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.

Lee J. Cobb

Lee J. Cobb

Biography

Miami Exposé

12 Angry Men

The Exorcist

On the Waterfront

How the West Was Won

Mackenna's Gold

Tonight We Raid Calais

The Day of the Owl

Exodus

Green Mansions

Gorilla at Large

The Trap

Coogan's Bluff

The Brothers Karamazov

Anna and the King of Siam

But Not for Me

Sirocco

Lawman

Man of the West

Party Girl

The Luck of the Irish

This Thing Called Love

The Three Faces of Eve

Our Man Flint

The Brazen Bell

They Came to Rob Las Vegas

The Bull of the West

The Devil's Children

The Tall Texan

Macho Callahan

The Song of Bernadette

The Left Hand of God

Winged Victory

Call Northside 777

Buckskin Frontier

Arthur Miller on Home Ground

Thieves' Highway

In Like Flint

The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing

The Man Who Cheated Himself

The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit

The Road to Denver

The Garment Jungle

Captain from Castile

Men of Boys Town

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse

Double Indemnity

The Meanest Men in the West

The Phantom Creeps

The Great Ice Rip-Off

That Lucky Touch

Paris Calling

Death of a Salesman

The Dark Past

Golden Boy

The Racers

The Liberation of L.B. Jones

The Moon Is Down

I, Don Quixote

The Balloon Vendor

Come Blow Your Horn

The Final Hour

Flight Characteristics of the P-51 Airplane

Mark Shoots First

Yankee Pasha

The Family Secret

The Vanishing Shadow

Cross Shot

Johnny O'Clock

The Miracle of the Bells

Blood, Sweat and Fear

Dr. Max

Heat of Anger

North of the Rio Grande

Boomerang!

Nick the Sting

Danger on the Air