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.
Known for
Acting103
movieThe Meanest Men in the West
1978
Judge Henry Garth
movieCross Shot
1976
Dante Ragusa
tvOrigins of the Mafia
1976
Bartolomeo Gramignano
movieNick the Sting
1976
Robert Clark
movieMark Shoots First
1975
Il commedator Benzi
movieThat Lucky Touch
1975
Henry Steedman
movieThe Balloon Vendor
1974
Twenty Years
movieThe Great Ice Rip-Off
1974
Willy Calso
movieTrapped Beneath the Sea
1974
Victor Bateman
movieDr. Max
1974
Maxwell Gordon
movieThe Exorcist
1973
Lt. Bill Kinderman
movieDouble Indemnity
1973
Barton Keyes
movieThe Bull of the West
1972
Judge Garth
movieHeat of Anger
1972
Frank Galvin
movieLawman
1971
Vincent Bronson
movieThe Liberation of L.B. Jones
1970
Oman Hedgepath
tvMcCloud
1970
Alexander Montello
movieMackenna's Gold
1969
The Editor
movieCoogan's Bluff
1968
Lt. McElroy
movieThe Day of the Owl
1968
Don Mariano Arena
movieThey Came to Rob Las Vegas
1968
Steve Skorsky
movieIn Like Flint
1967
Lloyd C. Cramden
movieDeath of a Salesman
1966
Willy Loman
movieOur Man Flint
1966
Cramden
movieThe Final Hour
1965
Judge Henry Garth
movieThe Brazen Bell
1964
Judge Henry Garth
movieCome Blow Your Horn
1963
Harry R. Baker
movieThe Devil's Children
1962
Judge Henry Garth
movieHow the West Was Won
1962
Marshal Lou Ramsey
tvThe Virginian
1962
Richter Henry Garth / Ritcher Henry Garth
movieThe Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
1962
Julio Madariaga
movieExodus
1960
Barak Ben Canaan
I, Don Quixote
1959
Miguel de Cervantes / Don Quixote de la Mancha / Alonso Quijana
tvThe DuPont Show with June Allyson
1959
Captain Maximillian Gault
movieBut Not for Me
1959
Jeremiah MacDonald
movieThe Trap
1959
Victor Massonetti
movieParty Girl
1958
Rico Angelo
movieMan of the West
1958
Dock Tobin
tvNaked City
1958
Paul Delito
movieThe Brothers Karamazov
1958
Fyodor Karamazov
movieThe Three Faces of Eve
1957
Doctor Curtis Luther
movieThe Garment Jungle
1957
Walter Mitchell
movie12 Angry Men
1957
Juror 3
tvDick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
1956
Captain Andrew Watling / Drifter - Frank MacKinnon
movieMiami Exposé
1956
Lt. Barton 'Bart' Scott
movieThe Man in the Gray Flannel Suit
1956
Judge Bernstein
tvTony Awards
1956
Willy Loman (archive footage)
tvGunsmoke
1955
Col. Josiah Johnson
movieThe Left Hand of God
1955
Mieh Yang
movieThe Road to Denver
1955
Jim Donovan
movieThe Racers
1955
Maglio
tvMedic
1954
Henry Fisher
movieOn the Waterfront
1954
Johnny Friendly
movieGorilla at Large
1954
Detective Sgt. Garrison
movieYankee Pasha
1954
Sultan
tvThe Oscars
1953
Self
movieThe Tall Texan
1953
Capt. Theodore Bess
tvGeneral Electric Theater
1953
Dominic Roma / Grayson Foxhall
tvThe Ford Television Theatre
1952
Matt Erwin
movieThe Fighter
1952
Durango
movieThe Family Secret
1951
Howard Clark
movieSirocco
1951
Col. Feroud
movieThe Man Who Cheated Himself
1950
Lt. Ed Cullen
Lux Video Theatre
1950
Emile Zola
movieThieves' Highway
1949
Mike Figlia
movieThe Phantom Creeps
1949
Road Crew Foreman (uncredited)
movieThe Dark Past
1948
Dr. Andrew Collins
tvStudio One
1948
Dr. Joseph Pearson
movieThe Luck of the Irish
1948
David C. Augur
movieThe Miracle of the Bells
1948
Marcus Harris
movieCall Northside 777
1948
Brian Kelly
movieCaptain from Castile
1947
Juan Garcia
movieBoomerang!
1947
Chief Harold F. 'Robbie' Robinson
movieJohnny O'Clock
1947
Inspector Koch
movieAnna and the King of Siam
1946
Kralahome
movieWinged Victory
1944
Doctor
Flight Characteristics of the P-51 Airplane
1944
Arthur Deeds
movieThe Song of Bernadette
1943
Dr. Dozous
movieBuckskin Frontier
1943
Jeptha Marr
movieThe Moon Is Down
1943
Dr. Albert Winter
movieParis Calling
1941
Captain Schwabe
movieMen of Boys Town
1941
Dave Morris
movieThis Thing Called Love
1940
Julio Diestro
movieGolden Boy
1939
Mr. Bonaparte
movieThe Phantom Creeps
1939
Road Crew Foreman (archive footage)
movieDanger on the Air
1938
Tony Lisotti
movieRustlers' Valley
1937
Cal Howard
movieNorth of the Rio Grande
1937
President Wooden
movieThe Vanishing Shadow
1934
Roadwork Foreman
Directing1
tvStartime
1959
Director