Lee J. Cobb
Acting
Born: December 8, 1911 · New York City, New York, USA
Died: February 11, 1976 (aged 64)
Highest Rated
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
12 Angry Men
1957
The Exorcist
1973
On the Waterfront
1954
How the West Was Won
1962
Coogan's Bluff
1968
Man of the West
1958
Exodus
1960
Mackenna's Gold
1969
Call Northside 777
1948
The Three Faces of Eve
1957
Lawman
1971
The Song of Bernadette
1943
Photos (4)
Movies (81)
12 Angry Men
Juror 3
The Exorcist
Lt. Bill Kinderman
On the Waterfront
Johnny Friendly
Miami Exposé
Lt. Barton 'Bart' Scott
How the West Was Won
Marshal Lou Ramsey
Gorilla at Large
Detective Sgt. Garrison
Coogan's Bluff
Lt. McElroy
Mackenna's Gold
The Editor
Exodus
Barak Ben Canaan
Call Northside 777
Brian Kelly
Green Mansions
Nuflo
The Brothers Karamazov
Fyodor Karamazov
Man of the West
Dock Tobin
Lawman
Vincent Bronson
The Song of Bernadette
Dr. Dozous
Our Man Flint
Cramden
Anna and the King of Siam
Kralahome
Party Girl
Rico Angelo
Paris Calling
Captain Schwabe
Sirocco
Col. Feroud
The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit
Judge Bernstein
Boomerang!
Chief Harold F. 'Robbie' Robinson
The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing
Lapchance
In Like Flint
Lloyd C. Cramden
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
Julio Madariaga
The Trap
Victor Massonetti
The Three Faces of Eve
Doctor Curtis Luther
The Day of the Owl
Don Mariano Arena
Thieves' Highway
Mike Figlia
The Meanest Men in the West
Judge Henry Garth
The Liberation of L.B. Jones
Oman Hedgepath
The Left Hand of God
Mieh Yang
That Lucky Touch
Henry Steedman
The Phantom Creeps
Road Crew Foreman (archive footage)
The Garment Jungle
Walter Mitchell
The Miracle of the Bells
Marcus Harris
Tonight We Raid Calais
Bonnard
The Dark Past
Dr. Andrew Collins
The Family Secret
Howard Clark
But Not for Me
Jeremiah MacDonald
This Thing Called Love
Julio Diestro
Captain from Castile
Juan Garcia
They Came to Rob Las Vegas
Steve Skorsky
The Moon Is Down
Dr. Albert Winter
The Racers
Maglio
Macho Callahan
Duffy
The Luck of the Irish
David C. Augur
Winged Victory
Doctor
Golden Boy
Mr. Bonaparte
The Man Who Cheated Himself
Lt. Ed Cullen
Johnny O'Clock
Inspector Koch
Mark Shoots First
Il commedator Benzi
Yankee Pasha
Sultan
Men of Boys Town
Dave Morris
The Bull of the West
Judge Garth
Come Blow Your Horn
Harry R. Baker
The Tall Texan
Capt. Theodore Bess
Arthur Miller on Home Ground
1979
Double Indemnity
Barton Keyes
The Phantom Creeps
Road Crew Foreman (uncredited)
The Road to Denver
Jim Donovan
The Fighter
Durango
Buckskin Frontier
Jeptha Marr
The Great Kidnapping
Jovine
Cross Shot
Dante Ragusa
The Vanishing Shadow
Roadwork Foreman
The Final Hour
Judge Henry Garth
Blood, Sweat and Fear
Benzi
The Balloon Vendor
Twenty Years
Heat of Anger
Frank Galvin
The Brazen Bell
Judge Henry Garth
Trapped Beneath the Sea
Victor Bateman
North of the Rio Grande
President Wooden
The Devil's Children
Judge Henry Garth
Death of a Salesman
Willy Loman
Nick the Sting
Robert Clark
Rustlers' Valley
Cal Howard
Dr. Max
Maxwell Gordon
Day of Triumph
Zadok
The Great Ice Rip-Off
Willy Calso
Danger on the Air
Tony Lisotti
TV Shows (19)
The Virginian
Richter Henry Garth · 90 eps
The Virginian
Ritcher Henry Garth · 30 eps
Tony Awards
Willy Loman (archive footage) · 1 eps
Studio One
Dr. Joseph Pearson · 2 eps
Gunsmoke
Col. Josiah Johnson · 1 eps
Naked City
Paul Delito · 1 eps
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
Captain Andrew Watling · 1 eps
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
Drifter - Frank MacKinnon · 1 eps
Lights Out
1 eps
McCloud
Alexander Montello · 1 eps
Tales of Tomorrow
1 eps
The Ford Television Theatre
Matt Erwin · 1 eps
Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse
1 eps
The DuPont Show with June Allyson
Captain Maximillian Gault · 1 eps
Origins of the Mafia
Bartolomeo Gramignano · 1 eps
General Electric Theater
Dominic Roma · 1 eps
General Electric Theater
Grayson Foxhall · 1 eps
Medic
Henry Fisher · 1 eps
The Young Lawyers
24 eps
