Yahoo Web Search

Coburn at­tended Los An­ge­les City Col­lege, where he stud­ied act­ing along­side Jeff Corey and Stella Adler, and later made his stage debut at the La Jolla Play­house in Her­man Melville's Billy Budd.

Coburn's in­ter­est in fast cars began with his fa­ther's garage busi­ness and con­tin­ued through­out his life, as he ex­ported rare cars to Japan. Coburn was cred­ited with hav­ing in­tro­duced Steve Mc­Queen to Fer­raris, and in the early 1960s owned a Fer­rari 250 GT Lusso and a Fer­rari 250 GT Spy­der Cal­i­for­nia SWB. His Spy­der was the thir­teenth of just fifty-six built. Coburn im­ported the pre-owned car in 1964, shortly after com­plet­ing The Great Escape. The car was re­stored and sold for $10,894,400 to Eng­lish broad­caster Chris Evans, set­ting a new world record for the high­est price ever paid for an au­to­mo­bile at auc­tion. Cal Spy­der #2377 was re­painted sev­eral times dur­ing Coburn's own­er­ship; it has been black, sil­ver and pos­si­bly bur­gundy. He kept the car at his Bev­erly Hills-area home, where it was often ser­viced by Max Bal­chowsky, who also worked on the sus­pen­sion and frame mod­i­fi­ca­tions on those Mus­tang GTs used in the film­ing of Mc­Qu...

Coburn was mar­ried twice; he was first mar­ried to Bev­erly Kelly, they wed in 1959 and had two chil­dren together. They di­vorced in 1979 after 20 years of marriage. He later mar­ried his sec­ond wife, ac­tress Paula Murad Coburn on Oc­to­ber 22, 1993. Coburn died of a heart at­tackat the age of 74 on No­vem­ber 18, 2002 while lis­ten­ing to music at his Bev­erly Hills home. His wife Paula died less than two years later on July 30, 2004 at the age of 48, due to cancer.

In The New Bi­o­graph­i­cal Dic­tio­nary of Film, critic David Thom­son states that "Coburn is a mod­ern rar­ity: an actor who pro­jects lazy, hu­mor­ous sex­u­al­ity. He has made a va­ri­ety of flawed, plea­sur­able films, the mer­its of which in­vari­ably de­pend on his la­conic pres­ence. In­creas­ingly, he was the best thing in his movies, smil­ing pri­vately, seem­ing to sug­gest that he was in con­tact with some pro­found source of amusement". Film critic Pauline Kael re­marked on Coburn's un­usual char­ac­ter­is­tics, stat­ing that "he looked like the child of the li­ai­son be­tween Lt. Pinker­ton and Madame But­ter­fly". George Hick­en­looper, who di­rected Coburn in The Man from Elysian Fields called him "the mas­cu­line male". Andy García called him "the per­son­i­fi­ca­tion of class, the hippest of the hip", and Paul Schrader noted "he was of that 50's gen­er­a­tion. He had that part hip­ster, part cool-cat aura about him. He was one of those kind of men who were formed b...

Coburn attended Los Angeles City College, where he studied acting alongside Jeff Corey and Stella Adler, and later made his stage debut at the La Jolla Playhouse in Herman Melville's Billy Budd.

Coburn's interest in fast cars began with his father's garage business and continued throughout his life, as he exported rare cars to Japan. Coburn was credited with having introduced Steve McQueen to Ferraris, and in the early 1960s owned a Ferrari 250 GT Lusso and a Ferrari 250 GT Spyder California SWB. His Spyder was the thirteenth of just fifty-six built. Coburn imported the pre-owned car in 1964, shortly after completing The Great Escape. The car was restored and sold for $10,894,400 to English broadcaster Chris Evans, setting a new world record for the highest price ever paid for an automobile at auction. Cal Spyder #2377 was repainted several times during Coburn's ownership; it has been black, silver and possibly burgundy. He kept the car at his Beverly Hills-area home, where it was often serviced by Max Balchowsky, who also worked on the suspension and frame modifications on those Mustang GTs used in the filming of McQueen’s Bullitt. Coburn sold the Spyder in 1987 after twen...

Coburn died of a heart attack on November 18, 2002 while listening to music at his Beverly Hills home. He was survived by his second wife, Paula(née Murad), two children and two grandchildren. His wife Paula died less than two years later on July 30, 2004 at the age of 48, due to cancer.

In The New Biographical Dictionary of Film, critic David Thomson states that "Coburn is a modern rarity: an actor who projects lazy, humorous sexuality. He has made a variety of flawed, pleasurable films, the merits of which invariably depend on his laconic presence. Increasingly, he was the best thing in his movies, smiling privately, seeming to suggest that he was in contact with some profound source of amusement". Film critic Pauline Kael remarked on Coburn's unusual characteristics, stating that "he looked like the child of the liaison between Lt. Pinkerton and Madame Butterfly". George Hickenlooper, who directed Coburn in The Man from Elysian Fields called him "the masculine male". Andy García called him "the personification of class, the hippest of the hip", and Paul Schrader noted "he was of that 50's generation. He had that part hipster, part cool-cat aura about him. He was one of those kind of men who were formed by the Rat Packkind of style."