James Coburn

One of the great things about Turner Classic Movies is that when someone notable dies, TCM will often schedule a block of movies to honor that person while he or she is still in the mind. So with James Coburn’s passing, I was treated to a lazy Sunday of folding laundry, playing Quidditch (the Harry Potter cardgame – no broomstick skills required), and three great movies that featured James Coburn: “The Great Escape,” “The Magnificent Seven,” and “Charade.” (Of course, this also gave me two glimpses of Steve McQueen, star of the best song of this past summer.) Coburn didn’t have too much of a role in any of them — he did the most work in Charade, which works well as a who’s-doing-what and less as a romantic notion; the least in Great Escape, where he struggles with an Australian accent, builds an airpump for the tunnels, and in the end escapes to Spain. His greatest asset was his determined visage, on the edge of menace, always leavened with a sign of humor. I haven’t seen “Affliction” (the atmosphere of the book was really enough), but I imagine he played the abusive father simply by turning off that little light of humor, becoming pure menace. TCM could have put on “Hell Is For Heroes,” but then we would have been even more confused as to whether it was McQueen or Coburn they were honoring.
Miracle of miracles, I didn’t leave the house this weekend. Never got behind the wheel. Lee is able to drive enough to get the girls around, and offered to do their rehearsals on Saturday, which offer I gratefully accepted. Did some scanning work, some cleaning, a little vacuuming and mopping, and generally lazed about the house with the TV on much more than normal. It was heaven.
New York awaits!