Lee J. Cobb
Born December 08, 1911 (Age: 114)
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New York City, New York, USA
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 (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.
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Filmography
The Meanest Men in the West
1978
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as Judge Henry Garth
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Age: 66
The Balloon Vendor
1974
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as Twenty Years
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Age: 63
The Great Ice Rip-Off
1974
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as Willy Calso
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Age: 62
Trapped Beneath the Sea
1974
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as Victor Bateman
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Age: 62
Dr. Max
1974
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as Maxwell Gordon
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Age: 62
The Exorcist
1973
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as Lt. Bill Kinderman
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Age: 62
The Great Kidnapping
1973
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as Jovine
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Age: 61
Double Indemnity
1973
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as Barton Keyes
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Age: 61
The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing
1973
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as Lapchance
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Age: 61
The Bull of the West
1972
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as Judge Garth
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Age: 60
Heat of Anger
1972
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as Frank Galvin
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Age: 60
Mackenna's Gold
1969
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as The Editor
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Age: 57
Coogan's Bluff
1968
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as Lt. McElroy
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Age: 56
Come Blow Your Horn
1963
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as Harry R. Baker
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Age: 51
The Devil's Children
1962
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as Judge Henry Garth
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Age: 50
How the West Was Won
1962
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as Marshal Lou Ramsey
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Age: 50
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
1962
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as Julio Madariaga
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Age: 50
Exodus
1960
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as Barak Ben Canaan
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Age: 49
No Image
I, Don Quixote
1959
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as Miguel de Cervantes / Don Quixote de la Mancha / Alonso Quijana
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Age: 47
But Not for Me
1959
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as Jeremiah MacDonald
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Age: 47
Green Mansions
1959
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as Nuflo
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Age: 47
The Trap
1959
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as Victor Massonetti
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Age: 47
Party Girl
1958
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as Rico Angelo
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Age: 46
Man of the West
1958
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as Dock Tobin
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Age: 46
The Brothers Karamazov
1958
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as Fyodor Karamazov
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Age: 46
Miami Exposé
1956
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as Lt. Barton 'Bart' Scott
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Age: 44
The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit
1956
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as Judge Bernstein
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Age: 44
The Left Hand of God
1955
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as Mieh Yang
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Age: 43
The Road to Denver
1955
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as Jim Donovan
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Age: 43
The Racers
1955
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as Maglio
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Age: 43
Day of Triumph
1954
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as Zadok
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Age: 43
On the Waterfront
1954
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as Johnny Friendly
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Age: 42
Gorilla at Large
1954
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as Detective Sgt. Garrison
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Age: 42
Yankee Pasha
1954
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as Sultan
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Age: 42
The Tall Texan
1953
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as Capt. Theodore Bess
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Age: 41
The Man Who Cheated Himself
1950
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as Lt. Ed Cullen
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Age: 39
Paris Calling
1941
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as Captain Schwabe
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Age: 29
Men of Boys Town
1941
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as Dave Morris
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Age: 29