Showing posts with label Potomac Books. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Potomac Books. Show all posts

Sunday, May 22, 2022

Dervish Dust: The Life and Words of James Coburn by Robyn L. Coburn


The Life and Words of James Coburn
by Robyn L. Coburn
Potomac Books
Hardcover ISBN: 9781640124059
424 pages
December 2021


“I take in all the impressions and information [about the character]. And when the time comes for action, I just let it go. It’s jazz acting. It’s like when Sarah Vaughan sings a song. She sings the lyrics, but she doesn’t sing it exactly the way it was written. It bears her style. That’s the way it is with roles. Each character has a style. Once you find out the character’s style it becomes really simple.. You don’t think about it. You just let it flow.” — James Coburn

James Coburn was one of the coolest actors to ever grace the silver screen. With his tall, lanky frame, wide grin, distinctive deep voice and personable nature, you can't help but be drawn to him. He just seemed like the sort of guy that you could hang out with and come away with a really cool story or two to share. Coburn made some great movies, and some not so great ones, and he elevated each of them with his magnetic screen presence. His career was bookended with some fantastic roles as either supporting player or the central star in films like The Magnificent Seven (1960), The Great Escape (1965), Our Man Flint (1966), A Fistful of Dollars (1971), The Last of Sheila (1973) and The Affliction (1997), the latter of which earned him an Academy Award. Beyond acting, Coburn dabbled in screenwriting, producing and directing. He was skeptical of television but the medium brought him great exposure and an opportunity to appear in numerous shows and made-for-tv movies. Here was a man who was devoted to his craft, eager to take on new challenges and beloved by his fellow cast members. At the end of his life, he still worked tirelessly as an actor, enjoying a new wave of enthusiasm for his work after earning his Oscar. He and his second wife Paula created the James and Paula Coburn Foundation (JPCF) "with the aim of supporting several arts and medical charities" which is still active to this day. The world lost James Coburn two decades ago but what remains is a joyful legacy.

“Coburn’s intense desire to control his own career and not be part of projects that were subject to the misapplied priorities, as he saw them, of the studio bigwigs... When possible he liked being hired early so he could influence the development of the script and characters.” — Robyn L. Coburn

Dervish Dust: The Life and Words of James Coburn by Robyn L. Coburn is an excellent biography that really captures the spirit of its subject. The author is Coburn's daughter-in-law, who is married to Coburn's son James H. Coburn IV.  The book avoids the trappings of a familial biography with its straightforward approach and honest look at Coburn's life. The focus is primarily on his acting career but there are also plenty of stories about his childhood during the Great Depression, his education, his marriage to his first wife Beverly, their two children, the subsequent bitter divorce, his many romances, his second wife Paula and his debilitating rheumatoid arthritis. Among Coburn's hobbies were studying Eastern culture and medicinal practices, collecting art, smoking marijuana, training in martial arts with his friend Bruce Lee and riding his beloved Ferraris. The Coburn portrayed in the book is a complicated man who was both good natured and highly driven.


Jennifer O'Neill and James Coburn in The Carey Treatment (1972)


James Coburn with one of his Ferraris.


According to the author, Nancy Mehagian was recording conversations with Coburn in 2002 for a potential memoir. Unfortunately, Coburn died that same year. Dervish Dust is the Coburn memoir we never got to read. The author adeptly uses those recordings to channel Coburn's voice throughout the book. It gives the biography a more intimate feel. Overall, this was a compelling and informative biography. There was lots to glean from it. My only small complaint is that I wish they had used an image of James Coburn wearing his signature grin on the cover.





If you love James Coburn as much as I do, make sure you check out Dervish Dust and let me know what you think!

A big thank you to Potomac Books for sending me a copy of Dervish Dust to review.


Popular Posts

 Twitter   Instagram   Facebook