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 1943s The More the Merrier Coburn was born in Macon Georgia the son of ScotchIrish 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 wifes 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 CCBYSA full list of contributors on Wikipedia
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