James Harrison Coburn III

 James Harrison Coburn III (August 31, 1928 – November 18, 2002)

A capable, rough-hewn leading man, his toothy grin and lanky body made him a perfect tough guy in numerous leading and supporting roles in westerns and action films, such as The Magnificent Seven, Snow Dogs, Hell Is for Heroes, The Great Escape, Major Dundee, Our Man Flint, In Like Flint, Duck, You Sucker!, Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, Charade and Cross of Iron. During the late 1960s and early 1970s Coburn cultivated an image synonymous with "cool", and along with such contemporaries as Lee Marvin, Steve McQueen, and Charles Bronson became one of the prominent "tough-guy" actors of his day. Coburn's film debut came in 1959 as the sidekick of Pernell Roberts in the Randolph Scott western Ride Lonesome. He also appeared in dozens of television roles including, with Roberts, several episodes of NBC's Bonanza. Coburn appeared twice each on two other NBC westerns 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. He also appeared with Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen and Charles Bronson in the John Sturges film The Magnificent Seven, and again with Steve McQueen and Charles Bronson in The Great Escape, another Sturges film. Coburn played the part of a villainous Texan in the successful Charade (1963).

He was then cast as a glib naval officer in Paddy Chayefsky's The Americanization of Emily. Coburn's performance as a one-armed Indian tracker in Major Dundee (1965) gained him much notice. Because of his severe rheumatoid arthritis, Coburn appeared in very few films during the 1980's, yet continued working until his death. He appeared in supporting roles in Young Guns II, Hudson Hawk, Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit, Maverick, Eraser, The Nutty Professor, Affliction, and Payback. Coburn's performance in Affliction eventually earned him an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. James Coburn died of a heart attack at age 74 in 2002, was cremated and the ashes interred at Westwood Memorial Park.