Lee J. Cobb

Lee J. Cobb
Cobb c. 1960s
Born
Leo Jacoby

(1911-12-08)December 8, 1911
DiedFebruary 11, 1976(1976-02-11) (aged 64)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Resting placeMount Sinai Memorial Park Cemetery
Alma materNew York University
Pasadena Playhouse
OccupationActor
Years active1934–1976
Spouses
(m. 1940; div. 1952)
Mary Brako Hirsch
(m. 1957)
Children4, including Julie Cobb
AwardsAmerican Theater Hall of Fame
Military career
Allegiance United States of America
Service / branch United States Army Air Forces
Years of service1942–45
Rank Corporal[1]
UnitFirst Motion Picture Unit
Battles / warsWorld War II
Awards Victory Medal
Campaign Medal

Lee J. Cobb (born Leo Jacoby;[2][3] December 8, 1911 – February 11, 1976) was an American actor, known both for film roles and his work on the Broadway stage, as well as for his television role in the series, The Virginian.[4] He often played arrogant, intimidating and abrasive characters, but he also acted as respectable figures such as judges and police officers. Cobb originated the role of Willy Loman in Arthur Miller's 1949 play Death of a Salesman under the direction of Elia Kazan, and was twice nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, for On the Waterfront (1954) and The Brothers Karamazov (1958).

His film performances included Juror #3 in 12 Angry Men (1957), Dock Tobin in Man of the West (1958), Barak Ben Canaan in Exodus (1960), Marshall Lou Ramsey in How the West Was Won (1962), Cramden in Our Man Flint (1966), and Lt. William Kinderman in The Exorcist (1973).

On television, Cobb played a leading role in the first four seasons of the Western series, The Virginian as Judge Henry Garth and the ABC legal drama The Young Lawyers as David Barrett, and was nominated for an Outstanding Single Performance by an Actor Primetime Emmy Award three times. In 1981, Cobb was posthumously inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame.

  1. ^ "Cobb, Lee J., CPL | TWS".
  2. ^ Cinema - Part 1, Issues 205-210 - Page 158
  3. ^ Clarke, Joseph F. (1977). Pseudonyms. Thomas Nelson. p. 39. ISBN 978-0840765673.
  4. ^ McQuiston, John T. (February 12, 1976). "Lee J. Cobb, the Actor, Is Dead at 64". The New York Times. Retrieved October 1, 2019.