Bruce Lee .

From 1959 until their divorce in 1979, James Coburn was married to Beverly Kelly. With her he has a daughter (* 1957) and son James H. Coburn IV (* 1961), who is also active in the film industry. In 1993 he married the actress Paula O'Hara .

Coburn's grave in Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery

Coburn died in 2002 after a heart attack at his Beverly Hills home .

effect

“In the role of the taciturn knife thrower, his tall body carries out a persistent conflict between phlegm and violence. Every gesture suggests that he is holding death on hold. From now on, self-control should be the trump card that his westerners, soldiers or spies play. [...] There is something unredeemed in his career: he has seldom allowed himself to play characters who are at the mercy of their inner turmoil or who are capable of insight. […] In Paul Schrader's 'Affliction' [The Hunted] he celebrated a brilliant comeback: with holy anger he plays an evil, deluded patriarch. […] Seldom has an Oscar been as deserved as the one that Coburn received in 1999 for this clinical study. "

- Gerhard Midding

Filmography (selection)

Awards

literature

  • Sprengte Ketten - The Great Escape, Behind the scenes , Photographs of cameraman Walter Riml, Editor Helma Türk & Christian Riml, House Publishing 2013, English / German * ( Online )

Web links

Commons : James Coburn  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ James Coburn August 31, 1928 - November 18, 2002 . epd Film 1/2003, p. 11 (obituary)
personal data
SURNAME Coburn, James
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Coburn, James Harrison III (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American film actor
DATE OF BIRTH August 31, 1928
PLACE OF BIRTH Laurel , Nebraska, USA
DATE OF DEATH November 18, 2002
Place of death Beverly Hills , California, USA