Lee J. Cobb facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Lee J. Cobb
Cobb, circa 1960s
Born	Leo Jacoby (1911-12-08)December 8, 1911 The Bronx, New York, U.S.
Died	February 11, 1976(1976-02-11) (aged 64) Woodland Hills, California, U.S.
Resting place	Mount Sinai Memorial Park Cemetery
Alma mater	New York University
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1934–1976
Spouse(s)	Helen Beverley ​ ​ (m. 1940; div. 1952)​ Mary Brako Hirsch ​ (m. 1957)​
Children	4, including Julie Cobb
Military career
Allegiance	United States of America
Service/branch	United States Army Air Forces
Years of service	1942–45
Rank	Corporal
Unit	First Motion Picture Unit
Battles/wars	World War II
Awards	Victory Medal Campaign Medal

Lee J. Cobb (born Leo Jacoby; December 8, 1911 – February 11, 1976) was a famous American actor. He was known for his roles in movies, on Broadway plays, and in TV shows. He often played strong, sometimes tough, characters. But he also played good guys like judges and police officers.

Cobb was the first actor to play Willy Loman in the famous play Death of a Salesman in 1949. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor twice. These nominations were for his roles in On the Waterfront (1954) and The Brothers Karamazov (1958).

Some of his other well-known movie roles include Juror #3 in 12 Angry Men (1957). He also played Dock Tobin in Man of the West (1958) and Lt. William Kinderman in The Exorcist (1973). On TV, he starred as Judge Henry Garth in the Western series The Virginian. He was nominated for an Emmy Award three times. In 1981, after he passed away, Cobb was honored in the American Theatre Hall of Fame.

Early Life and Education

Lee J. Cobb was born in New York City. His family was Jewish and came from Russia and Romania. He grew up in the Bronx, New York, near Crotona Park. His father, Benjamin Jacob, worked for a newspaper. His mother was Kate Neilecht.

Cobb was interested in acting from a young age. When he was 16, he tried to start a career in Hollywood. He played music with a group called Borrah Minevitch's Harmonica Rascals. He even had a small part in a short film with them. But he couldn't find steady acting work, so he moved back to New York.

He studied accounting at New York University. While studying, he also worked as a radio salesman. Still wanting to act, he went back to California. There, he studied acting at the Pasadena Playhouse. He got his first film roles at age 23 in a film series called The Vanishing Shadow (1934). In 1935, he joined a theater group in Manhattan called the Group Theatre.

Acting Career

Stage Performances

Cobb started performing in summer plays with the Group Theatre in 1936. His first show on Broadway was Crime and Punishment. He acted alongside Elia Kazan in plays like Waiting for Lefty and Golden Boy. He also appeared in The Fifth Column and Clash by Night.

Cobb became very famous for playing Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman. The play was directed by Elia Kazan. The writer, Arthur Miller, called Cobb "the greatest dramatic actor I ever saw." Cobb performed in the play's first run from February 1949 to November 1950. The play won a Tony Award for Best Play and a Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

During World War II, Cobb joined the US Army Air Forces. He hoped to become a pilot but was assigned to a radio unit. Later, he joined the First Motion Picture Unit. Here, he acted in shows that helped raise money for the Army, like This is the Army. In 1968, he played King Lear on Broadway. His performance ran for 72 shows, which was the longest run for that play on Broadway at the time.

Film Roles

Cobb as Johnny Friendly in On the Waterfront (1954)

Cobb started acting in movies in the 1930s. He often played older characters even when he was still young. His first credited movie role was in Rustlers' Valley (1937). For this film, he used the name 'Lee Colt.' After that, he used Lee Cobb or Lee J. Cobb for all his movies.

He appeared in the 1939 movie version of Golden Boy. He was also in Anna and the King of Siam (1946). This movie later inspired the musical The King and I. He played a kind doctor in The Song of Bernadette. He also played Derek Flint's boss in the spy movies Our Man Flint and In Like Flint.

In 1955, Cobb had a heart attack while filming The Houston Story. Later that year, he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. This was for his role as Johnny Friendly, a corrupt union boss, in On the Waterfront. He received a second nomination for playing Fyodor in The Brothers Karamazov.

In 1957, he played Juror #3 in 12 Angry Men. This role earned him a Golden Globe nomination. He was nominated again for the comedy Come Blow Your Horn (1963). One of his last movie roles was Lt. Kinderman in the horror film The Exorcist (1973). This movie was about a teenage girl who was possessed. Cobb also made some crime thrillers in Italy. His last two films, Cross Shot and Nick the Sting, were released after he passed away.

Television Appearances

In 1959, Cobb starred in I, Don Quixote on TV. Years later, this play became the musical Man of La Mancha. From 1962 to 1966, Cobb played Judge Henry Garth in the TV Western series The Virginian. He was the owner of the Shiloh Ranch.

He played Willy Loman again in the 1966 TV version of Death of a Salesman. For this performance, Cobb was nominated for an Emmy Award. His co-star, Mildred Dunnock, also played Willy's wife, Linda, again.

One of his last TV roles was in Doctor Max. He played an old doctor who still made house calls in Baltimore. His final TV role was in Origins of the Mafia, a miniseries about the history of the Sicilian Mafia.

Political Activity

In 1951, Lee J. Cobb was accused of being involved with the Communist Party. This happened during a hearing by the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC). Cobb refused to testify for two years. But his acting career was in danger because of a "blacklist" that prevented certain actors from working. In 1953, he finally testified. He named about 20 people as former members of the Communist Party USA. After this, he continued his career. He worked with Elia Kazan on the 1954 film On the Waterfront.

Personal Life

Lee J. Cobb married actress Helen Beverley in 1940. They had two children, including actress Julie Cobb, before they divorced in 1952. Cobb then married Mary Hirsch, a school teacher, in 1957. They also had two children together.

Death

Lee J. Cobb died from a heart attack on February 11, 1976. He was 64 years old. He passed away in Woodland Hills, California. He was buried in Mount Sinai Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles. In 1981, he was inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame.

Images for kids

• 

  Cobb in the trailer for How the West Was Won (1962)

• 

  Cobb as Johnny Friendly with Marlon Brando as Terry Malloy in On the Waterfront (1954)

• 

  With William Holden in Golden Boy (1939)

Accolades

Awards and Nominations

Honors

• 1966, Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement
• 1981, American Theatre Hall of Fame

In Spanish: Lee J. Cobb para niños