Lee J. Cobb
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- December 8, 1911
- Died
- February 11, 1976
- Birthplace
- New York City, New York, USA
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.
Filmography
Arthur Miller on Home Ground 1979
as Self - Willy Loman (archive footage)
The Meanest Men in the West 1978
as Judge Henry Garth
Cross Shot 1976
as Dante Ragusa
Nick the Sting 1976
as Robert Clark
Mark Shoots First 1975
as Il commedator Benzi
That Lucky Touch 1975
as Henry Steedman
Blood, Sweat and Fear 1975
as Benzi
The Balloon Vendor 1974
as Twenty Years
The Great Ice Rip-Off 1974
as Willy Calso
Trapped Beneath the Sea 1974
as Victor Bateman
Dr. Max 1974
as Maxwell Gordon
The Exorcist 1973
as Lt. Bill Kinderman
The Great Kidnapping 1973
as Jovine
Double Indemnity 1973
as Barton Keyes
The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing 1973
as Lapchance
The Bull of the West 1972
as Judge Garth
Heat of Anger 1972
as Frank Galvin
Lawman 1971
as Vincent Bronson
Macho Callahan 1971
as Duffy
The Liberation of L.B. Jones 1970
as Oman Hedgepath
Annie: The Women in the Life of a Man 1970
as Himself
Mackenna's Gold 1969
as The Editor
Coogan's Bluff 1968
as Lt. McElroy
The Day of the Owl 1968
as Don Mariano Arena
They Came to Rob Las Vegas 1968
as Steve Skorsky
In Like Flint 1967
as Lloyd C. Cramden
Death of a Salesman 1966
as Willy Loman
Our Man Flint 1966
as Cramden
The Final Hour 1965
as Judge Henry Garth
The Brazen Bell 1964
as Judge Henry Garth
Come Blow Your Horn 1963
as Harry R. Baker
The Devil's Children 1962
as Judge Henry Garth
How the West Was Won 1962
as Marshal Lou Ramsey
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse 1962
as Julio Madariaga
Exodus 1960
as Barak Ben Canaan
- I, Don Quixote
I, Don Quixote 1959
as Miguel de Cervantes / Don Quixote de la Mancha / Alonso Quijana
But Not for Me 1959
as Jeremiah MacDonald
Green Mansions 1959
as Nuflo
The Trap 1959
as Victor Massonetti
Party Girl 1958
as Rico Angelo
Man of the West 1958
as Dock Tobin
The Brothers Karamazov 1958
as Fyodor Karamazov
The Three Faces of Eve 1957
as Doctor Curtis Luther
- Panic Button
Panic Button 1957
as Al Bengsten
The Garment Jungle 1957
as Walter Mitchell
12 Angry Men 1957
as Juror 3
Miami Exposé 1956
as Lt. Barton 'Bart' Scott
The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit 1956
as Judge Bernstein
The Left Hand of God 1955
as Mieh Yang
The Road to Denver 1955
as Jim Donovan
The Racers 1955
as Maglio
Day of Triumph 1954
as Zadok
On the Waterfront 1954
as Johnny Friendly
Gorilla at Large 1954
as Detective Sgt. Garrison
Yankee Pasha 1954
as Sultan
The Tall Texan 1953
as Capt. Theodore Bess
The Fighter 1952
as Durango
The Family Secret 1951
as Howard Clark
Sirocco 1951
as Col. Feroud
The Man Who Cheated Himself 1950
as Lt. Ed Cullen
Thieves' Highway 1949
as Mike Figlia
The Phantom Creeps 1949
as Road Crew Foreman (uncredited)
The Dark Past 1948
as Dr. Andrew Collins
The Luck of the Irish 1948
as David C. Augur
The Miracle of the Bells 1948
as Marcus Harris
Call Northside 777 1948
as Brian Kelly
Captain from Castile 1947
as Juan Garcia
Boomerang! 1947
as Chief Harold F. 'Robbie' Robinson
Johnny O'Clock 1947
as Inspector Koch
Anna and the King of Siam 1946
as Kralahome
Winged Victory 1944
as Doctor
- Flight Characteristics of the P-51 Airplane
Flight Characteristics of the P-51 Airplane 1944
as Arthur Deeds
The Song of Bernadette 1943
as Dr. Dozous
Buckskin Frontier 1943
as Jeptha Marr
Tonight We Raid Calais 1943
as Bonnard
The Moon Is Down 1943
as Dr. Albert Winter
Paris Calling 1941
as Schwabe
Men of Boys Town 1941
as Dave Morris
This Thing Called Love 1940
as Julio Diestro
Golden Boy 1939
as Mr. Bonaparte
The Phantom Creeps 1939
as Road Crew Foreman (archive footage)
Danger on the Air 1938
as Tony Lisotti
Rustlers' Valley 1937
as Cal Howard
North of the Rio Grande 1937
as President Wooden
The Vanishing Shadow 1934
as Roadwork Foreman
Credits from TMDB.