James Coburn - the legendary western actor

James Coburn was a charismatic Westerner who created the classic screen image of a tough guy. He starred in 70 feature films. The number of roles played by Coburn in television productions exceeds a hundred. A significant part of the projects in which he participated, belonged to a genre such as the western. Despite dozens of successful actor's works, James Coburn was awarded the main prize of the American Film Academy only at the end of his life.

Childhood and youth

The future hero of westerns and militants was born in the United States in 1928. His ancestors on the maternal line moved to America from Sweden, and the father had Scottish-Irish roots. The elder Coburn owned a garage, but during the Great Depression the family business declined. The future actor grew up and graduated from high school in California. At the age of 22, he enlisted in the US Army. James Coburn served at the US military base in Germany.

After returning to California, he entered college, where he studied acting. Coburn's debut on the professional theater stage took place in the play "Billy Budd", based on the novel by Herman Melville. Over the next few years he played episodic roles in television films and appeared in commercials. Due to the wide white-tooth smile of the young actor, the directors chose Coburn from a large number of candidates.

Westerns and Action

For quite some time, the future star got only small supporting roles. But gradually Hollywood producers and directors saw the potential of James Coburn. He made his debut in the big cinema in the western "The Lonely Horseman". In this picture, Coburn successfully coped with the role of villain. Subsequently, negative characters for a long time became his role.

A real breakthrough in his career was the cult film "Magnificent Seven" directed by John Sturges. Coburn's partners in the film set were Hollywood celebrities such as Charles Bronson and Yul Brynner. The plot of this western is based on the philosophical drama directed by Akira Kurosawa "The Seven Samurai". The story of the brave warriors who defended the peasants from the bandits was transferred from medieval Japan to the Mexican village of the times of the Wild West.

Coburn played the secondary role of the criminal and villain in the commercially successful romantic detective "Sharada." The images of the main characters were embodied on the screen by the legendary actors Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant. The film not only made a profit at the box office, but also received quite positive reviews from critics. Painting "Sharada" was awarded the prestigious award of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts.

At the height of glory

For a long time, the actor could not win much popularity, despite the roles he played in many notable and successful films. James Coburn became a real Hollywood star thanks to the sparkling comedy "Our Man Flint". This picture is a witty parody of spy stories about James Bond. After a long series of roles of the second plan, Coburn had a chance to play the main character. Delivering the absurdity of the traditional cinematic image of the secret agent so pleased the audience that the film "Our Man Flint" gave rise to a new genre - a spy comedy.

After the stunning success of the parody of the story about the adventures of James Bond, the producers and directors decided not to stop there. It was removed the continuation of the picture, the main role in which also played James Coburn. The biography of the actor entered the phase of the creative upsurge. The sequel called "Flint's Double" enjoyed no less popularity than the first film. According to opinion polls, Coburn ranked twelfth in the list of the biggest Hollywood stars.

Academy Award"

The main cinematographic award of the United States brought the actor work in the dramatic film "Grief" directed by Paul Schroeder in 1999. This was one of the last roles that James Coburn played in his life. Photo veteran of the film industry with the statuette "Oscar" in his hands, appeared on the pages of newspapers and magazines, have become a worthy completion of his long creative career.

James Coburn died of a heart attack in 2002. Together with him, a whole era in the history of cinema left.