Lee J. Cobb
Acting
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.
TV Shows(19)
Origins of the Mafia
Bartolomeo Gramignano
1976
The Young Lawyers
1970
McCloud
Alexander Montello
1970
Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre
Ernie Wigman
1963
The Virginian
Richter Henry Garth
1962
The DuPont Show with June Allyson
Captain Maximillian Gault
1959
Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse
1958
Naked City
Paul Delito
1958
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
Captain Andrew Watling
1956
Tony Awards
Willy Loman (archive footage)
1956
Gunsmoke
Col. Josiah Johnson
1955
Medic
Henry Fisher
1954
The Oscars
Self
1953
General Electric Theater
Dominic Roma
1953
The Ford Television Theatre
Matt Erwin
1952
Tales of Tomorrow
1951
Lux Video Theatre
Emile Zola
1950
Lights Out
1949
Studio One
Dr. Joseph Pearson
1948
Movies(84)
Arthur Miller on Home Ground
1979
The Meanest Men in the West
Judge Henry Garth
1978
Cross Shot
Dante Ragusa
1976
Nick the Sting
Robert Clark
1976
Mark Shoots First
Il commedator Benzi
1975
That Lucky Touch
Henry Steedman
1975
Blood, Sweat and Fear
Benzi
1975
The Balloon Vendor
Twenty Years
1974
The Great Ice Rip-Off
Willy Calso
1974
Trapped Beneath the Sea
Victor Bateman
1974
Dr. Max
Maxwell Gordon
1974
The Exorcist
Lt. Bill Kinderman
1973
The Great Kidnapping
Jovine
1973
Double Indemnity
Barton Keyes
1973
The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing
Lapchance
1973
The Bull of the West
Judge Garth
1972
Heat of Anger
Frank Galvin
1972
Lawman
Vincent Bronson
1971
Macho Callahan
Duffy
1971
The Liberation of L.B. Jones
Oman Hedgepath
1970
Annie: The Women in the Life of a Man
Himself
1970
Mackenna's Gold
The Editor
1969
Coogan's Bluff
Lt. McElroy
1968
The Day of the Owl
Don Mariano Arena
1968
They Came to Rob Las Vegas
Steve Skorsky
1968
In Like Flint
Lloyd C. Cramden
1967
Death of a Salesman
Willy Loman
1966
Our Man Flint
Cramden
1966
The Final Hour
Judge Henry Garth
1965
The Brazen Bell
Judge Henry Garth
1964
Come Blow Your Horn
Harry R. Baker
1963
The Devil's Children
Judge Henry Garth
1962
How the West Was Won
Marshal Lou Ramsey
1962
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
Julio Madariaga
1962
Exodus
Barak Ben Canaan
1960
I, Don Quixote
Miguel de Cervantes / Don Quixote de la Mancha / Alonso Quijana
1959
But Not for Me
Jeremiah MacDonald
1959
Green Mansions
Nuflo
1959
The Trap
Victor Massonetti
1959
Party Girl
Rico Angelo
1958
Man of the West
Dock Tobin
1958
The Brothers Karamazov
Fyodor Karamazov
1958
The Three Faces of Eve
Doctor Curtis Luther
1957
The Garment Jungle
Walter Mitchell
1957
12 Angry Men
Juror 3
1957
Miami Exposé
Lt. Barton 'Bart' Scott
1956
The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit
Judge Bernstein
1956
The Left Hand of God
Mieh Yang
1955
The Road to Denver
Jim Donovan
1955
The Racers
Maglio
1955
Day of Triumph
Zadok
1954
On the Waterfront
Johnny Friendly
1954
Gorilla at Large
Detective Sgt. Garrison
1954
Yankee Pasha
Sultan
1954
The Tall Texan
Capt. Theodore Bess
1953
The Fighter
Durango
1952
The Family Secret
Howard Clark
1951
Sirocco
Col. Feroud
1951
The Man Who Cheated Himself
Lt. Ed Cullen
1950
Thieves' Highway
Mike Figlia
1949
The Phantom Creeps
Road Crew Foreman (uncredited)
1949
The Dark Past
Dr. Andrew Collins
1948
The Luck of the Irish
David C. Augur
1948
The Miracle of the Bells
Marcus Harris
1948
Call Northside 777
Brian Kelly
1948
Captain from Castile
Juan Garcia
1947
Boomerang!
Chief Harold F. 'Robbie' Robinson
1947
Johnny O'Clock
Inspector Koch
1947
Anna and the King of Siam
Kralahome
1946
Winged Victory
Doctor
1944
Flight Characteristics of the P-51 Airplane
Arthur Deeds
1944
The Song of Bernadette
Dr. Dozous
1943
Buckskin Frontier
Jeptha Marr
1943
Tonight We Raid Calais
Bonnard
1943
The Moon Is Down
Dr. Albert Winter
1943
Paris Calling
Captain Schwabe
1941
Men of Boys Town
Dave Morris
1941
This Thing Called Love
Julio Diestro
1940
Golden Boy
Mr. Bonaparte
1939
The Phantom Creeps
Road Crew Foreman (archive footage)
1939
Danger on the Air
Tony Lisotti
1938
Rustlers' Valley
Cal Howard
1937
North of the Rio Grande
President Wooden
1937
The Vanishing Shadow
Roadwork Foreman
1934