James Coburn Takes Lead Role In 2001 Della Robbia Campaign
Released on: July 5, 2001

Film, television, and stage actor James Coburn has agreed to accept the starring role in Boys Republic’s annual Della Robbia wreath campaign. Mr. Coburn is Honorary National Chairman of the 2001 campaign and is the latest in a long line of prominent Americans who have, for nearly forty-five years, added luster and prestige to the annual fund raising effort.

From sinister gangster to hard-nosed soldier, comic spies to dark romantic figures, James Coburn has proven to be one of Hollywood’s most versatile acting legends. He studied acting at Los Angeles City College and the University of Southern California before moving to New York City, where he became a student at the prestigious Stella Adler Theatre School. Returning to California, he made his critically acclaimed acting debut at La Jolla Playhouse in Billy Budd, a stage adaptation of the Herman Melville classic.

In 1966, Mr. Coburn starred as “Derek Flint”, a 1960s spy, in the box-office hit Our Man Flint that won a hit sequel In Like Flint. In recent years, he has appeared opposite Mel Gibson in Maverick (1994) and Payback (1999), along side Arnold Schwarznegger in Eraser (1996), and with Eddie Murphy in the hit The Nutty Professor. In 1999, he earned an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as “Glen Whitehead”, an abusive, alcoholic father in Affliction.

The annual Della Robbia campaign is the largest, single, self-help activity undertaken by Boys Republic and one of the most comprehensive self-funding efforts conducted by any non-profit childcare center in the nation. Each year, tens of thousands of wreaths, all of them produced by students and staff right on the main campus, are sold to customers in all 50 states and about a dozen foreign countries. Proceeds from the sale comprise a substantial part of nearly $2-million raised annually by the school for its own programs.