James Coburn

Diagnoses

Vocation

Traits

American actor, 6' 2", lean and lazily relaxed in variety of character roles from cowboy to master spy, maturing into sophisticated comedy as a rakishly elegant tough guy. He studied acting at USC and in Adler's school in New York. After theater and TV he made a screen debut in "Ride Lonesome," 1959, attracting attention a year later as the knife-throwing cowhand in "The Magnificent Seven." To finally get away from his casting types, he financed and played the lead in "The President's Analyst." In 1980, at the time of a painful divorce after 20 years of marriage, the slender, athletic Coburn found himself from one day to the next in physical agony, stricken with rheumatoid arthritis. For a decade he embarked on a holistic regimen of dieting, physical therapy and exercise that slowed the illness, finding along the way that he had severe allergies to 45 different foods. Along with exploring alternative health solutions, he has always been involved in alternative philosophies that helped him through dark days. He first became interested in meditation in the '50s, along with esoteric studies. Rather than films, during the '80s, Coburn made a string of TV commercials, pitching everything from Acura automobiles to a bank in North Carolina. On 10/22/1993, Versailles, France, he married former newscaster Paula Murad, 38, his girlfriend of the prior three years. On 3/21/1999, Hollywood, Coburn won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his role in "Affliction," remarking that he guessed he "finally got it right." Upbeat and robust, Coburn worked regularly up to the '80s, when arthritis left him with one hand crippled. He claimed that he healed himself with his regimen of physical, psychological and spiritual disciplines. Though his hand was gnarled, he was without pain and he worked steadily through the '90s. Coburn died on 11/28/2002, leaving a mark of more than 100 films. Link to Wikipedia biography