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