James Coburn, the lean, commanding actor who, in his forty year film career, developed from an action hero in the '60s spy spoof Our Man Flint (1966) to an impressive character actor critically lauded for his Oscar winning performance as an abusive father in Affliction (1998), died of a massive heart attack while listening to music with his wife, Paula, late Monday afternoon at his Beverly Hills home. He was 74.

Born in Laurel, Nebraska on August 31, 1928, Coburn grew up in Compton and majored in acting at Los Angeles City College. In the early '50s, he studied with Stella Adler in New York and worked behind the scenes in television commercials. He returned to Los Angeles and by the end of the decade found work in popular television programs such as Wagon Train, Alfred Hitchcock Presents and even had his own western series with Klondike.

He made his movie debut in the Randolph Scott western Ride Lonesome (1959), but he caught the public's attention the following year, when he played the knife-throwing Britt in the epic Western The Magnificent Seven (1960). Although he was still a supporting player, the success of that film moved him into big Hollywood features: Hell is for Heroes (1962) with Steve McQueen, the Hitchcockian spoof Charade (1963) with Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn, as the Australian Sedgwick in the sprawling World War II caper The Great Escape (1963) and he was memorable as a raffish, one-armed scout for Charlton Heston in Sam Peckinpah's Major Dundee (1965).

Leading man status did not elude Coburn for long when he accepted the role of special agent Derek Flint in the James Bond spy spoof Our Man Flint (1966) and the sequel In Like Flint (1967). Displaying a lithe athleticism, self-deprecating humor and a wry, seductive grin, Coburn earned deserved fame for several fine performances: as Dr. Sidney Schaefer in the absurdist political satire (that he also produced) The Presidents Analyst (1967), an aging rodeo rider in The Honkers (1971), a manipulative producer in the underrated mystery The Last of Sheila (1973), and as the reluctant lawman Garrett in Sam Peckinpah's stylish Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (1973).

Coburn's career waned somewhat throughout the remainder of the decade - the notable exception being another Peckinpah film Cross of Iron (1976). By the turn of decade he was starring in forgettable fare like Goldengirl (1979), High Risk (1981) and Looker (1981), but by this time Coburn was suffering from rheumatoid arthritis which weakened him and his film appearances decreased alarmingly.

His voice remained familiar to audiences on several television commercials, while he concentrated on diet, physical therapy, and exercise to improve his physical condition. Although he remained crippled in one hand, he slowly began to find character roles: A tyrannical businessman in Sister Act II: Back in the Habit (1993), Maverick (1994), starring Mel Gibson, and an amusing comic turn as the philanthropist in the remake of The Nutty Professor (1996) with Eddie Murphy. Although these roles displayed the talents of a solid professional actor, it didn't prepare anyone for the depth he would show as Nick Nolte's embittered, alcoholic father in Paul Schrader's Affliction (1997). His venomous, uncompromising performance left an undeniable impression on moviegoers, critics and the Academy Award committee, who awarded him the statute for Best Supporting Actor. Good steady work followed in the following years: the crime thriller Payback (1999) with Mel Gibson and he lent his voice for the animated hit Monsters Inc. (2001).

In current release, he had earned more critical plaudits for his sharp, sardonic turn as a terminally ill novelist in The Man From Elysian Fields, co-starring Andy Garcia and Mick Jagger, and his last movie, Alan Jacobs' contemporary crime drama, American Gun which is due for release soon. He is survived by his wife, Paula, two children, Lisa and James Jr., and two grandchildren.

Michael T. Toole