Overview
- Coburn died December 3 of colon cancer at a Dallas hospice, according to his wife, Marsha Coburn, who confirmed the news to The New York Times.
- The Gin Game opened at Broadway's John Golden Theatre in October 1977, directed by Mike Nichols and starring Hume Cronyn with Jessica Tandy, who won a Tony Award.
- Its economical two-actor, single-set design helped make the play a long-running favorite of regional and international theaters.
- Broadway revivals featured Charles Durning with Julie Harris in 1997 and James Earl Jones with Cicely Tyson in 2015, with screen versions airing on Showtime in 1981 and PBS in 2003.
- Born in Baltimore on August 4, 1938, Coburn worked in advertising and marketing before writing his first play at 39; he is survived by his wife, two children, and three grandchildren.