People
Lee J. Cobb
Acting · follow into films and chains
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.
Notable films
Where to start
Highlights from credits and KinoChain journeys.
12 Angry Men
Appears in a KinoChain journey
Exodus
Appears in a KinoChain journey
The Exorcist
As Lt. Bill Kinderman
Coogan's Bluff
As Lt. McElroy
On the Waterfront
As Johnny Friendly
The Phantom Creeps
As Road Crew Foreman (archive footage)
Party Girl
As Rico Angelo
The Brothers Karamazov
As Fyodor Karamazov
Chains
KinoChain journeys
Public chains that pass through their films — or name them as a bridge.
The Writer's Fight
From Spartacus to the shadows of the blacklist, a chain of films that honours the courage of Hollywood's silenced screenwriters.
8 films
The Stage on Screen: A Theatrical Journey
From the claustrophobic confines of a cabin to the sprawling sets of a Shakespearean epic, these eight films celebrate the art of theatre translated to cinema.
7 films
The Weight of Command: Eight Faces of Authority
From courtroom to battlefield, from boardroom to the Oval Office, these eight performances explore the many masks of power and the human cost of wearing them.
8 films
Topics
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Related people
Collaborators & neighbours
Acted
The Exorcist
1973 · Lt. Bill Kinderman
The Liberation of L.B. Jones
1970 · Oman Hedgepath
Coogan's Bluff
1968 · Lt. McElroy
Death of a Salesman
1966 · Willy Loman
Exodus
1960 · Barak Ben Canaan
Party Girl
1958 · Rico Angelo
The Brothers Karamazov
1958 · Fyodor Karamazov
12 Angry Men
1957 · Juror 3
On the Waterfront
1954 · Johnny Friendly
The Phantom Creeps
1939 · Road Crew Foreman (archive footage)