James Coburn,
74, died of a heart attack in Beverly Hills, California after suffering for
over a dozen years from severe rheumatoid arthritis that had at times left
him debilitated.
The lean, athletic 6'3" Coburn began studying acting in
California and New York after serving in the army in World War II. After
numerous stage and television roles, he made his film debut as an outlaw in
Budd Boetticher's Ride Lonesome (1959).
His work in a second Western that same year, Face of a
Fugitive, coupled with his appearances in several episodic Western
series such as Bonanza, Black Saddle, Wanted: Dead of Alive, and
The Rifleman, caught the eye of director John Sturges who cast him as
the knife-throwing Britt in The Magnificent Seven (1960). Although
Coburn's Britt had but a few lines, the actor's physical presence was
palpable, particularly in the knife-throwing scene in which his laconic
character is introduced.
Coburn appeared in several entertaining Westerns over the
next three decades, including Major Dundee (1965), Pat Garrett and
Billy the Kid (1973), Bite the Bullet (1975), Young Guns II
(1990) and Maverick (1994). He also expertly portrayed and aging
rodeo rider in The Honkers (1972).
The Academy Award winner, with his dynamic screen presence,
unique acting style and intriguing personality, was so sought after
that he worked right up until the end of his life. |
