Lee J. Cobb | |
|---|---|
 Cobbc. 1960s | |
| Born | Leo Jacoby (1911-12-08)December 8, 1911 New York City, NY, U.S. |
| Died | February 11, 1976(1976-02-11) (aged 64) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Resting place | Mount Sinai Memorial Park Cemetery |
| Alma mater | New York University Pasadena Playhouse |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1934–1976 |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 4, includingJulie Cobb |
| Awards | American Theater Hall of Fame |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Branch | United States Army (Army Air Forces) |
| Battles / wars | World War II |
Lee J. Cobb (bornLeo Jacoby;[1][2] 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 starring role on the television seriesThe Virginian.[3] He often played arrogant, intimidating, and abrasive characters, but he also acted as respectable figures such as judges and police officers. He was nominated for twoAcademy Awards and twoGolden Globe Awards, all in the Best Supporting Actor category.
Cobb was a member of theGroup Theatre and originated the role ofWilly Loman inArthur Miller's 1949 playDeath of a Salesman under the direction ofElia Kazan. He received his first Oscar nomination for playing Johnny Friendly in Kazan'sOn the Waterfront (1954). His subsequent film performances included Juror #3 in12 Angry Men (1957), patriarchFyodor Karamazov inThe Brothers Karamazov (also 1958), Dock Tobin inMan of the West (1958), Barak Ben Canaan inExodus (1960),Marshall Lou Ramsey inHow the West Was Won (1962), Cramden inOur Man Flint (1966) and its sequelIn Like Flint (1967), and Lt. William Kinderman inThe 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 theABC legal dramaThe Young Lawyers as David Barrett, and was nominated forPrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Single Performance by an Actor three times. In 1981, Cobb was posthumously inducted into theAmerican Theater Hall of Fame.
Cobb was born in New York City, to aJewish family ofRussian andRomanian origin.[4] He grew up inThe Bronx, New York, on Wilkins Avenue, nearCrotona Park. His parents were Benjamin (Benzion) Jacob, a compositor forThe Jewish Daily Forward newspaper, and Kate (Neilecht), a homemaker.[5]
Interested in acting from a young age, Cobb ran away from home at 16 to try to make it inHollywood. He joinedBorrah Minevitch's Harmonica Rascals as a musician and had a bit part in ashort film featuring the group, but failed to find steady work and eventually moved back to New York.
Cobb studied accounting atNew York University while working as a radio salesman. Still interested in show business, he went back to California and studied acting at thePasadena Playhouse. He finally made his film debut at 23 in two episodes of the film serialThe Vanishing Shadow (1934). He joined theManhattan-basedGroup Theatre in 1935.[6]
Cobb performedsummer stock with the Group Theatre in 1936, when it summered atPine Brook Country Club inNichols, Connecticut.[7] He made hisBroadway debut as a saloonkeeper in a dramatization ofCrime and Punishment that closed after 15 nights. He starred oppositeElia Kazan in Group Theatre's productions ofClifford Odets'Waiting for Lefty andGolden Boy. He also acted inErnest Hemingway's only full-length play,The Fifth Column, and Odets'Clash by Night.
Cobb gained widespread recognition for his portrayal ofWilly Loman in the original production ofArthur Miller's playDeath of a Salesman under the direction ofElia Kazan. Miller praised Cobb as "the greatest dramatic actor I ever saw"[8] and, upon his casting, changed a line referring to the physical appearance of the title character, whom the author had originally conceived of as a small man, from "shrimp" to "walrus".[9] Cobb played through the play's entire initial run at theMorosco Theatre between February 1949 and November 1950. The play won theTony Award for Best Play and thePulitzer Prize for Drama. Miller later offered Cobb the part of Eddie Carbone inA View from the Bridge, but Cobb turned it down.
DuringWorld War II, Cobb joined theUS Army Air Forces in the hopes of becoming a pilot. Instead, he was assigned to a radio unit. He was later transferred to theFirst Motion Picture Unit,[10] where he appeared inMoss HartArmy Emergency Relief fundraiser productions likeThis is the Army andWinged Victory.
In 1968, his performance asKing Lear withStacy Keach as Edmund,René Auberjonois as the Fool, andPhilip Bosco as Kent achieved the longest run (72 performances) for the play inBroadway history.[11]
Cobb entered films in the 1930s, successfully playing middle-aged and even older characters while he was still a youth. His first credited role was in the 1937 Hopalong CassidyoaterRustlers' Valley, where he was billed using the stage name 'Lee Colt.' In all subsequent films, he used Lee Cobb and later Lee J. Cobb.
He starred in the1939 film adaptation ofGolden Boy, albeit in a different role.
He was cast as the Kralahome in the 1946 filmAnna and the King of Siam, upon which the musical playThe King and I was later partially based. He also played the sympathetic doctor inThe Song of Bernadette and appeared as Derek Flint's (James Coburn) supervisor in theJames Bond spy spoofsOur Man Flint andIn Like Flint.
In August 1955, while filmingThe Houston Story, Cobb suffered a heart attack and was replaced byGene Barry.[12] Later that year, he picked up aBest Supporting Actor Oscar nomination for his portrayal of corrupt union boss Johnny Friendly inElia Kazan'sOn the Waterfront. He was nominated a second time for playingFyodor inRichard Brooks'movie adaptation ofThe Brothers Karamazov.
In 1957, he appeared inSidney Lumet's12 Angry Men as the abrasive Juror #3. The role earned him aGolden Globe nomination forBest Supporting Actor, one of two in the same category. He was nominated again for theFrank Sinatra comedyCome Blow Your Horn (1963).
One of his final film roles was that ofWashington, D.C. Metropolitan Police homicide detective Lt. Kinderman in the 1973 horror filmThe Exorcist, about a demonic possession of a teen-age girl (Linda Blair) inGeorgetown, D. C. In the same decade, Cobb travelled to Europe to work inItalian films, primarilypoliziotteschi (crime thrillers). His final films,Cross Shot andNick the Sting, were both released posthumously, nearly two months after Cobb died.
In 1959, on CBS'DuPont Show of the Month, he starred in the dual roles ofMiguel de Cervantes andDon Quixote in the playI, Don Quixote, which years later became the musicalMan of La Mancha. Cobb also appeared as theMedicine Bow, Wyoming owner of the Shiloh Ranch, Judge Henry Garth in the first four seasons (1962–1966), of the long-runningNBCWestern television seriesThe Virginian (1962–1971).
He reprised his role of Willy Loman in the 1966CBS television adaptation ofDeath of a Salesman, which includedGene Wilder,James Farentino,Bernie Kopell, andGeorge Segal. Cobb was nominated for anEmmy Award for the performance.Mildred Dunnock, who had co-starred in both the original stage version and the 1951 film version, again repeated her role as Linda, Willy's devoted wife.
One of his last television roles was as a stalwart overworked elderly physician still making house calls in urbanBaltimore, inDoctor Max, a TV pilot for a potential series that never materialized. His final aired television role wasOrigins of the Mafia, aminiseries about the history of theSicilian Mafia, filmed on-location in Italy. He subsequently appeared alongside British actorKenneth Griffith in anABC television documentary on theAmerican Revolution calledSuddenly an Eagle, which was broadcast six months after his death.
Cobb was accused of being aCommunist in 1951 testimony before theHouse Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) byLarry Parks, himself an admitted former Communist Party member. Cobb was called to testify before HUAC but refused to do so for two years until his career was threatened by theblacklist. He relented in 1953 and gave testimony, naming 20 people as former members of theCommunist Party USA.[13]
Later, Cobb explained why he "named names", saying:
When the facilities of the government of the United States are drawn on an individual it can be terrifying. The blacklist is just the opening gambit—being deprived of work. Your passport is confiscated. That's minor. But not being able to move without being tailed is something else. After a certain point it grows to implied as well as articulated threats, and people succumb. My wife did, and she was institutionalized. The HUAC did a deal with me. I was pretty much worn down. I had no money. I couldn't borrow. I had the expenses of taking care of the children. Why am I subjecting my loved ones to this? If it's worth dying for, and I am just as idealistic as the next fellow. But I decided it wasn't worth dying for, and if this gesture was the way of getting out of the penitentiary I'd do it. I had to be employable again.
- — Interview withVictor Navasky for the 1980 bookNaming Names
Following the hearing, he resumed his career and worked withElia Kazan andBudd Schulberg, two other HUAC "friendly witnesses", on the 1954 filmOn the Waterfront.
Cobb marriedYiddish theatre and film actressHelen Beverley in 1940.[6] They had two children, actressJulie Cobb, and son Vincent Cobb, before divorcing in 1952. Cobb's second marriage was to school teacher Mary Hirsch, with whom he also had two children.[6] Cobb supportedProgressive Party candidateHenry A. Wallace in the1948 United States presidential election.[14]
Cobb died of aheart attack on February 11, 1976 inWoodland Hills, California at age 64, and was buried inMount Sinai Memorial Park Cemetery inLos Angeles.[15]
He was inducted into theAmerican Theater Hall of Fame in 1981.[16]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1951 | Somerset Maugham TV Theatre | Charles Strickland | Episode: "The Moon and Sixpence" |
| Tales of Tomorrow | Wayne Crowder | Episode: "Test Flight" | |
| Lights Out | David Stevenson | Episode: "The Veil" | |
| 1954 | Ford Theatre | Matt Erwin | Episode: "Night Visitor" |
| 1955 | Lux Video Theatre | Émile Zola | Episode: "The Life of Emile Zola" |
| Medic | Henry Fisher | Episode: "Break Through the Bars" | |
| Producers' Showcase | Rubashev | Episode: "Darkness at Noon" | |
| 1956 | The Alcoa Hour | Zocco | Episode: "A Patch of Faith" |
| 1956-58 | Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre | Capt. Andrew Watling / Frank MacKinnon | Episode: "Death Watch" & "Legacy of a Legend" |
| 1957 | Studio One | Dr. Joseph Pearson | Episodes: "No Deadly Medicine: Parts 1 & 2" |
| 1957-59 | Playhouse 90 | Al Bengsten / Dr. Lawrence Doner | Episodes: "Panic Button" & "Project Immortality" |
| 1959 | Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse | El Jefe | Episode: "Trial at Devil's Canyon" |
| 1959-60 | DuPont Show of the Month | Miguel de Cervantes / Dr. Hochberg | Episodes: "I, Don Quixote" & "Men in White" |
| 1960-62 | General Electric Theater | Dominic Roma / Grayson Foxhall | Episodes: "The Committeeman" & "The Unstoppable Gray Fox" |
| 1961 | DuPont Show with June Allyson | Capt. Maximillian Gault | Episode: "The School of the Soldier" |
| Naked City | Paul Delito | Episode: "Take Off Your Hat When a Funeral Passes" | |
| Vincent Van Gogh: A Self-Portrait | Vincent van Gogh | Television film | |
| 1962-66 | The Virginian | Judge Henry Garth | Main cast; Season 1-4 |
| 1963 | Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre | Ernie Wigman | Episode: "It's Mental Work" |
| 1966 | Death of a Salesman | Willy Loman | Television film |
| 1970-71 | The Young Lawyers | David Barrett | Main cast |
| 1972 | Heat of Anger | Frank Galvin | Television film |
| Double Indemnity | Barton Keyes | ||
| McCloud | Alexander Montello | Episode: "Showdown at the End of the World" | |
| 1974 | Trapped Beneath the Sea | Victor Bateman | Television film |
| The Great Ice Rip-Off | Willy Calso | ||
| Gunsmoke | Col. Josiah Johnson | Episode: "The Colonel" | |
| 1976 | Origins of the Mafia | Bartolomeo Gramignano | Miniseries; 1 episode |
| Run | Title | Role | Director | Original venue | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01/22/35 - 02/06/35 | Crime and Punishment | Koch the Saloonkeeper | Victor Wolfson | Biltmore Theatre | |
| 03/26/35 - 07/13/35 | Till the Day I Die | Detective Popper | Cheryl Crawford | Longacre Theatre | |
| Waiting for Lefty | Voice | Sanford Meisner | |||
| 11/19/35 - 12/07/35 | The Mother | Smilgin / Vasil Yefimovich / Policeman / Worker | Victor Wolfson | Civic Repertory Theater | |
| 03/30/36 - 05/03/36 | Bitter Stream | Don Circonstantza | Jacob Ben-Ami | ||
| 11/19/36 - 01/16/37 | Johnny Johnson | Dr. McBray / Brother George / French Major-General | Lee Strasberg | 44th Street Theatre | |
| 11/04/37 - 06/04/38 | Golden Boy | Mr. Carp | Harold Clurman | Belasco Theatre | |
| 01/05/39 - 05/06/39 | The Gentle People: A Brooklyn Fable | Lammanawitz | |||
| 11/14/39 - 12/02/39 | Thunder Rock | Dr. Stefan Kurtz | Elia Kazan | Mansfield Theatre | |
| 03/06/40 - 05/18/40 | The Fifth Column | Max | Lee Strasberg | Alvin Theatre | |
| 12/27/41 - 02/07/42 | Clash by Night | Jerry Wilenski | Belasco Theatre | ||
| 03/09/42 - 05/09/42 | Jason | Jason Otis | Samson Raphaelson | Hudson Theatre | Replacement |
| 11/20/43 - 05/20/44 | Winged Victory | Dr. Baker | Moss Hart | 44th Street Theatre & US tour | Produced by theU.S. Army Air Forces |
| 02/10/49 - 11/18/50 | Death of a Salesman | Willy Loman | Elia Kazan | Morosco Theatre | |
| 03/12/52 - 04/06/52 | Golden Boy | Mr. Bontaparte | Clifford Odets | ANTA Playhouse | |
| 02/09/53 - 02/21/53 | The Emperor's Clothes | Elek Odry | Harold Clurman | Ethel Barrymore Theatre | |
| 11/07/68 - 02/12/69 | King Lear | Lear | Gerald Freedman | Vivian Beaumont Theater |
| Year | Program | Episode/source |
|---|---|---|
| 1945 | Suspense | "The Bet"[17] |
| 1946 | Hollywood Star Time | The Song of Bernadette[18] |
