ACTOR
Charles Coburn
17 archived facts 3 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
All facts (17)
- #001
Although Charles Coburn was born in Macon, Georgia, he was often assumed to be English.
- #002
Charles Coburn's famous single eye was not an affectation; it actually corrected the loss of an eye. "No point having two window panes where one will do," was always his explanation.
- #003
Charles Coburn always carried a stack of cards with his signature on them to meet fans' requests.
- #004
According to Piper Laurie's memoir (Learning To Love Out Loud), Charles Coburn liked to pinch women's bottoms. It was like a tic for him. Any woman under five foot five had to move quickly. However, no one thought to report the sexual harassment.
- #005
In the late 1930s and early 1940s, Charles Coburn spent only eight months a year in Hollywood. Every summer he returned east to New York, which he considered home. In 1946 he moved to Hollywood full time.
- #006
On February 28, 2012, Charles Coburn's Oscar statuette was put up for auction by Nate D. Sanders Memorabilia. It sold for $170,459.
- #007
Charles Coburn was one of the few Hollywood actors who actually lived on Hollywood Boulevard.
- #008
Charles Coburn founded a repertory company with his actress wife, Ivah Wills, which continued until her death in 1937.
- #009
Charles Coburn began working as an usher and doorman at a theater in his hometown of Savannah, Georgia. By the age of 17 he had become the manager of that establishment. He later turned to acting and took the stage on Broadway in 1901.
- #010
Charles Coburn instructed his executor not to hold a public funeral or memorial service. He wanted his body cremated and his ashes mixed with those of his wife, who had died years earlier, and scattered in various places.
- #011
The University of Georgia held a special day of celebration on January 30, 1956, honoring Charles Coburn as a distinguished native Georgian. The university's archived library holds his correspondence and memorabilia.
- #012
Charles Coburn appeared in five Oscar Best Picture nominees: Kings Row (1942), The More the Merrier (1943), Heaven Can Wait (1943), Wilson (1944) and Round the World in 80 Days (1956). Only the last of these won.
- #013
On February 8, 1960, Charles Coburn was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6268 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California.
- #014
During his time as a young theater usher, Charles Coburn studied the techniques of late 19th-century plays by Henry Irving, DeWolf Hopper Sr., John Drew and Richard Mansfield.
- #015
Charles Coburn made his Broadway debut in 1901 in "Up York State."
- #016
Charles Coburn was an honorary member of the Bohemian Club.
- #017
Charles Coburn was a member of the White Citizens' Council.
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