Hollywood veteran Bill Cobbs dead at 90
Veteran Hollywood actor Bill Cobbs, who boasted almost 200 credits to his name over the course of his lengthy career, including Night at the Museum, has died at the age of 90.
Cobbs passed away peacefully on June 25th at his home in Riverside, California. His younger brother, Thomas G. Cobbs, confirmed the news in a Facebook post. He wrote: “We are saddened to share the passing of Bill Cobbs. On Tuesday, June 25, Bill passed away peacefully at his home in California.”
Continuing: “A beloved partner, big brother, uncle, surrogate parent, godfather and friend, Bill recently and happily celebrated his 90th birthday surrounded by cherished loved ones. As a family we are comforted knowing Bill has found peace and eternal rest with his Heavenly Father. We ask for your prayers and encouragement during this time.”
Cobbs’ publicist, Chuck I. Jones, also confirmed to the Associated Press that natural causes are likely the reason for the actor’s death.
Born on June 16, 1934 in Cleveland, Ohio, Cobbs wasn’t the only one in his family to go into acting. His second cousin was the famous James Baskett, best known for playing Uncle Remus and singing ‘Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah’ in the controversial 1946 Disney movie Song of the South.
Cobbs’ route to Hollywood was not conventional. He served in the US Air Force as a radar technician for eight years, worked for IBM, and sold cars in his native city before relocating to New York, aged 36, looking for acting work. Before relocating to the Big Apple, Cobb had been honing his skills at the African American Performing Arts Center and Karamu House Theatre in Cleveland.
While searching for his big break, he supported himself with a string of jobs, including cab driving, selling toys, repairing office equipment and being an odd jobsman.
He secured his first professional acting job in Ride a Black Horse at the Negro Ensemble Company, which saw him earn greater prominence, then appearing in small, street and regional theatre productions at the Eugene O’Neill Theatre. In 1974, he made his feature film debut in The Taking of Pelham One Two Three, which also starred Walter Matthau and Robert Shaw.
Following the movie’s success, Cobbs had an extensive career, which saw him feature in many films and TV shows, including Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., The Michael Richards Show, The Outer Limits, The Sopranos, I’ll Fly Away, One Tree Hill, and Star Trek: Enterprise, to name a few. He is perhaps best known for his role as one of the evil security guards, Reginald, in 2006’s Night at the Museum, in which he featured alongside Ben Stiller, Carla Gugino, Mickey Rooney and Dick Van Dyke. He reprised his role in 2014’s third instalment of the series, Secret of the Tomb.
Cobbs starred in other notable films, including the blaxploitation classic The Hitter, Disney’s Air Bud, Rob Reiner’s Ghosts of Mississippi, the Coen brothers’ The Hudsucker Proxy, and Tom Hanks’ That Thing You Do. Throughout his career, he worked with some of the best in the business.
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