Cast
Lee J. Cobb
Acting
Cast
Lee J. Cobb
Known for
Acting
Born
1911-12-08
From
New York City, New York, USA
Died
1976-02-11
Also known as Lee Colt, Leo Jacoby, Cpl. Lee Cobb
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.
12 Angry Men
as Juror 3
The Exorcist
as Lt. Bill Kinderman
On the Waterfront
as Johnny Friendly
Exodus
as Barak Ben Canaan
How the West Was Won
as Marshal Lou Ramsey
Mackenna's Gold
as The Editor
Coogan's Bluff
as Lt. McElroy
Party Girl
as Rico Angelo
Miami Exposé
as Lt. Barton 'Bart' Scott
The Brothers Karamazov
as Fyodor Karamazov
The Trap
as Victor Massonetti
Man of the West
as Dock Tobin
Macho Callahan
as Duffy
In Like Flint
as Lloyd C. Cramden
Lawman
as Vincent Bronson
Sirocco
as Col. Feroud
Green Mansions
as Nuflo
Thieves' Highway
as Mike Figlia
The Racers
as Maglio
The Three Faces of Eve
as Doctor Curtis Luther
Boomerang!
as Chief Harold F. 'Robbie' Robinson
The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit
as Judge Bernstein
The Song of Bernadette
as Dr. Dozous
They Came to Rob Las Vegas
as Steve Skorsky
Call Northside 777
as Brian Kelly
Winged Victory
as Doctor
Our Man Flint
as Cramden
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
as Julio Madariaga
The Phantom Creeps
as Road Crew Foreman (archive footage)
The Meanest Men in the West
as Judge Henry Garth
The Miracle of the Bells
as Marcus Harris
Golden Boy
as Mr. Bonaparte
The Tall Texan
as Capt. Theodore Bess
Paris Calling
as Captain Schwabe
Double Indemnity
as Barton Keyes
The Dark Past
as Dr. Andrew Collins
Captain from Castile
as Juan Garcia
Gorilla at Large
as Detective Sgt. Garrison
Anna and the King of Siam
as Kralahome
The Left Hand of God
as Mieh Yang
The Moon Is Down
as Dr. Albert Winter
The Day of the Owl
as Don Mariano Arena
The Luck of the Irish
as David C. Augur
Rustlers' Valley
as Cal Howard
But Not for Me
as Jeremiah MacDonald
The Man Who Cheated Himself
as Lt. Ed Cullen
The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing
as Lapchance
The Garment Jungle
as Walter Mitchell
Men of Boys Town
as Dave Morris
The Liberation of L.B. Jones
as Oman Hedgepath
That Lucky Touch
as Henry Steedman
Cross Shot
as Dante Ragusa
The Balloon Vendor
as Twenty Years
Come Blow Your Horn
as Harry R. Baker
The Bull of the West
as Judge Garth
Dr. Max
as Maxwell Gordon
The Road to Denver
as Jim Donovan
This Thing Called Love
as Julio Diestro
The Family Secret
as Howard Clark
Arthur Miller on Home Ground
Yankee Pasha
as Sultan
Johnny O'Clock
as Inspector Koch
Death of a Salesman
as Willy Loman
Heat of Anger
as Frank Galvin
Tonight We Raid Calais
as Bonnard
The Fighter
as Durango
Trapped Beneath the Sea
as Victor Bateman
Danger on the Air
as Tony Lisotti
The Vanishing Shadow
as Roadwork Foreman
Nick the Sting
as Robert Clark
Annie: The Women in the Life of a Man
as Himself
Blood, Sweat and Fear
as Benzi
The Great Kidnapping
as Jovine
Day of Triumph
as Zadok
The Final Hour
as Judge Henry Garth
The Phantom Creeps
as Road Crew Foreman (uncredited)
The Great Ice Rip-Off
as Willy Calso
The Devil's Children
as Judge Henry Garth
Buckskin Frontier
as Jeptha Marr
Mark Shoots First
as Il commedator Benzi
The Brazen Bell
as Judge Henry Garth
Flight Characteristics of the P-51 Airplane
as Arthur Deeds
North of the Rio Grande
as President Wooden
I, Don Quixote
as Miguel de Cervantes / Don Quixote de la Mancha / Alonso Quijana