Dorothy Montana Coburn (June 8, 1905 – May 15, 1978) was an American film actress who appeared in a number of early

Laurel and Hardy Laurel and Hardy were a British-American double act, comedy duo during the early Classical Hollywood cinema, Classical Hollywood era of American cinema, consisting of Englishman Stan Laurel (1890–1965) and American Oliver Hardy (1892–1957) ...

silents. She was a niece of author Walt Coburn and granddaughter of Robert Coburn Sr., founder of the ''Circle C Ranch'' in

Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...

Early years

Coburn was born to cowboy-poet and Western film producer Wallace Coburn and Ann Reifenrath Coburn in

Great Falls, Montana Great Falls is the List of cities and towns in Montana, third most populous city in the U.S. state of Montana and the county seat of Cascade County, Montana, Cascade County. The population was 60,442 according to the 2020 United States census, 2 ...

but raised in

Prescott, Arizona Prescott ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Yavapai County, Arizona, United States. As of 2020 United States census, 2020 Census, the city's population was 45,827. In 1864, Prescott was designated as the capital of the Arizona Territory, r ...

Career

Coburn played ingenue leads and comedic roles. Her documented film repertoire consisted of 16 silent short subjects for the

Hal Roach Harold Eugene "Hal" Roach Sr. Skretvedt, Randy (2016), ''Laurel and Hardy: The Magic Behind the Movies'', Bonaventure Press. p.608. (January 14, 1892 – November 2, 1992) was an American film and television producer, director and screenwriter, ...

studios, and she appeared in scores of films as

horseback Equestrianism (from Latin , , , 'horseman', 'horse'), commonly known as horse riding (Commonwealth English) or horseback riding (American English), includes the disciplines of riding, driving, and vaulting. This broad description includes the u ...

stuntwoman A stunt performer, often called a stuntman or stuntwoman and occasionally stuntperson or stunt-person, is a trained professional who performs daring acts, often as a career. Stunt performers usually appear in films or on television, as opposed ...

opposite such stars as

Gary Cooper Gary Cooper (born Frank James Cooper; May 7, 1901May 13, 1961) was an American actor known for his strong, silent screen persona and understated acting style. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor twice and had a further three nominations, ...

and

Joel McCrea Joel Albert McCrea (November 5, 1905 – October 20, 1990) was an American actor whose career spanned a wide variety of genres over almost five decades, including comedy, drama, romance, thrillers, adventures, and Westerns, for which he bec ...

, and as a stand-in for

Ginger Rogers Ginger Rogers (born Virginia Katherine McMath; July 16, 1911 – April 25, 1995) was an American actress, dancer and singer during the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood. She won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her starri ...

in several of her dancing films with

Fred Astaire Fred Astaire (born Frederick Austerlitz, May 10, 1899 – June 22, 1987) was an American dancer, actor, singer, musician, choreographer, and presenter, whose career in stage, film, and television spanned 76 years. He is widely regarded as the "g ...

. Coburn retired from the movie business in the early 1930s. Coburn occasionally worked as a stunt performer in westerns.

Later years

After leaving the movie business in 1936, she found employment as a receptionist for an insurance company. She was married twice. Coburn died in 1978, aged 72, from

emphysema Emphysema is any air-filled enlargement in the body's tissues. Most commonly emphysema refers to the permanent enlargement of air spaces (alveoli) in the lungs, and is also known as pulmonary emphysema. Emphysema is a lower respiratory tract di ...

. She is interred in Grand View Memorial Park Cemetery in

Glendale, California Glendale is a city located primarily in the Verdugo Mountains region, with a small portion in the San Fernando Valley, of Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is located about north of downtown Los Angeles. As of 2024, Glendale ha ...

. Her first husband, Joseph Maier, died in Santa Barbara on March 4, 1959. In 1973 she married Harry W. Heap in

Santa Barbara, California Santa Barbara (, meaning ) is a coastal city in Santa Barbara County, California, of which it is also the county seat. Situated on a south-facing section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States excepting A ...

. Before Coburn's death in 1978, the couple lived in

Rancho Palos Verdes Rancho Palos Verdes is a coastal city in southern Los Angeles County, California, United States. Incorporated on September 7, 1973, the city has a population of 42,287 as reported in the 2020 United States census. The city sits atop the bluffs o ...

Filmography

* ''

The Battle of the Century ''The Battle of the Century'' is a 1927 American silent short film starring comedy double act Laurel and Hardy, who appeared in 107 films between 1921 and 1951. The film entered the public domain in the United States in 2023. Plot Facing fin ...

'' (1927) * '' Putting Pants on Philip'' (1927) * ''Us'' (1927) * '' Hats Off'' (1927) * '' The Second Hundred Years'' (1927) * '' Sailors, Beware!'' (1927) * '' Sugar Daddies'' (1927) * ''All for Geraldine'' (1928) * ''The Cross Country Bunion Race'' (1928) * ''Do Gentlemen Snore?'' (1928) * ''Look Pleasant'' (1928) * ''That Night'' (1928) * ''Rubber Necks'' (1928) * '' Should Married Men Go Home?'' (1928) * '' Barnum & Ringling, Inc.'' (1928) * ''

From Soup to Nuts ''From Soup to Nuts'' is a silent short subject directed by E. Livingston Kennedy starring comedy duo Laurel and Hardy. It was released on March 24, 1928, by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Go ...

'' (1928) * '' The Finishing Touch'' (1928) * '' Flying Elephants'' (1928) * '' Leave 'Em Laughing'' (1928) * '' Playin' Hookey'' (1928) * ''Sailor Suits'' (1929) * ''Up and Down Stairs'' (1930) * ''Hot – And How!'' (1930) * '' Shivering Shakespeare'' (1930)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Coburn, Dorothy 1905 births 1978 deaths 20th-century American actresses Actresses from Arizona Actresses from Montana American silent film actresses American stunt performers Burials at Grand View Memorial Park Cemetery Deaths from emphysema Hal Roach Studios actors People from Great Falls, Montana People from Prescott, Arizona Actors from Yavapai County, Arizona