Lee J. Cobb
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- December 8, 1911
- Died
- February 11, 1976 (aged 64)
- Birthplace
- New York City, New York, USA
Biography
Lee J. Cobb (December 8, 1911 — February 11, 1976) was an American actor. He was best known for his performances in On the Waterfront (1954), for which he was nominated for an Academy Award, 12 Angry Men (1957), and The Exorcist (1973). He also played the role of Willy Loman in the original Broadway production of Arthur Miller's 1949 play Death of a Salesman under the direction of Elia Kazan. On television, Cobb costarred in the first four seasons of the popular, long-running western series The Virginian. He typically played arrogant, intimidating, and abrasive characters, but often had roles as respectable figures such as judges. Born Leo Jacob in New York City, he grew up in The Bronx, before studying at New York University and making his film debut in The Vanishing Shadow (1934). Cobb performed in numerous theater productions and companies, including Group Theatre (New York) before serving in the First Motion Picture Unit of the Army Air Force during World War II. Following the war, Cobb returned to film, television and theater before being accused of being a Communist in 1951 testimony before the House Un-American Activities Committee by Larry Parks, himself a former Communist Party member. Cobb was called to testify before HUAC but refused to do so for two years until, with his career threatened by the blacklist, he relented in 1953 and gave testimony in which he named 20 people as former members of the Communist Party USA. Following the hearing he resumed his career and worked with Elia Kazan and Budd Schulberg, two other HUAC "friendly witnesses", on the 1954 film On the Waterfront, which is widely seen as an allegory and apologia for testifying. His 1968 performance as King Lear achieved the longest run (72 performances) for the play in Broadway history. One of his final film roles was that of police detective Lt. Kinderman in the 1973 horror film The Exorcist. Cobb died of a heart attack in February 1976 in Woodland Hills, California, and was buried in Mount Sinai Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles. He was survived by his second wife, Mary Hirsch, and daughter, also an accomplished actress, Julie Cobb.
Known For
Photos
Filmography
Arthur Miller on Home Ground
Movie · as Self - Willy Loman (archive footage)
The Meanest Men in the West
Movie · as Judge Henry Garth
Cross Shot
Movie · as Dante Ragusa
Nick the Sting
Movie · as Robert Clark
Origins of the Mafia
TV · as Bartolomeo Gramignano · 1 ep
Mark Shoots First
Movie · as Il commedator Benzi
That Lucky Touch
Movie · as Henry Steedman
Blood, Sweat and Fear
Movie · as Benzi
The Great Ice Rip-Off
Movie · as Willy Calso
The Balloon Vendor
Movie · as Twenty Years
Trapped Beneath the Sea
Movie · as Victor Bateman
Dr. Max
Movie · as Maxwell Gordon
The Exorcist
Movie · as Lt. Bill Kinderman
The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing
Movie · as Lapchance
The Great Kidnapping
Movie · as Jovine
Double Indemnity
Movie · as Barton Keyes
The Bull of the West
Movie · as Judge Garth
Heat of Anger
Movie · as Frank Galvin
Lawman
Movie · as Vincent Bronson
Macho Callahan
Movie · as Duffy
The Liberation of L.B. Jones
Movie · as Oman Hedgepath
Annie: The Women in the Life of a Man
Movie · as Himself
The Young Lawyers
TV · 24 eps
McCloud
TV · as Alexander Montello · 1 ep
Mackenna's Gold
Movie · as The Editor
Coogan's Bluff
Movie · as Lt. McElroy
The Day of the Owl
Movie · as Don Mariano Arena
They Came to Rob Las Vegas
Movie · as Steve Skorsky
In Like Flint
Movie · as Lloyd C. Cramden
Our Man Flint
Movie · as Cramden
Death of a Salesman
Movie · as Willy Loman
The Final Hour
Movie · as Judge Henry Garth
The Brazen Bell
Movie · as Judge Henry Garth
Come Blow Your Horn
Movie · as Harry R. Baker
Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre
TV · as Ernie Wigman · 1 ep
How the West Was Won
Movie · as Marshal Lou Ramsey
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
Movie · as Julio Madariaga
The Devil's Children
Movie · as Judge Henry Garth
The Virginian
TV · as Richter Henry Garth, Ritcher Henry Garth · 90 eps
Exodus
Movie · as Barak Ben Canaan
The Trap
Movie · as Victor Massonetti
But Not for Me
Movie · as Jeremiah MacDonald
I, Don Quixote
Movie · as Miguel de Cervantes / Don Quixote de la Mancha / Alonso Quijana
Green Mansions
Movie · as Nuflo
The DuPont Show with June Allyson
TV · as Captain Maximillian Gault · 1 ep
Party Girl
Movie · as Rico Angelo
Man of the West
Movie · as Dock Tobin
The Brothers Karamazov
Movie · as Fyodor Karamazov
Naked City
TV · as Paul Delito · 1 ep
Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse
TV · 1 ep
The Garment Jungle
Movie · as Walter Mitchell
The Three Faces of Eve
Movie · as Doctor Curtis Luther
12 Angry Men
Movie · as Juror 3
Panic Button
Movie · as Al Bengsten
The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit
Movie · as Judge Bernstein
Miami Exposé
Movie · as Lt. Barton 'Bart' Scott
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
TV · as Captain Andrew Watling, Drifter - Frank MacKinnon · 1 ep
Tony Awards
TV · as Willy Loman (archive footage) · 1 ep
The Left Hand of God
Movie · as Mieh Yang
The Racers
Movie · as Maglio
The Road to Denver
Movie · as Jim Donovan
Gunsmoke
TV · as Col. Josiah Johnson · 1 ep
On the Waterfront
Movie · as Johnny Friendly
Gorilla at Large
Movie · as Detective Sgt. Garrison
Yankee Pasha
Movie · as Sultan
Day of Triumph
Movie · as Zadok
Medic
TV · as Henry Fisher · 1 ep
The Tall Texan
Movie · as Capt. Theodore Bess
General Electric Theater
TV · as Dominic Roma, Grayson Foxhall · 1 ep
The Oscars
TV · as Self · 2 eps
The Fighter
Movie · as Durango
The Ford Television Theatre
TV · as Matt Erwin · 1 ep
Sirocco
Movie · as Col. Feroud
The Family Secret
Movie · as Howard Clark
Tales of Tomorrow
TV · 1 ep
The Man Who Cheated Himself
Movie · as Lt. Ed Cullen
Lux Video Theatre
TV · as Emile Zola · 1 ep
Thieves' Highway
Movie · as Mike Figlia
The Phantom Creeps
Movie · as Road Crew Foreman (uncredited)
Lights Out
TV · 1 ep
Call Northside 777
Movie · as Brian Kelly
The Dark Past
Movie · as Dr. Andrew Collins
The Miracle of the Bells
Movie · as Marcus Harris
The Luck of the Irish
Movie · as David C. Augur
Studio One
TV · as Dr. Joseph Pearson · 2 eps
Captain from Castile
Movie · as Juan Garcia
Johnny O'Clock
Movie · as Inspector Koch
Boomerang!
Movie · as Chief Harold F. 'Robbie' Robinson
Anna and the King of Siam
Movie · as Kralahome
Winged Victory
Movie · as Doctor
Flight Characteristics of the P-51 Airplane
Movie · as Arthur Deeds
Tonight We Raid Calais
Movie · as Bonnard
The Song of Bernadette
Movie · as Dr. Dozous
The Moon Is Down
Movie · as Dr. Albert Winter
Buckskin Frontier
Movie · as Jeptha Marr
Paris Calling
Movie · as Schwabe
Men of Boys Town
Movie · as Dave Morris
This Thing Called Love
Movie · as Julio Diestro
Golden Boy
Movie · as Mr. Bonaparte
The Phantom Creeps
Movie · as Road Crew Foreman (archive footage)
Danger on the Air
Movie · as Tony Lisotti
North of the Rio Grande
Movie · as President Wooden
Rustlers' Valley
Movie · as Cal Howard
The Vanishing Shadow
Movie · as Roadwork Foreman