He is best known for his performances in On the Waterfront (1954), 12 Angry Men (1957), and The Exorcist (1973). He died from a heart attack at age 64. In looking back, Mr. Cobb said he did not believe that “Death of a Salesman” was “a socially significant play, as some have said. "The Awakening" (4:05) directed by Leon Benson, written by Robert Crean and broadcast October 17, 1965, was a turning point for The Virginian and marked the end of the classic early period of the show (1962-1965). Critics said his performance was richer and deeper than it was on the stage. “The great difference is. We finished the show on a Friday night about midnight and it was a bitterly cold evening. Lee J. Cobb (born Leo Jacoby, December 8, 1911 – February 11, 1976) was an American actor. The son of a Jewish newspaper editor, young Leo was a child prodigy in music, mastering the violin … He was given a standing ovation at the end of the performance, and one critic described Mr. Cobb's Lear as “the finest performance in a distinguished career.”. Willy Loman is nobody's hero, but we are all his bereaved. The California native adored her on-screen father, Lee J. Cobb, who had two Academy Award nominations under his belt by the time the Western began airing. They had a son in 1960. 1957, in particular, was a banner year for him. [testimony before the House Un-American Activities Committee, June 23, 1953] I would like to thank you for the privilege of setting the record straight, not only for whatever subjective relief it affords me, but if belatedly this information can be of any value in the further strengthening of our Government and its efforts at home as well as abroad, it will serve in some way to mitigate whatever feeling of guilt I might have for having waited this long. And then there was Doug McClure, playing fellow ranch hand Trampas. Though he will long be remembered for many of his successful supporting performances in the movies, it is as the stage's first Willy Loman in which he achieved immortality as an actor. There is no such thing as perfection. Jun 5, 2015 - "Came here with almost nothing. [hide] 1. His last major Hollywood movie role was that of police detective Lt. Kinderman in The Exorcist (1973). Mr. Cobb was then reluctant to compare Lear to Willy Loman, nor would he go into what constitutes true tragedy. Lee J. Cobb was born in New York on 8th December, 1911. Next he joined the cast of Moss Hart's “This Is the Army” and played in it for six months. Not long after he testified, Mr. Cobb suffered a massive heart attack that almost killed him. This role gave full range to Cobb’s acting talents, even if it was the kind of character Cobb often played. 3.3 Trampas 3.4. I feel the same way about it as Doug did. Frank Price was brought back on board for season 5 to straighten out the series. The Virginian, which was renamed The Men from Shiloh in its final year on network TV, is an American Western television series starring James Drury in the title role, along with Doug McClure, Lee J. Cobb, and others.It originally aired on NBC from 1962 to 1971, for a total of 249 episodes. See the article in its original context from. 3.10 John Grainger 3.11. Later he reprised the role of Joe Bonaparte's father in the 1952 revival of Golden Boy opposite Garfield as his son, and appeared the following year in The Emperor's Clothes. Also Known As: Leo Jacoby, Cpl. Apparently Lee J. Cobb didn’t want to stay around longer than he had to. Bearing in mind that the role was written for him, it is throug… Cobb achieved immortality by giving life to the character of Willy Loman in the original 1949 Broadway production of Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman. His numerous film credits included “The Moon Is Down (1943), “Song of Bernadette” (1945), “Anna and the King of Siam” (1946), “Boomerang” (1947), “Captain From Castile” and “Call Northside 777” (both 1948), “But Not for Me,” “The Trap” and “Green Mansions” (1959); “Exodus” (1960), “How the West Was Won” (1962), “Come Blow Your Horn” (1963) and “The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing” (1973). 3.1 The Virginian 3.2. Still obsessed by show business, he went back to California, this time to the Pasadena Playhouse, where he played small parts. This is a digitized version of an article from The Times’s print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996. He continued to play major supporting roles in prestigious A-list pictures. He said "I've earned my grey hairs and I dig every one!" A pity Trampas was absent for such a key episode. 106 Credits. But he died unexpectedly (during season 6). With all its faults “Morgan Starr” remains an interesting episode. Lee J. Cobb, one of the premier character actors in American film for three decades in the post-World War II period, was born Leo Jacoby in New York City's Lower East Side on December 8, 1911. This … After his discharge from the service, he returned to Hollywood, where he continued to act a variety of parts in films. Occasionally the digitization process introduces transcription errors or other problems; we are continuing to work to improve these archived versions. He studied at New York University before joining the Group Theatre in 1935 where he appeared with Elia Kazan in Waiting for Lefty, the highly successful play by Clifford Odets.He made his screen debut in The Vanishing Shadow (1934). 2.1 Seasons 1 through 8 2.2. During the 1960's. He was my favorite," Roberta said of the actor, who played Judge Garth for four seasons. At least study to be an accountant, she told me, so you'll have something to fall back on. Ironically, he would win his first Oscar nomination in On the Waterfront (1954) directed and written by fellow HUAC informers Kazan and Budd Schulberg. Lee J. Cobb created the role of Willy Loman in Arthur Miller's “Death of a Salesman” 27 years ago on Broadway. 3.5 Betsy Garth 3.6. Lee J. Cobb, Actor: 12 Angry Men. The Virginian Weblog. Cobb was born in Los Angeles, California, to a Jewish family. that in a production of ‘Lear’ there is challenge to continual growth. He did an about face when named and betrayed his colleagues. Blood, Sweat and Fear. Though he will long be remembered for many of his successful supporting performances in the movies, it is as the stage's first Willy Loman in which he achieved immortality as an actor. Lee J. Cobb facts Cobb (December 8, 1911 – February 11, 1976) was an American actor He is best known for his performances in 12 Angry Men (1957), On the Waterfront (1954), and The Exorcist (1973) Cobb took over the role of Mr. Bonaparte, the protagonist's father, in the 1939 film version of the play, despite the fact that he was not yet 30 years old. In 1955, he suffered a serious heart attack. Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA, Borrah Minevitch and His Harmonica Rascals, View agent, publicist, legal and company contact details on IMDbPro, My favorite supporting actors and actresses, Classic Hollywood Actors Who Never Won an Oscar. as Steve Hill (1962-64)(seasons 1 - 2) Shiloh Ranch hand entry - 1.01 exit - ?? Television is nobody's medium. The film can be seen as a stalwart defense of informing, as epitomized by the character Terry Malloy's testimony before a Congressional committee investigating racketeering on the waterfront.Major films in which Cobb appeared after reaching his career plateau include Otto Preminger's adaptation of Leon Uris' ode to the birth of Israel, Exodus (1960); the Cinerama spectacle How the West Was Won (1962); the James Coburn spy spoofs, Our Man Flint (1966) and In Like Flint (1967); Clint Eastwood's first detective film, Coogan's Bluff (1968); and legendary director William Wyler's last film, The Liberation of L.B. He was 23 when he again returned to New York and joined the Group Theater for a succession of plays, among them Clifford Odets's “Waiting for Lefty” and “Golden Boy.” During this time he married an actress, Helen Beverly, and they had two children, a daughter and a son. Lee J. Cobb . 2.2 Season 9 3. “If you must compare,” he told an interviewer, “Loman is a half‐beaker as against Lear's. Primary Sources Lee J. Cobb. |  Leonard Bernstein – composer and conductor. I've never considered for 1 minute dying my hair, life's too short to spend time doing that! Lee J. Cobb would have been 64 years old at the time of death or 103 years old today. He perormed notably in such films as “The Brothers Karamazov,” which he said was one of his favorites, in TV specials like “12 Angry Men” and “Den Quixote” and in his lucrative series “The Virginian.”. For all intents and purposes Lee J. Cobb died on that day in our kitchen. The son of a Jewish newspaper editor, young Leo was a child prodigy in music, mastering the violin and the harmonica. I built Again, he opened to critical acclaim, although he was playing Shakespeare for the first time in his professional life. His performance at the Morosco Theater became theatrical history. When Betsy Garth (Roberta Shore) married former minister David Henderson (Glenn Corbett), … The role of a patriarch suited him, and he'd play many more in his film career.It was as a different kind of patriarch that he scored his greatest success. 3.4 Steve Hill 3.5. He has appeared in four film that have been selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant: We all want to play romantic figures. After again returning to his native New York, he made his Broadway debut as a saloonkeeper in a dramatization of Fyodor Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment, but it closed after 15 performances (later in his career, Dostoevsky would prove more of a charm, with Cobb's role as Father Karamazov in The Brothers Karamazov (1958) garnering him his second Oscar nomination),Cobb joined the politically progressive Group Theater in 1935 and made a name for himself in Clifford Odets' politically liberal dramas Waiting for Lefty and Til the Day I Die, appearing in both plays that year in casts that included Elia Kazan, who later became famous as a film director. Instead, he was assigned to a radio unit. At the age of 16 or 17 he ran away from home to Hollywood to try to break into motion pictures as an actor. During the 1960's. In November 1969, Mr. Cobb returned to the stage to play “King Lear,” presented by the Repertory Theater of Lincoln Center. Cobb later won an Emmy nomination as Willy when he played the role in a made-for-TV movie of the play (Death of a Salesman (1966)). Was the original choice to play Mickey in "Rocky" but refused the role because he would have to audition. As well as memorable performances in classic movies such as 'On the Waterfront' in 1954, for which he received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor, and '12 Angry … This is a rare, hard-to-find video of the abbreviated TV performance made in 1966 (the original Broadway play was in 1949 with Cobb in the lead). Other memorable supporting roles in the 1950s included the sagacious Judge Bernstein in The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit (1956), as the probing psychiatrist Dr. Luther in The Three Faces of Eve (1957) and as the volatile Juror #3 in 12 Angry Men (1957).It was in the 1950s that Cobb achieved the sort of fame that most artists dreaded: he was called before the House Un-American Activities Committee on charges that he was or had been a Communist. He named names to the Committee for two reasons. Cross Shot. His last major Hollywood movie role was that of police detective Lt. Kinderman in The Exorcist (1973).Lee J. Cobb died of a heart attack in Woodland Hills, California, on February 11, 1976, at the age of 64. Appears in five Oscar Best Picture nominees: In the early years of his career he appeared in two Hopalong Cassidy films with. The Bull of the West. Cobb's career, which lasted over forty years, mostly consisted of guest appearances on television shows. He then married Mary Hirsh in 1957. He decided to become an actor when he was 16, although his mother argued against it. After a hiatus while serving in the Army Air Force during World War II, Cobb's movie career resumed in 1946. He is buried in Mount Sinai Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles, California. A villain in the original 1902 Owen Wister novel the show was based on, the writers transformed him into a high-spirited and often comedic character in the series. He was a member of the famed, Was succeeded in two of his roles by the late, The part of Willy Loman in the stage play "Death of a Salesman" was written specifically for him by. If you must compare, Loman is a half-beaker as against Lear's full, overflowing beaker of poetry and emotion. 3.6 Randy Benton 3.7. There was no living until I played Willy Loman. Cobb died in 1976 of a heart attack with The Exorcist, if not his last role, his last role of some note. “I didn't get very far because accounting and I became mortal enemies,” he said. His performance was a towering achievement that ranks with such performances as Edwin Booth as Richard III and John Barrymore as Hamlet in the annals of the American theater. My hair is gone almost completely grey, but I still have it all, LOL! But he died unexpectedly (during Season 6). At that time there were not even any TV shows that breathlessly tracked the lives (and deaths) of celebrities. His demanding presence and tough demeanor did not fit well with the show, nor did fans like his character. He is buried in Mount Sinai Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles, California. Lee J. Cobb, Lee Colt, Lee Cobb Died: February 11, 1976: Born: December 8, 1911: Cause of Death: heart attack: Birth Place: Left to Right: Mildred Dunnock, Arthur Kennedy, Cameron Mitchell and Lee J. Cobb in a scene from "Death Of A Salesman". (Drury had played the same role in 1958, … He was also a virtuoso on the harmonica, winning contests and a modicum of fame until a broken wrist ended his thoughts of a musical career. TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. 3.7 Deputy Sheriff Emmett Ryker 3.8. Lee J. Cobb's performance has been considered the best of any adaptation of "Death of a Salesman" ever. Mr. Cobb said he was quick to realize that “there was no living until I played Willy Loman.”. Lee J. Cobb was born on December 9, 1911 and died on February 11, 1976. His first wife wasHelen Beverly (m.1849-div.1952). They Came to Rob Las Vegas. But because I lost my hair I was stuck playing butchers and crooks. Cobb also appeared in made-for-TV movies and made frequent guest appearances on other TV shows. The charges were rooted in Cobb's membership in the Group Theater in the 1930s. He isn't anyone I can have any objective opinions about. However, it's known that after Leo was unable to find work he returned to New York City, where he attended New York University at night to study accounting while acting in radio dramas during the day.An older Cobb tried his luck in California once more, making his debut as a professional stage actor at the Pasadena Playhouse in 1931. He reportedly made his film debut as a member of Borrah Minevitch and His Harmonica Rascals (their first known movie appearance was in the 1929 two-reeler Boyhood Days), but that cannot be substantiated. In 1953, Lee J. Cobb was summoned to appear before the Un-American Activities Committee and gave names to protect his friends and family. Mr. Cobb appeared briefly on the New York stage in the short‐lived production of “The Emperor's Clothes” in 1953. Performer: Lee J. Cobb [A Policeman, Smilgin, Vasil Yefimovich, Worker] Play Play with music Original Till the Day I Die/Waiting for Lefty (Mar 26, 1935 - Jul 13, 1935) 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. In 1952. he and Helen Beverly were divorced, and in 1957 he married a former schoolteacher, Mary Hirsch, who had a 3‐yearold son by a previous marriage. Cobb died of a heart attack in Los Angeles, California on the 11 February 1976. Shiloh Ranch was originally owned by Judge Garth (Lee J. Cobb) and his daughter Betsy (Roberta Shore), then changed hands a few times to the Grainger brothers (Charles Bickford and John McIntire), and finally ends up under the ownership of Colonel Alan McKenzie. He could just look at … The experience also left him deeply in debt. “Willy Loman is nobody's hero, but we are all his bereaved.” said Mr. Cobb. His performance of 'King Lear' in 1968 is the longest-running production of the play in Broadway history. Hundred dollars, a Winchester and a wind-broke horse, that's all. The odd man out is Lee J Cobb. 3.11 Clay Grainger 3.12. Jon C. Hopwood, Other Works All turned sour, however, in the mid 1950's when he testified as a cooperative witness before the House Un‐American Activities Committee and aditiitted joining the Communist Party briefly in New York as a result of contacts he had made ivhile he was with the Group Theater. 3.13 Elizabeth Gra… Theatrical history in a DVD! They had two children and remained married until his death. His movie career reached its artistic peak in the 1950s, when he was twice nominated for Best Supporting Actor Academy Awards, for his role as Johnny Friendly in On the Waterfront (1954) and as the father in The Brothers Karamazov (1958). Featured in "Bad Boys: The Actors of Film Noir" by Karen Burroughs Hannsberry (McFarland, 2003). He isn't anyone I can have any objective opinions about,” he said. The Miller play, according to Mr. Cobb, is a love affair between a father and son, play about the foibles, weakMesses and strengths of one man. At 17, he ran away to Hollywood and made the rounds, unsuccessfully. For him to be a lead actor was always going to be a … Lee J. Cobb died of a heart attack in Woodland Hills, California, on February 11, 1976, at the age of 64.