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
0Tony Awards
1956
The Virginian
1962
The Virginian
1962
Studio One
1948
Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre
1963
Naked City
1958
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
1956
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
1956
Gunsmoke
1955
McCloud
1970
12 Angry Men
1957
The Oscars
1953
Filmography
Tony Awards
as Willy Loman (archive footage) · 1956
The Virginian
as Richter Henry Garth · 1962
The Virginian
as Ritcher Henry Garth · 1962
Studio One
as Dr. Joseph Pearson · 1948
Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre
as Ernie Wigman · 1963
Naked City
as Paul Delito · 1958
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
as Captain Andrew Watling · 1956
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
as Drifter - Frank MacKinnon · 1956
Gunsmoke
as Col. Josiah Johnson · 1955
McCloud
as Alexander Montello · 1970
12 Angry Men
as Juror 3 · 1957
The Oscars
as Self · 1953
The Ford Television Theatre
as Matt Erwin · 1952
The DuPont Show with June Allyson
as Captain Maximillian Gault · 1959
Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse
· 1958
The Exorcist
as Lt. Bill Kinderman · 1973
Lights Out
· 1949
Lux Video Theatre
as Emile Zola · 1950
Tales of Tomorrow
· 1951
How the West Was Won
as Marshal Lou Ramsey · 1962
On the Waterfront
as Johnny Friendly · 1954
The Young Lawyers
· 1970
Medic
as Henry Fisher · 1954
Origins of the Mafia
as Bartolomeo Gramignano · 1976
Mackenna's Gold
as The Editor · 1969
General Electric Theater
as Dominic Roma · 1953
General Electric Theater
as Grayson Foxhall · 1953
The Song of Bernadette
as Dr. Dozous · 1943
Coogan's Bluff
as Lt. McElroy · 1968
Exodus
as Barak Ben Canaan · 1960
The Brothers Karamazov
as Fyodor Karamazov · 1958
Man of the West
as Dock Tobin · 1958
Party Girl
as Rico Angelo · 1958
Sirocco
as Col. Feroud · 1951
The Left Hand of God
as Mieh Yang · 1955
Lawman
as Vincent Bronson · 1971
Our Man Flint
as Cramden · 1966
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
as Julio Madariaga · 1962
The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit
as Judge Bernstein · 1956
The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing
as Lapchance · 1973
Green Mansions
as Nuflo · 1959
In Like Flint
as Lloyd C. Cramden · 1967
The Three Faces of Eve
as Doctor Curtis Luther · 1957
Anna and the King of Siam
as Kralahome · 1946
Call Northside 777
as Brian Kelly · 1948
This Thing Called Love
as Julio Diestro · 1940
But Not for Me
as Jeremiah MacDonald · 1959
The Trap
as Victor Massonetti · 1959
Death of a Salesman
as Willy Loman · 1966
The Day of the Owl
as Don Mariano Arena · 1968
Men of Boys Town
as Dave Morris · 1941
The Liberation of L.B. Jones
as Oman Hedgepath · 1970
The Miracle of the Bells
as Marcus Harris · 1948
The Man Who Cheated Himself
as Lt. Ed Cullen · 1950
Come Blow Your Horn
as Harry R. Baker · 1963
They Came to Rob Las Vegas
as Steve Skorsky · 1968
Thieves' Highway
as Mike Figlia · 1949
The Moon Is Down
as Dr. Albert Winter · 1943
The Garment Jungle
as Walter Mitchell · 1957
The Bull of the West
as Judge Garth · 1972
The Road to Denver
as Jim Donovan · 1955
The Meanest Men in the West
as Judge Henry Garth · 1978
Macho Callahan
as Duffy · 1971
The Luck of the Irish
as David C. Augur · 1948
Arthur Miller on Home Ground
as Self - Willy Loman (archive footage) · 1979
Tonight We Raid Calais
as Bonnard · 1943
Gorilla at Large
as Detective Sgt. Garrison · 1954
Miami Exposé
as Lt. Barton 'Bart' Scott · 1956
Panic Button
as Al Bengsten · 1957
Annie: The Women in the Life of a Man
as Himself · 1970
The Dark Past
as Dr. Andrew Collins · 1948
The Great Kidnapping
as Jovine · 1973
Golden Boy
as Mr. Bonaparte · 1939
The Phantom Creeps
as Road Crew Foreman (archive footage) · 1939
Mark Shoots First
as Il commedator Benzi · 1975
Trapped Beneath the Sea
as Victor Bateman · 1974
The Great Ice Rip-Off
as Willy Calso · 1974
Boomerang!
as Chief Harold F. 'Robbie' Robinson · 1947
Captain from Castile
as Juan Garcia · 1947
The Balloon Vendor
as Twenty Years · 1974
Winged Victory
as Doctor · 1944
Nick the Sting
as Robert Clark · 1976
Danger on the Air
as Tony Lisotti · 1938
The Racers
as Maglio · 1955
Cross Shot
as Dante Ragusa · 1976
North of the Rio Grande
as President Wooden · 1937
Johnny O'Clock
as Inspector Koch · 1947
That Lucky Touch
as Henry Steedman · 1975
The Devil's Children
as Judge Henry Garth · 1962
The Tall Texan
as Capt. Theodore Bess · 1953
Flight Characteristics of the P-51 Airplane
as Arthur Deeds · 1944
Dr. Max
as Maxwell Gordon · 1974
Double Indemnity
as Barton Keyes · 1973
Heat of Anger
as Frank Galvin · 1972
Paris Calling
as Schwabe · 1941
Yankee Pasha
as Sultan · 1954
The Phantom Creeps
as Road Crew Foreman (uncredited) · 1949
Blood, Sweat and Fear
as Benzi · 1975
The Final Hour
as Judge Henry Garth · 1965
The Family Secret
as Howard Clark · 1951
The Fighter
as Durango · 1952
The Brazen Bell
as Judge Henry Garth · 1964
Buckskin Frontier
as Jeptha Marr · 1943
I, Don Quixote
as Miguel de Cervantes / Don Quixote de la Mancha / Alonso Quijana · 1959
The Vanishing Shadow
as Roadwork Foreman · 1934
Day of Triumph
as Zadok · 1954
Rustlers' Valley
as Cal Howard · 1937