# James Coburn
**James Coburn** (James Harrison Coburn III; August 31, 1928 – November 18, 2002) was an American film and television actor known for laconic, coolly confident roles in Westerns and action films, who won the [Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor](https://www.edgepedia.org/academy-award-for-best-supporting-actor) late in his career for *Affliction* (1997). Over a career of roughly four and a half decades he appeared in about 70 to 80 films and made more than 100 television appearances.[1](https://walkoffame.com/james-coburn/) • [2](https://www.nsea.org/sites/default/files/content_images/Resources/900Famous.03312016.pdf)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | August 31, 1928, Laurel, Nebraska[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000336/bio/) |
| Died | November 18, 2002, heart attack, Beverly Hills, California, aged 74[4](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2002/11/19/actor-james-coburn-of-flint-movies-dies-at-74/b6ccb7c8-3293-40ae-9748-b5a143238133/) |
| Signature roles | Britt in *The Magnificent Seven* (1960); Sedgwick in *The Great Escape* (1963); Derek Flint in *Our Man Flint* (1966) and *In Like Flint* (1967); Pat Garrett in *Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid* (1973)[5](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/PersonDetails/77494) |
| Academy Award | Best Supporting Actor for *Affliction*, won at the 71st Academy Awards on March 21, 1999[6](https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1999) |
| Health setback | Rheumatoid arthritis from about age 50 left one hand crippled; he said the pain was gone by 1999 after treatment with sulfur-based pills[4](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2002/11/19/actor-james-coburn-of-flint-movies-dies-at-74/b6ccb7c8-3293-40ae-9748-b5a143238133/) • [7](https://www.theguardian.com/news/2002/nov/20/guardianobituaries.filmnews) |
| Walk of Fame | Motion Pictures star at 7055 Hollywood Boulevard, ceremony date listed as April 1, 1994[1](https://walkoffame.com/james-coburn/) |
| Final work | Last film *American Gun* (unreleased at his death); voiced Henry J. Waternoose in *Monsters, Inc.* (2001)[8](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2002-nov-24-ca-baskin24-story.html) • [5](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/PersonDetails/77494) |
## Early life and training
Coburn was born in Laurel, Nebraska, and his family moved to California during the [Depression](https://www.edgepedia.org/depression) after his father's garage business was wiped out; he grew up in Compton.[7](https://www.theguardian.com/news/2002/nov/20/guardianobituaries.filmnews) • [9](https://projects.latimes.com/hollywood/star-walk/james-coburn/) He attended Compton Junior College, served three years in the [United States Army](https://www.edgepedia.org/united-states-army) as a truck driver and occasional disc jockey on an Army radio station in Texas, and also narrated Army training films in Mainz, Germany; his deep baritone, aggravated by a childhood bout of bronchitis, found him doing voiceovers for those films.[1](https://walkoffame.com/james-coburn/) • [10](https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/article/james-coburn-the-ultimate-sixties-tough-guy)
Back in civilian life he studied acting at Los Angeles City College and made his professional stage debut at the La Jolla Playhouse opposite [Vincent Price](https://www.edgepedia.org/vincent-price) in *Billy Budd*.[9](https://projects.latimes.com/hollywood/star-walk/james-coburn/) In 1954 he moved to New York, where he studied for about five years with the acting coach [Stella Adler](https://www.edgepedia.org/stella-adler) and worked in television commercials, including a Remington razor spot, and in live dramas such as *Studio One* and *General Electric Theatre*.[11](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/james-coburn/) • [12](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-International-Television-Almanac/2000/International-Television-%26-Video-Almanac-2000-Whos-Who.pdf) He had seen [Akira Kurosawa](https://www.edgepedia.org/akira-kurosawa)'s *The Seven Samurai* fifteen times while studying with Adler, knowledge that later bore directly on his best-known role.[7](https://www.theguardian.com/news/2002/nov/20/guardianobituaries.filmnews)
## Television Westerns and the breakthrough
Returning to Los Angeles by the late 1950s, Coburn worked steadily in filmed series, mostly Westerns such as *The Restless Gun*, *Lawman*, *Wagon Train*, and *Alfred Hitchcock Presents*, usually as macho sidekicks and villains.[11](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/james-coburn/) • [9](https://projects.latimes.com/hollywood/star-walk/james-coburn/) His film debut came in 1959 as the sidekick to [Pernell Roberts](https://www.edgepedia.org/pernell-roberts)'s bad guy in Budd Boetticher's Western *Ride Lonesome*.[1](https://walkoffame.com/james-coburn/) • [5](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/PersonDetails/77494)
**The Magnificent Seven.** Director John Sturges cast him as Britt, the knife-throwing gunslinger, in the 1960 remake of *The Seven Samurai*. Coburn had pursued the part after meeting the already-cast [Robert Vaughn](https://www.edgepedia.org/robert-vaughn) in the street shortly before shooting began.[7](https://www.theguardian.com/news/2002/nov/20/guardianobituaries.filmnews) Though Britt has few lines, film historian [Leonard Maltin](https://www.edgepedia.org/leonard-maltin) noted that Coburn's mere screen presence grabbed the public's attention.[4](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2002/11/19/actor-james-coburn-of-flint-movies-dies-at-74/b6ccb7c8-3293-40ae-9748-b5a143238133/) Sturges remembered him for *The Great Escape* (1963), in which Coburn played the Australian POW Sedgwick, nicknamed "the Manufacturer"; the film became one of the highest-grossing films of its year.[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000336/bio/) • [5](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/PersonDetails/77494) • [11](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/james-coburn/)
## Leading man in the 1960s and 1970s
Coburn hit his stride as a leading man with the [James Bond](https://www.edgepedia.org/james-bond) spy spoofs *Our Man Flint* (1966) and *In Like Flint* (1967), playing agent Derek Flint in both.[9](https://projects.latimes.com/hollywood/star-walk/james-coburn/) • [5](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/PersonDetails/77494) He produced and starred in the comedy thriller *The President's Analyst* (1967), a critical success that, in the Guardian's words, bridged Sinatra-style cool and counterculture cool.[9](https://projects.latimes.com/hollywood/star-walk/james-coburn/) • [7](https://www.theguardian.com/news/2002/nov/20/guardianobituaries.filmnews) He also worked with [Sam Peckinpah](https://www.edgepedia.org/sam-peckinpah), beginning with the role of army scout Samuel Potts in *Major Dundee* (1965) and continuing as the title sheriff in *Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid* (1973), which the Guardian called the most impressive work of his life, and as a disenchanted German soldier on the Russian front in *Cross of Iron* (1977).[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000336/bio/) • [7](https://www.theguardian.com/news/2002/nov/20/guardianobituaries.filmnews) • [5](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/PersonDetails/77494) Other roles included the talkative con men and hustlers of *Dead Heat on a Merry-Go-Round*, *Harry in Your Pocket*, and *Hard Times*, parts that let him resist being typecast as a strong-silent action hero.[13](https://www.encyclopedia.com/movies/dictionaries-thesauruses-pictures-and-press-releases/coburn-james)
His box-office appeal diminished in the late 1970s. In the 1980s he all but disappeared from the screen with the onset of arthritis, but he kept a lucrative career adding his distinctive voice to television commercials, particularly in Japan, where his honorary samurai image made him an icon for the country's leading cigarette brand.[9](https://projects.latimes.com/hollywood/star-walk/james-coburn/) • [7](https://www.theguardian.com/news/2002/nov/20/guardianobituaries.filmnews) He also hosted the anthology series *Darkroom* (1981–82) and directed a 1977 episode of *The Rockford Files*.[12](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-International-Television-Almanac/2000/International-Television-%26-Video-Almanac-2000-Whos-Who.pdf) • [13](https://www.encyclopedia.com/movies/dictionaries-thesauruses-pictures-and-press-releases/coburn-james)
## Arthritis and return
Toward the end of the 1970s Coburn was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, which for about ten years severely limited his work; at one point he could not make a fist or climb a flight of stairs without pain, and on a Western set he had to be hoisted onto a horse.[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000336/bio/) • [4](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2002/11/19/actor-james-coburn-of-flint-movies-dies-at-74/b6ccb7c8-3293-40ae-9748-b5a143238133/) • [14](https://www.rogerebert.com/interviews/interview-with-james-coburn) After conventional treatments failed he turned to a holistic therapist and a restructured diet, and he claimed to have healed himself with pills that had a sulfur base. His knuckles remained gnarled, but he said in a 1999 interview that the pain was gone.[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000336/bio/) • [4](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2002/11/19/actor-james-coburn-of-flint-movies-dies-at-74/b6ccb7c8-3293-40ae-9748-b5a143238133/)
In the late 1980s he returned in character roles: a cattle rancher in *Young Guns II* (1990), a scrooge in *Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit* (1993), and a philanthropist in the 1996 remake of *The Nutty Professor*.[9](https://projects.latimes.com/hollywood/star-walk/james-coburn/) • [5](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/PersonDetails/77494)
## Affliction and the Oscar
In [Paul Schrader](https://www.edgepedia.org/paul-schrader)'s psychological drama *Affliction* (1997), Coburn played Glen Whitehouse, the abusive, alcoholic father of [Nick Nolte](https://www.edgepedia.org/nick-nolte)'s character. Schrader wanted him for the part because he was "large physically" and represented another generation of Hollywood manhood.[7](https://www.theguardian.com/news/2002/nov/20/guardianobituaries.filmnews) At the 71st Academy Awards on March 21, 1999, honoring films of 1998, Coburn won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, beating nominees including [Robert Duvall](https://www.edgepedia.org/robert-duvall), Ed Harris, Geoffrey Rush, and Billy Bob Thornton.[6](https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1999) "I finally got one right," he said while collecting the award.[7](https://www.theguardian.com/news/2002/nov/20/guardianobituaries.filmnews)
## Final years
At age 70 Coburn's career revived, and he appeared in another 14 films, including *The Man from Elysian Fields* (2001) and *Snow Dogs* (2002), and voiced the company boss Henry J. Waternoose in Pixar's *Monsters, Inc.* (2001).[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000336/bio/) • [5](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/PersonDetails/77494) His actual final film, shot in early 2001, was the independent production *American Gun*, in which he played a man tracing the history of the handgun involved in a family tragedy; it had not been released when he died.[8](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2002-nov-24-ca-baskin24-story.html)
Coburn died of a heart attack at his Beverly Hills home on November 18, 2002, at 74, while listening to music with his second wife, Paula. He was rushed to [Cedars-Sinai Medical Center](https://www.edgepedia.org/cedars-sinai-medical-center) and pronounced dead on arrival.[4](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2002/11/19/actor-james-coburn-of-flint-movies-dies-at-74/b6ccb7c8-3293-40ae-9748-b5a143238133/) • [15](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/james-coburn-gravellyvoiced-macho-man-dies-of-a-heart-attack-aged-74-128522.html) His first marriage, to Beverly Kelly, ended in a costly divorce; they had a son and a daughter.[7](https://www.theguardian.com/news/2002/nov/20/guardianobituaries.filmnews) The date of his Hollywood Walk of Fame star is reported differently across sources: the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce listing gives a ceremony on April 1, 1994, at 7055 Hollywood Boulevard,[1](https://walkoffame.com/james-coburn/) while a Nebraska heritage reference places the star in 1960.[2](https://www.nsea.org/sites/default/files/content_images/Resources/900Famous.03312016.pdf)
## References
1. [James Coburn, Hollywood Walk of Fame star profile](https://walkoffame.com/james-coburn/)
2. [James Coburn (1928-2002), Nebraska Statewide Arboretum famous Nebraskans](https://www.nsea.org/sites/default/files/content_images/Resources/900Famous.03312016.pdf)
3. [James Coburn Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000336/bio/)
4. [Actor James Coburn of 'Flint' Movies Dies at 74, Associated Press via The Washington Post](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2002/11/19/actor-james-coburn-of-flint-movies-dies-at-74/b6ccb7c8-3293-40ae-9748-b5a143238133/)
5. [James Coburn filmography, AFI Catalog](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/PersonDetails/77494)
6. [The 71st Academy Awards (1999), Oscars.org](https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1999)
7. [James Coburn obituary by Veronica Horwell, The Guardian, November 20, 2002](https://www.theguardian.com/news/2002/nov/20/guardianobituaries.filmnews)
8. [Personal politics: Coburn's last film, Los Angeles Times, November 24, 2002](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2002-nov-24-ca-baskin24-story.html)
9. [James Coburn, Hollywood Star Walk, Los Angeles Times](https://projects.latimes.com/hollywood/star-walk/james-coburn/)
10. [Get to know James Coburn, the ultimate Sixties tough guy, British GQ](https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/article/james-coburn-the-ultimate-sixties-tough-guy)
11. [James Coburn, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/james-coburn/)
12. [International Television & Video Almanac 2000, Who's Who entry for James Coburn](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-International-Television-Almanac/2000/International-Television-%26-Video-Almanac-2000-Whos-Who.pdf)
13. [Coburn, James, Encyclopedia.com](https://www.encyclopedia.com/movies/dictionaries-thesauruses-pictures-and-press-releases/coburn-james)
14. [Interview with James Coburn, RogerEbert.com](https://www.rogerebert.com/interviews/interview-with-james-coburn)
15. [James Coburn, gravelly-voiced macho man, dies of a heart attack aged 74, The Independent](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/james-coburn-gravellyvoiced-macho-man-dies-of-a-heart-attack-aged-74-128522.html)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › American actors: 1940s to 1960s › Surnames Br to C*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license