Lee J. 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.
Known For
Johnny Friendly
On the Waterfront
Barak Ben Canaan
Exodus
Mike Figlia
Thieves' Highway
Col. Feroud
Sirocco
Lloyd C. Cramden
In Like Flint
Cramden
Our Man Flint
Walter Mitchell
The Garment Jungle
Marshal Lou Ramsey
How the West Was Won
Rico Angelo
Party Girl
Lt. Bill Kinderman
The Exorcist
Brian Kelly
Call Northside 777
Harry R. Baker
Come Blow Your Horn
Lt. McElroy
Coogan's Bluff
Bonnard
Tonight We Raid Calais
Judge Bernstein
The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit
Doctor Curtis Luther
The Three Faces of Eve
Lapchance
The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing
Vincent Bronson
Lawman
Lt. Barton 'Bart' Scott
Miami Exposé
Dock Tobin
Man of the West
Fyodor Karamazov
The Brothers Karamazov
Dr. Andrew Collins
The Dark Past
Marcus Harris
The Miracle of the Bells
Kralahome
Anna and the King of Siam
Dr. Dozous
The Song of Bernadette
Mr. Bonaparte
Golden Boy
Juan Garcia
Captain from Castile
Mieh Yang
The Left Hand of God
Lt. Ed Cullen
The Man Who Cheated Himself
The Editor
Mackenna's Gold
Inspector Koch
Johnny O'Clock
Chief Harold F. 'Robbie' Robinson
Boomerang!
President Wooden
North of the Rio Grande
Cal Howard
Rustlers' Valley
Julio Madariaga
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
Victor Massonetti
The Trap
Detective Sgt. Garrison
Gorilla at Large
Jovine
La polizia sta a guardare
Barton Keyes
Double Indemnity
Don Mariano Arena
Il giorno della civetta
Oman Hedgepath
The Liberation of L.B. Jones
Captain Schwabe
Paris Calling
Jeremiah MacDonald
But Not for Me
Steve Skorsky
Las Vegas: 500 millones
David C. Augur
The Luck of the Irish
Judge Garth
The Bull of the West
Dr. Albert Winter
The Moon Is Down
Jeptha Marr
Buckskin Frontier
Sultan
Yankee Pasha
Roadwork Foreman
The Vanishing Shadow
Maglio
The Racers
Judge Henry Garth
The Meanest Men in the West
Self (archive footage)
Leap of Faith: William Friedkin on The Exorcist
Doctor
Winged Victory
Dante Ragusa
La Legge Violenta Della Squadra Anticrimine
Jim Donovan
The Road to Denver
Julio Diestro
This Thing Called Love
Willy Calso
The Great Ice Rip-Off
Willy Loman
Death of a Salesman
Howard Clark
The Family Secret
Tony Lisotti
Danger on the Air
Capt. Theodore Bess
The Tall Texan
Twenty Years
Il venditore di palloncini
Victor Bateman
Trapped Beneath the Sea
Durango
The Fighter
Road Crew Foreman (archive footage)
The Phantom Creeps
Duffy
Macho Callahan
Il commedator Benzi
Mark il poliziotto spara per primo
Zadok
Day of Triumph
Robert Clark
Gli amici di Nick Hezard
Judge Henry Garth
The Final Hour
Judge Henry Garth
The Devil's Children
Judge Henry Garth
The Brazen Bell
Henry Steedman
That Lucky Touch
Benzi
Mark il poliziotto
Miguel de Cervantes / Don Quixote de la Mancha / Alonso Quijana
I, Don Quixote
Dave Morris
Men of Boys Town
Nuflo
Green Mansions
Himself
Annie: the Women in the Life of a Man
Arthur Deeds
Flight Characteristics of the P-51 Airplane
Frank Galvin
Heat of Anger
Juror 3
12 Angry Men
Maxwell Gordon
Dr. Max
Road Crew Foreman (uncredited)
The Phantom Creeps
Personal Info
Known For
Acting
Known Credits
84
Gender
Male
Birthday
1911-12-08
Place of Birth
New York City, New York, USA
Also Known As
Lee Colt