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Dervish Dust: The Life and Words of James Coburn by Robyn L. Coburn is a biography of the famous actor, covering his career, relationships, and beliefs. Ms. Coburn is a writer who works in the theatre and film industry; she is also James Coburn’s daughter-in-law.

The majority of the material for this book came from tapes James Coburn has recorded, planning his own autobiography. Dervish Dust: The Life and Words of James Coburn by Robyn L. Coburn uses much of these tapes, as well as many other resources to tell the fascinating life of the actor.

The first movie I watched with Mr. Coburn was The Magnificent Seven, which is probably still one of his most famous films. Over the years, I noticed Mr. Coburn’s roles more and more, as well as his voice-acting performances.

This is a rich and immersive biography, which doesn’t attempt to a saint of out its subject, nor lionize his memory. Mr. Coburn knows his faults, admits them, and faces up to them. For example, he knows he was a bad parent, and says so. This is something which the vast majority of people will not admit, and certainly will never put in writing. And, frankly, will think twice before putting it in an authorized biography.

Mr. Coburn has lived the life of a movie actor like everyone should. I was always wondering how come all the rich and famous “go places”, but never travel. Mr. Coburn loved to travel (as do I), and took advantage of his job to do so. I was quite envious reading about his wonderful trips around the globe.

A spiritual man who outlived many of his closest friends (Bruce Lee, Steve McQueen, and director Sam Peckinpah among them), Mr. Coburn, surprisingly lacked internal introspection. This, of course, was not throughout his whole life, but for a certain period it seemed to be a glaring contradiction. The book also doesn’t shy away from Mr. Coburn’s use, and support, of using drugs when one chooses to.

Whether or not you’re a fan of Mr. Coburn, this biography is worth reading. There author used many first-hand sources, interviews, and of course James Coburn’s words to put together a comprehensive view of his life and legacy.

What a great book about a great actor and human being. I have seen a lot of his movies growing up, so I was excited to read this. I am not sorry that I did! It is a great book. Written well and fun to read. It came from his perspective and his words, which made it even better. I highly recommend this book. I am sure I will read it again~

Five Stars

When I saw this biography I was intrigued for several reasons. Although I have never watched a single movie from this seasoned actor, I found him very attractive. I also remember seeing footage from a Bruce Lee Documentary where James Coburn participated in Bruce Lee's funeral, saying "Peace be with you" over his grave. Finally, it touched my heart when about twenty years ago (and after a long lifetime of acting), Coburn finally won an Oscar. At the end of his impromptu speech, he acknowledged his young wife Paula in the audience saying, "You finally got to go to the Oscars!"

Coburn intended to write his biography, leaving behind tapes prior to his death in 2002. His daughter-in-law Robyn Coburn took these recordings, augmenting them with many interviews of friends, colleagues and family, and materials left behind from Beverly Coburn, James' first wife of twenty years (and Robyn's mother-in-law), and books written by other actors/film industry moguls. After a stint in the military, Coburn keenly pursued an acting career. He studied on both coasts and when he "talks" about the art of acting you can "hear" his passion and relentless pursuit of this art. He embraced the opportunities to travel all over the world on various film locations, drinking in culture, philosophy, music and art. He even volunteered for a study back in the sixties involving LSD. His relationship with first wife Beverly mirrored the "John & Yoko" model in that she was a very strong, intelligent and cunning woman. They had a passionate love, and bonded over their shared cultural interests. Their California house on Tower Road was legendary for constant, colorful visitors who would come to eat, participate in percussion sessions (Coburn loved to play the gong), smoke weed and have deep conversations. The overall consensus of Beverly was that she was beautiful, imposing and mesmerizing when she locked big pupils on you. She held court and made decisions at every meeting regarding Jim's prospective films, and oversaw his finances. She was famous for random surprise audits where she would show up unannounced at their accountant offices.

Eventually, Jim suffered with rheumatoid arthritis, a condition which his male forebears also struggled with. He tried accupuncture, diet change, exercise and allergy testing in his exploration towards living comfortably with this disease. Jim felt the onset of RA was triggered by his tumultuous divorce with Beverly, where he wound up basically giving her everything just to put an end to the misery. In addition to movies, Jim found work in cigarette and beer commercials, and even gave voice to a character in Pixar's "Monsters, Inc." I was truly amazed at the constant and volumunous film work Jim amassed, which was presented in intricate detail throughout the book.

I found myself constantly doing internet image searches as I read this book, and combing through his movies adding some to my "Amazon Prime Watchlist". James Coburn is what I call a renaissance man; someone who is always searching for enlightenment across many levels. This book was beautifully written, and really captured the essence of this very interesting film icon. Highly recommended!

Thank you to University of Nebraska Press / Potomac Books who provided an advance reader copy via NetGalley.

First a word on the title: "My life would be he spinning of the dervish, and the dust would be my memoirs."

Thus begins a rich, immersive biography of an intriguing actor, one whose work I enjoyed for years. This projected memoir was taken on by his daughter-in-law Robyn, whose research was aided by recordings Coburn made in preparation of publication, and enhanced by excerpts from his personal diaries that he'd kept most of his life in which he displays a poetic sensibility, remarking on the glory of a sunset from the deck of a ship Europe-bound while in the army, or the life in a Germany wartorn and struggling but stimulating. His roguishness was apparent then, evinced in his proficiency at poker, which allowed him to gain town passes and have the money to enjoy his time offbase.

Back home, he began his pursuit as an actor, having been denied his first love as a musician due to deafness in one ear, but he became (a term new to me) a "jazz actor." After studying under Stella Adler, his career began in theater, moved to television, and finally, the big screen. He served what would be informally called an internship accepting supporting roles before expanding his personality into starring vehicles. An original with strong charisma, his attraction to Eastern mysticism and love of literature explains his broad range, his rich appeal. This is a very detailed construction of his life, with a lot of dish and fact, an insider's intelligent take on the business, and a great deal of personal exposure. Generous if lengthy, and enjoyable just like the man himself.

This is a really good biography. I knew nothing personal about James Coburn before reading this. It was interesting to learn about his youth and move into acting. His training in acting was also interesting to read about. Lots of information on his life and his tv work and movies. There were lots of quotes from him throughout, so you got to get his direct viewpoint. I highly recommend this book.