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Charles Coburn

Charles Coburn

Actor · Died August 30, 1961, aged 84 · Macon, Georgia, USA

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 1943's The More the Merrier. Coburn was born in Macon, Georgia, the son of Scotch-Irish 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 wife's 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.

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
June 18, 1877
Died
August 30, 1961 (aged 84)
From
Macon, Georgia, USA
Works as
Actor
Titles
46 on MovieCove · 73 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 38 days to Oct 27Down 31% in 30 days

What are Charles Coburn's films like?

Across their 45 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Self.

Genres

Comedy22 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 71st percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Comedy movies
Drama11 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 70th percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Drama movies
Biography4 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 76th percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Biography movies
Crime3 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 76th percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Crime movies
Action2 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 44th percentile
: browse their Action movies
Adventure2 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 52nd percentile
: browse their Adventure movies

Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.

Themes

share of theme weight
Bonds
40%
Self
17%
Morality
17%
Power
10%
Society
8%
Survival
5%
Ideas
4%
Romantic love17 titles, browse their movies with this themeFamily bonds12 titles, browse their movies with this themeMarriage8 titles, browse their movies with this themeDeception7 titles, browse their movies with this themeAmbition5 titles, browse their movies with this themePurpose5 titles, browse their movies with this themeClass6 titles, browse their movies with this themeCommunity6 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 45 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Light: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their light movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

Light 22 · Serious 12 · Dark 11

Stylized: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their stylized movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

A split, not a type: Grounded 23 · Stylized 19 · Heightened 3

Charged: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their charged movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

A split, not a type: Gentle 24 · Charged 19 · Intense 2

Shifting: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their shifting movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

A split, not a type: Steady 24 · Shifting 18 · Whiplash 3

Some laughs: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their some laughs movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

A split, not a type: Straight-faced 21 · Some laughs 8 · Funny 16

Even-paced: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their even-paced movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

A split, not a type: Slow burn 26 · Even-paced 19 · Relentless 0

Casual: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their casual movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 27 · Engaged 18 · Full focus 0

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 42 · Open-ended 3 · Ambiguous 0

Roles they play

39 analyzed roles

Usually the Mentor: 23 of 39 analyzed roles.

Mentor
23 of 39
Threshold guardian
4 of 39
Shadow
3 of 39
Herald
2 of 39
Shapeshifter
2 of 39
Hero
2 of 39
Trickster
2 of 39
Ally
1 of 39
Show the 39 roles

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Tense
17
Joyful
16
Melancholic
17
Warm
15
Romantic
16
Other
36

How their films linger

Feel-good24 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHopeful17 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFun16 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteBittersweet13 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteWistful5 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteRousing4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end · 3 with a twist

  • Happy26
  • Bittersweet16
  • Tragic1
  • Ambiguous1
  • Cyclical1

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Charles Coburn's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 11 of their 46 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (7).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Charles Coburn's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

73 credits, 46 with a MovieCove page; 9 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.

  • Pepe(1960)

    as Charles Coburn

    Midcredits score: 35th percentile of all films

  • Startime (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1959)

    Show 1 episode · as Colonel Sykes

  • John Paul Jones(1959)

    as Benjamin Franklin

    Midcredits score: 59th percentile of all films

  • A Stranger in My Arms(1959)

    as Vance Beasley

    Midcredits score: 37th percentile of all films

  • The Remarkable Mr. Pennypacker(1958)

    as Grampa Pennypacker

    Midcredits score: 53rd percentile of all films

  • The Story of Mankind(1957)

    as Hippocrates

    Midcredits score: 11th percentile of all films

  • How to Murder a Rich Uncle (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1957)

    as Uncle George Clitterbern

  • Town on Trial (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1957)

    as Dr. John Fenner

  • Around the World in 80 Days(1956)

    as Steamship Company Clerk

    Midcredits score: 69th percentile of all films

  • The Power and the Prize(1956)

    as Guy Eliot

    Midcredits score: 41st percentile of all films

  • How to Be Very, Very Popular(1955)

    as Dr. Tweed

    Midcredits score: 14th percentile of all films

  • December Bride (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1954)

    Show 1 episode · Actor

  • Studio 57 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1954)

    Show 1 episode · Actor

  • The Long Wait(1954)

    as Gardiner

    Midcredits score: 58th percentile of all films

  • The Rocket Man (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1954)

    as Mayor Ed Johnson

  • Gentlemen Prefer Blondes(1953)

    as Sir Francis 'Piggy' Beekman

    Midcredits score: 89th percentile of all films

  • Trouble Along the Way(1953)

    as le Père Matthew William Burke

    Midcredits score: 71st percentile of all films

  • Monkey Business(1952)

    as Oliver Oxley

    Midcredits score: 76th percentile of all films

  • Has Anybody Seen My Gal(1952)

    as Samuel Fulton / John Smith

    Midcredits score: 83rd percentile of all films

  • The Highwayman (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1951)

    as Lord Walters

  • Mr. Music (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1950)

    as Alex Conway

  • Lux Video Theatre (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1950)

    Show 1 episode · as Pa Harrington

  • Peggy (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1950)

    as Professor Brookfield

  • Louisa (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1950)

    as Mr. Burnside

  • Everybody Does It (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1949)

    as Major Blair

  • The Doctor and the Girl(1949)

    as Dr. John Corday

    Midcredits score: 72nd percentile of all films

  • Yes Sir, That's My Baby(1949)

    as Jason Hartley

    Midcredits score: 66th percentile of all films

  • The Gal Who Took the West(1949)

    as General Michael O'Hara

    Midcredits score: 42nd percentile of all films

  • Impact(1949)

    as Lieutenant Quincy

    Midcredits score: 76th percentile of all films

  • Studio One (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1948)

    Show 1 episode · as Louis Hurst

  • Green Grass of Wyoming (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1948)

    as Beaver Greenway

  • B.F.'s Daughter(1948)

    as Burton F. 'B.F.' Fulton

    Midcredits score: 46th percentile of all films

  • The Paradine Case(1947)

    as Sir Simon Flaquer

    Midcredits score: 60th percentile of all films

  • Lured(1947)

    as Harley Temple

    Midcredits score: 80th percentile of all films

  • The Green Years (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1946)

    as Alexander Gow

  • Colonel Effingham's Raid(1946)

    as Colonel Will Seaborn Effingham

    Midcredits score: 33rd percentile of all films

  • Shady Lady (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1945)

    as Col. John Appleby

  • Over 21(1945)

    as Robert Drexel Gow

    Midcredits score: 50th percentile of all films

  • Rhapsody in Blue(1945)

    as Max Dreyfus

    Midcredits score: 78th percentile of all films

  • A Royal Scandal(1945)

    as Nicolai Iiyitch

    Midcredits score: 67th percentile of all films

  • Together Again (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1944)

    as Jonathan Crandall Sr

  • The Impatient Years (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1944)

    as William Smith

  • Wilson(1944)

    as Professor Henry Holmes

    Midcredits score: 48th percentile of all films

  • Knickerbocker Holiday (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1944)

    as Peter Stuyvesant

  • My Kingdom for a Cook (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1943)

    as Rudyard Morley

  • Princess O'Rourke (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1943)

    as Uncle Holman

  • Heaven Can Wait(1943)

    as Hugo Van Cleve

    Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all films

  • The Constant Nymph(1943)

    as Charles Creighton

    Midcredits score: 68th percentile of all films

  • The More the Merrier(1943)

    as Benjamin Dingle

    Midcredits score: 93rd percentile of all films

  • George Washington Slept Here(1942)

    as Stanley Menninger

    Midcredits score: 74th percentile of all films

  • In This Our Life(1942)

    as William Fitzroy

    Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all films

  • Kings Row(1942)

    as Henry Gordon

    Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all films

  • H.M. Pulham, Esq.(1941)

    as John Pulham

    Midcredits score: 77th percentile of all films

  • Unexpected Uncle (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1941)

    as Seton Mansley

  • Our Wife(1941)

    as Professor Drake

    Midcredits score: 46th percentile of all films

  • The Devil and Miss Jones(1941)

    as John P. Merrick/Thomas Higgins

    Midcredits score: 94th percentile of all films

  • The Lady Eve(1941)

    as 'Colonel' Harrington

    Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all films

  • Three Faces West(1940)

    as Dr. Karl Braun

    Midcredits score: 46th percentile of all films

  • The Captain is a Lady (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1940)

    as Captain Abe Peabody

  • Florian (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1940)

    as Dr. Johannes Hofer

  • Edison, the Man(1940)

    as General Powell

    Midcredits score: 80th percentile of all films

  • Road to Singapore(1940)

    as Joshua Mallon IV

    Midcredits score: 70th percentile of all films

  • In Name Only(1939)

    as Richard Walker

    Midcredits score: 80th percentile of all films

  • Stanley and Livingstone (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1939)

    as Lord Tyce

  • Bachelor Mother(1939)

    as J. B. Merlin

    Midcredits score: 93rd percentile of all films

  • The Story of Alexander Graham Bell(1939)

    as Gardner Hubbard

    Midcredits score: 74th percentile of all films

  • Made for Each Other(1939)

    as Joseph Doolittle

    Midcredits score: 53rd percentile of all films

  • Idiot's Delight(1939)

    as Dr. Hugo Waldersee

    Midcredits score: 60th percentile of all films

  • Lord Jeff (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1938)

    as Captain Briggs

  • Yellow Jack (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1938)

    as Dr. Finlay

  • Vivacious Lady(1938)

    as Mr. Morgan

    Midcredits score: 87th percentile of all films

  • Of Human Hearts(1938)

    as Dr. Charles Shingle

    Midcredits score: 70th percentile of all films

  • The People's Enemy(1935)

    as Judge

    Midcredits score: 28th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)

Career shape

Star power in the 98th percentile of 239,109 people with a billed film role, over a full career of 73 titles from 1935 to 1960.

Biggest box office

Kings Row (1942)

$5.1M worldwide

Highest rated

The Lady Eve (1941)

Midcredits 95th

Most popular right now

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953)

Film career

Top draw in 9 MovieCove titles.

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting73 of 73: 73 only acting, 0 with another role · typical Midcredits score70th

By decade

1930s11 · acting1940s38 · acting1950s23 · acting1960s1 · acting

Billing

usually 3rd · top billed in 4% of 24 roles
384348

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored. Billing is TMDB cast order for roles with 25+ votes, billed in the top 30; the columns are the share of top-billed roles in each era, 5-year spans from the year on the label, merged until each holds at least 5 roles.

How do Charles Coburn's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 70th percentile, the median of all 46; across their 45 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 66th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

66thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 45

Approval · how many liked their films

71stpercentile
Typical film, the median of 45

Reach · how many have seen their films

53rdpercentile
Typical film, the median of 45

Midcredits score across 46 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up17
  • 50th to 74th17
  • 25th to 49th10
  • Below 25th2

Shape of the crowd

30 of their 46 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Loved6
  • Crowd Pleaser30
  • Broadly Agreed2
  • Mixed8

Most divisive · actor

Pepe (1960)

58th percentile spread · 25% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · actor

The Lady Eve (1941)

Midcredits 95th · 83% liked

Reviewers score the acting 72/100 in their films, across 44 reviewed titles; fans 80, detractors 47. The element that speaks to their work as an actor.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Is Charles Coburn's work okay for kids?

Across a limited sample of up to 4 MovieCove titles with content scores.

Their medianMedian of all films
Sex & Nudity4 titlesmedian 17 · mildMedian of all films: 32
Profanity3 titlesmedian 4 · minimalMedian of all films: 36
Alcohol & Drugs4 titlesmedian 31 · mildMedian of all films: 33

Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted.

Who does Charles Coburn work with?

People who share at least 2 of Charles Coburn's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Spring Byington shares the most, 4.

Directors

Writers

Actors

Composers and cinematographers

Producers

Mixed roles