Lee J. Cobb
Encyclopedia
Lee J. Cobb was an American actor. He is best known for his performance in 12 Angry Men (1957
) his Academy Award
-nominated performance in On the Waterfront
(1954
) and one of his last films, The Exorcist
(1973
). He also played the role of Willy Loman in the original Broadway performance of Arthur Miller
's 1949 play Death of a Salesman
under the direction of Elia Kazan
.
n Jewish family in New York City
, Cobb grew up in The Bronx, New York on Wilkins Avenue, near Crotona Park. His parents were Benjamin (Benzion) Jacob, a compositor for a foreign-language newspaper, and Kate Neilecht. Cobb studied at New York University
before making his film debut in The Vanishing Shadow (1934). He joined the Manhattan
-based left wing Group Theatre in 1935.
located in the countryside of Nichols, Connecticut
in the 1930s and early 1940s. Pine Brook was the summer home of the Group Theatre (New York) from 1931 until the 1940s.
Cobb entered films in the 1930s, successfully playing middle-aged and even older men while he was still a youth. He was cast as the Kralahome in the 1946 non-musical film Anna and the King of Siam. He also played the sympathetic doctor in The Song of Bernadette
, and appeared as James Coburn
's supervisor in the spy spoofs In Like Flint
and Our Man Flint
. He reprised his role of Willy Loman in the 1966 CBS
television
adaptation of Death of a Salesman
, which included actors Gene Wilder
, James Farentino
, Bernie Kopell
, and George Segal
. Cobb was nominated for an Emmy 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.
Cobb was named as a possible Communist in testimony before the House Un-American Activities Committee
because of his involvement in liberal causes and his support of political and charitable organizations suspected of being Communist fronts. He 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 twenty people as former members of the Communist Party USA
.
Later, Cobb explained why he "named names" saying:
Following the hearing he resumed his career and worked with 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.
In 1957 he appeared in Sidney Lumet
's 12 Angry Men as the abrasive Juror #3. In 1959, on CBS's DuPont Show of the Month, he starred in the dual roles of Miguel de Cervantes
and Don Quixote in the television play I, Don Quixote
, which years later became the musical Man of La Mancha
. Cobb also appeared as Wyoming
ranch
owner Judge Henry Garth in the first four seasons of the long-running NBC
western
television series The Virginian
. He appeared with co-stars James Drury
, Doug McClure
, Roberta Shore
, Gary Clarke
, Randy Boone
, Clu Gulager
and Diane Roter
.
In 1968, his performance as King Lear
with Stacy Keach
as Edmund, René Auberjonois as the Fool, and Philip Bosco
as Kent achieved the longest run for the play in Broadway
history, although the 1950 Broadway production of the play, with Louis Calhern
as Lear, played 48 performances as opposed to Cobb's 47.
One of his final film roles was that of police detective
Lieutenant Kinderman in the 1973 horror film The Exorcist
.
Cobb died of a heart attack
in 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.
He was inducted, posthumously, into the American Theatre Hall of Fame
in 1981.
Lee J. Cobb's wife from 1940 to 1950s was a Yiddish-theater and film actress Helen Beverley
(1916—2011), daughter — Julie Cobb
.
1957 in film
The year 1957 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* October 21 - The movie Jailhouse Rock, starring Elvis Presley, opens.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue-Awards:...
) his Academy Award
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry. Since its inception, however, the...
-nominated performance in On the Waterfront
On the Waterfront
On the Waterfront is a 1954 American drama film about union violence and corruption among longshoremen. The film was directed by Elia Kazan and written by Budd Schulberg. It stars Marlon Brando, Rod Steiger, Eva Marie Saint, Lee J. Cobb and Karl Malden. The soundtrack score was composed by Leonard...
(1954
1954 in film
The year 1954 in film involved some significant events and memorable ones.-Events:*May 12 - The Marx Brothers' Zeppo Marx divorces wife Marion Benda...
) and one of his last films, The Exorcist
The Exorcist (film)
The Exorcist is a 1973 American horror film directed by William Friedkin, adapted from the 1971 novel of the same name by William Peter Blatty and based on the exorcism case of Robbie Mannheim, dealing with the demonic possession of a young girl and her mother’s desperate attempts to win back her...
(1973
1973 in film
The year 1973 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*The Marx Brothers' Zeppo Marx divorces his second wife, Barbara Blakely. Blakely would later marry actor/singer Frank Sinatra....
). He also played the role of Willy Loman in the original Broadway performance of Arthur Miller
Arthur Miller
Arthur Asher Miller was an American playwright and essayist. He was a prominent figure in American theatre, writing dramas that include plays such as All My Sons , Death of a Salesman , The Crucible , and A View from the Bridge .Miller was often in the public eye,...
's 1949 play Death of a Salesman
Death of a Salesman
Death of a Salesman is a 1949 play written by American playwright Arthur Miller. It was the recipient of the 1949 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and Tony Award for Best Play. Premiered at the Morosco Theatre in February 1949, the original production ran for a total of 742 performances.-Plot :Willy Loman...
under the direction of Elia Kazan
Elia Kazan
Elia Kazan was an American director and actor, described by the New York Times as "one of the most honored and influential directors in Broadway and Hollywood history". Born in Istanbul, the capital of the Ottoman Empire, to Greek parents originally from Kayseri in Anatolia, the family emigrated...
.
Background
Born Leo Jacob to a RussiaRussia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n Jewish family in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, Cobb grew up in The Bronx, New York on Wilkins Avenue, near Crotona Park. His parents were Benjamin (Benzion) Jacob, a compositor for a foreign-language newspaper, and Kate Neilecht. Cobb studied at New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
before making his film debut in The Vanishing Shadow (1934). He joined the Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
-based left wing Group Theatre in 1935.
Career
Cobb did summer stock at Pine Brook Country ClubPine Brook Country Club
-Introduction:Pine Brook Country Club began when Benjamin Plotkin purchased Pinewood Lake and the surrounding countryside on Mischa Hill in the historic village of Nichols, Connecticut. Plotkin built an auditorium with a revolving stage and forty rustic cabins and incorporated as the Pine Brook...
located in the countryside of Nichols, Connecticut
Nichols, Connecticut
Nichols, a historic village in southeastern Trumbull on the Gold Coast of Fairfield County, was named after the family who maintained a large farm in its center for almost 300 years. The Nichols Farms Historic District, which encompasses part of the village, is listed on the National Register of...
in the 1930s and early 1940s. Pine Brook was the summer home of the Group Theatre (New York) from 1931 until the 1940s.
Cobb entered films in the 1930s, successfully playing middle-aged and even older men while he was still a youth. He was cast as the Kralahome in the 1946 non-musical film Anna and the King of Siam. He also played the sympathetic doctor in The Song of Bernadette
The Song of Bernadette (film)
The Song of Bernadette is a 1943 drama film which tells the story of Saint Bernadette Soubirous, who, from February to July 1858 in Lourdes, France, reported 18 visions of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It was directed by Henry King....
, and appeared as James Coburn
James Coburn
James Harrison Coburn III was an American film and television actor. Coburn appeared in nearly 70 films and made over 100 television appearances during his 45-year career, and played a wide range of roles and won an Academy Award for his supporting role as Glen Whitehouse in Affliction.A capable,...
's supervisor in the spy spoofs In Like Flint
In Like Flint
In Like Flint is a 1967 film directed by Gordon Douglas, the sequel to the parody spy film Our Man Flint . It posits an international feminist conspiracy to depose the ruling American patriarchy with a feminist matriarchy. To achieve and establish it, they kidnap and replace the U.S. President,...
and Our Man Flint
Our Man Flint
Our Man Flint is a 1966 action film that parodies of James Bond genre. The film was directed by Daniel Mann, written by Hal Fimberg and Ben Starr, and starring James Coburn as master spy Derek Flint...
. He reprised his role of Willy Loman in the 1966 CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
adaptation of Death of a Salesman
Death of a Salesman
Death of a Salesman is a 1949 play written by American playwright Arthur Miller. It was the recipient of the 1949 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and Tony Award for Best Play. Premiered at the Morosco Theatre in February 1949, the original production ran for a total of 742 performances.-Plot :Willy Loman...
, which included actors Gene Wilder
Gene Wilder
Gene Wilder is an American stage and screen actor, director, screenwriter, and author.Wilder began his career on stage, making his screen debut in the film Bonnie and Clyde in 1967. His first major role was as Leopold Bloom in the 1968 film The Producers...
, James Farentino
James Farentino
James Farentino is an American actor. He has appeared in almost one hundred roles, among them in The Final Countdown, Jesus of Nazareth, and Dynasty.-Career:...
, Bernie Kopell
Bernie Kopell
Bernard Morton "Bernie" Kopell is an American television character actor who is probably best known for his roles as Dr. Adam Bricker in The Love Boat and KAOS agent Siegfried in Get Smart...
, and George Segal
George Segal
George Segal is an American film, stage and television actor.-Early life:George Segal, Jr. was born in 1934 Great Neck, Long Island, New York, the son of Fannie Blanche and George Segal, Sr. He was educated at George School, a private Quaker preparatory boarding school near Newtown, Bucks County,...
. Cobb was nominated for an Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
for the performance. Mildred Dunnock
Mildred Dunnock
Mildred Dunnock was an American theater, film and television actress.- Early life :Born in Baltimore, Maryland and graduated from Western Senior High School, Dunnock was a school teacher who did not start acting until she was in her early thirties...
, 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.
Cobb was named as a possible Communist in testimony before the House Un-American Activities Committee
House Un-American Activities Committee
The House Committee on Un-American Activities or House Un-American Activities Committee was an investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives. In 1969, the House changed the committee's name to "House Committee on Internal Security"...
because of his involvement in liberal causes and his support of political and charitable organizations suspected of being Communist fronts. He was called to testify before HUAC but refused to do so for two years until, with his career threatened by the blacklist
Blacklist
A blacklist is a list or register of entities who, for one reason or another, are being denied a particular privilege, service, mobility, access or recognition. As a verb, to blacklist can mean to deny someone work in a particular field, or to ostracize a person from a certain social circle...
, he relented in 1953 and gave testimony in which he named twenty people as former members of the Communist Party USA
Communist Party USA
The Communist Party USA is a Marxist political party in the United States, established in 1919. It has a long, complex history that is closely related to the histories of similar communist parties worldwide and the U.S. labor movement....
.
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 with Victor Navasky
Victor NavaskyVictor Saul Navasky is a professor at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. He was editor of The Nation from 1978 until 1995, and its publisher and editorial director 1995 to 2005. In November 2005 he became the publisher emeritus...
for the 1982 book Naming Names
Following the hearing he resumed his career and worked with Kazan and Budd Schulberg
Budd Schulberg
Budd Schulberg was an American screenwriter, television producer, novelist and sports writer. He was known for his 1941 novel, What Makes Sammy Run?, his 1947 novel The Harder They Fall, his 1954 Academy-award-winning screenplay for On the Waterfront, and his 1957 screenplay for A Face in the...
, two other HUAC "friendly witnesses" on the 1954 film On the Waterfront
On the Waterfront
On the Waterfront is a 1954 American drama film about union violence and corruption among longshoremen. The film was directed by Elia Kazan and written by Budd Schulberg. It stars Marlon Brando, Rod Steiger, Eva Marie Saint, Lee J. Cobb and Karl Malden. The soundtrack score was composed by Leonard...
which is widely seen as an allegory and apologia for testifying.
In 1957 he appeared in Sidney Lumet
Sidney Lumet
Sidney Lumet was an American director, producer and screenwriter with over 50 films to his credit. He was nominated for the Academy Award as Best Director for 12 Angry Men , Dog Day Afternoon , Network and The Verdict...
's 12 Angry Men as the abrasive Juror #3. In 1959, on CBS's DuPont Show of the Month, he starred in the dual roles of Miguel de Cervantes
Miguel de Cervantes
Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra was a Spanish novelist, poet, and playwright. His magnum opus, Don Quixote, considered the first modern novel, is a classic of Western literature, and is regarded amongst the best works of fiction ever written...
and Don Quixote in the television play I, Don Quixote
I, Don Quixote
I, Don Quixote is a non-musical play written for television, and broadcast on the CBS anthology series DuPont Show of the Month on the evening of November 9, 1959. Written by Dale Wasserman, the play was converted by him ca. 1964 into the libretto for the stage musical Man of La Mancha, with songs...
, which years later became the musical Man of La Mancha
Man of La Mancha
Man of La Mancha is a musical with a book by Dale Wasserman, lyrics by Joe Darion and music by Mitch Leigh. It is adapted from Wasserman's non-musical 1959 teleplay I, Don Quixote, which was in turn inspired by Miguel de Cervantes's seventeenth century masterpiece Don Quixote...
. Cobb also appeared as Wyoming
Wyoming
Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
ranch
Ranch
A ranch is an area of landscape, including various structures, given primarily to the practice of ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle or sheep for meat or wool. The word most often applies to livestock-raising operations in the western United States and Canada, though...
owner Judge Henry Garth in the first four seasons of the long-running NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
western
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
television series The Virginian
The Virginian (TV series)
The Virginian is an American Western television series starring James Drury and Doug McClure, which aired on NBC from 1962 to 1971 for a total of 249 episodes. Filmed in color, The Virginian became television's first 90-minute western series...
. He appeared with co-stars James Drury
James Drury
James Child Drury, Jr. is an American actor probably best known for his success in playing the title role in the 90-minute weekly Western television series The Virginian, broadcast on NBC from 1962-1971...
, Doug McClure
Doug McClure
Douglas Osborne "Doug" McClure was an American actor whose career in film and television extended from the 1950s to the 1990s...
, Roberta Shore
Roberta Shore
Roberta Jymme Schourop , better known as Roberta Shore, is an American actress and performer, most famous for her youthful television and movie roles in the 1950s and early 1960s....
, Gary Clarke
Gary Clarke
Gary Clarke is an American actor best known for his role as Steve Hill in the NBC western television series The Virginian with James Drury. Clarke appeared on the program only for its first three seasons, 1962—1964...
, Randy Boone
Randy Boone
Clyde Wilson Randall Boone, Jr., known as Randy Boone , is a former actor who co-starred in two of the three 90-minute westerns telecast during the 1960s on the national television networks, NBC's The Virginian and CBS's Cimarron Strip...
, Clu Gulager
Clu Gulager
Clu Gulager is an American television and film actor. He is particularly noted for his co-starring role as William H. Bonney in the 1960–62 NBC TV series The Tall Man and for his role in the later NBC series The Virginian...
and Diane Roter
Diane Roter
Diane Roter is an American actress best known for her appearances in the long running TV western The Virginian in its fourth season which ran from 1965 to 1966. She then appeared in an episode of Laredo which was a spin off from The Virginian series in 1966 and later appeared in an episode of the...
.
In 1968, his performance as King Lear
King Lear
King Lear is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. The title character descends into madness after foolishly disposing of his estate between two of his three daughters based on their flattery, bringing tragic consequences for all. The play is based on the legend of Leir of Britain, a mythological...
with Stacy Keach
Stacy Keach
Stacy Keach is an American actor and narrator. He is most famous for his dramatic roles; however, he has done narration work in educational programming on PBS and the Discovery Channel, as well as some comedy and musical...
as Edmund, René Auberjonois as the Fool, and Philip Bosco
Philip Bosco
-Personal life:Bosco was born in Jersey City, New Jersey, the son of Margaret Raymond , a policewoman, and Philip Lupo Bosco, a carnival worker. Bosco went to high school at St. Peter's Preparatory School in Jersey City. He attended the Catholic University of Washington, D.C. Bosco married Nancy...
as Kent achieved the longest run for the play in Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
history, although the 1950 Broadway production of the play, with Louis Calhern
Louis Calhern
Louis Calhern was an American stage and screen actor.- Early life :Louis Calhern was born Carl Henry Vogt on February 19, 1895 in Brooklyn, New York. His family left New York City while he was still a child and moved to St. Louis, Missouri where he grew up...
as Lear, played 48 performances as opposed to Cobb's 47.
One of his final film roles was that of police detective
Detective
A detective is an investigator, either a member of a police agency or a private person. The latter may be known as private investigators or "private eyes"...
Lieutenant Kinderman in the 1973 horror film The Exorcist
The Exorcist (film)
The Exorcist is a 1973 American horror film directed by William Friedkin, adapted from the 1971 novel of the same name by William Peter Blatty and based on the exorcism case of Robbie Mannheim, dealing with the demonic possession of a young girl and her mother’s desperate attempts to win back her...
.
Cobb died of a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
in 1976 in Woodland Hills, California and was buried in Mount Sinai Memorial Park Cemetery
Mount Sinai Memorial Park Cemetery
Mount Sinai Memorial Parks and Mortuaries refers to two Jewish cemeteries in the Los Angeles, California metropolitan area. The original cemetery is located at 5950 Forest Lawn Drive in the Hollywood Hills of Los Angeles. The cemetery was originally established in 1953 by the neighboring Forest...
in Los Angeles. He was survived by his second wife, Mary Hirsch.
He was inducted, posthumously, into the American Theatre Hall of Fame
American Theatre Hall of Fame
The American Theatre Hall of Fame in New York City was founded in 1972. Earl Blackwell was the first head of the Executive Committee. In an announcement at a luncheon meeting on March 1972, he said that the new Theater Hall of Fame would be located in the Uris Theatre . James M...
in 1981.
Lee J. Cobb's wife from 1940 to 1950s was a Yiddish-theater and film actress Helen Beverley
Helen Beverley
Helen Beverley, sometimes credited as Helen Beverly, was an American film and stage actress, who began her career in Yiddish theater and films....
(1916—2011), daughter — Julie Cobb
Julie Cobb
Julie Cobb is a longtime American actress, the daughter of actor Lee J. Cobb and actress Helen Beverley. At one point, she was a Playboy Bunny....
.
Selected Broadway credits
- Crime and PunishmentCrime and PunishmentCrime and Punishment is a novel by the Russian author Fyodor Dostoyevsky. It was first published in the literary journal The Russian Messenger in twelve monthly installments during 1866. It was later published in a single volume. This is the second of Dostoyevsky's full-length novels following his...
(1935) - Waiting for LeftyWaiting for LeftyWaiting for Lefty is a 1935 play by American playwright Clifford Odets. Consisting of a series of related vignettes, the entire play is framed by the meeting of cab drivers who are planning a labor strike. The framing situation utilizes the audience as part of the meeting.While this was not the...
(1935) - Johnny JohnsonJohnny Johnson (musical)Johnny Johnson is a musical with a book and lyrics by Paul Green and music by Kurt Weill.Based on Jaroslav Hašek's satiric novel The Good Soldier Švejk, it focuses on a naive and idealistic young man who, despite his pacifist views, leaves his sweetheart Minny Belle Tompkins to fight in Europe in...
(1936) - Golden Boy (1937)
- Death of a SalesmanDeath of a SalesmanDeath of a Salesman is a 1949 play written by American playwright Arthur Miller. It was the recipient of the 1949 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and Tony Award for Best Play. Premiered at the Morosco Theatre in February 1949, the original production ran for a total of 742 performances.-Plot :Willy Loman...
(1949) - King LearKing LearKing Lear is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. The title character descends into madness after foolishly disposing of his estate between two of his three daughters based on their flattery, bringing tragic consequences for all. The play is based on the legend of Leir of Britain, a mythological...
(1968)
Filmography
- The Vanishing Shadow (1934)
- North of the Rio Grande (1937)
- Rustlers' ValleyRustlers' ValleyRustlers' Valley is a 1937 American drama film directed by Nate Watt...
(1937) - Ali Baba Goes to TownAli Baba Goes to TownAli Baba Goes to Town is a 1937 movie starring Eddie Cantor, Tony Martin, and Roland Young. Cantor plays a hobo named Aloysius "Al" Babson, who walks into the camp of a movie company that is making the Arabian Nights. He falls asleep and dreams he is in Baghdad as an advisor to the Sultan...
(1937) - Danger on the Air (1938)
- The Phantom CreepsThe Phantom CreepsThe Phantom Creeps is a 1939 serial about a mad scientist who attempts to rule the world by creating various elaborate inventions. In a dramatic fashion, foreign agents and G-Men try to seize the inventions for themselves....
(1939) - Golden BoyGolden BoyGolden Boy is a drama by Clifford Odets. The play was initially produced on Broadway by The Group Theatre in 1937. Odets' biggest hit was made into a 1939 film of the same name, starring William Holden in his breakthrough role, and also served as the basis for a 1964 musical.-Plot:It focuses on Joe...
(1939) - This Thing Called Love (1940)
- Men of Boys Town (1941)
- Paris Calling (1941)
- Down Rio Grande Way (1942)
- The Moon Is DownThe Moon Is DownThe Moon Is Down, a novel by John Steinbeck fashioned for adaption for the theatre and for which Steinbeck received the Norwegian Haakon VII Cross of freedom, was published by Viking Press in March 1942...
(1943) - Tonight We Raid Calais (1943)
- Buckskin Frontier (1943)
- The Song of BernadetteThe Song of Bernadette (film)The Song of Bernadette is a 1943 drama film which tells the story of Saint Bernadette Soubirous, who, from February to July 1858 in Lourdes, France, reported 18 visions of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It was directed by Henry King....
(1943) - Winged VictoryWinged Victory (film)Winged Victory is a 1944 drama film directed by George Cukor, a joint effort of 20th Century Fox and the U.S. Army Air Forces. Based upon the successful play with the same name by Moss Hart, who also wrote the screenplay, the film only opened after the play's theatre run.-Plot:Frankie Davis , Allan...
(1944) - Anna and the King of Siam (1946)
- Johnny O'ClockJohnny O'ClockJohnny O'Clock is an American crime film noir written and directed by Robert Rossen, based on a story by Milton Holmes. The drama features Dick Powell, Evelyn Keyes, and Lee J. Cobb.-Plot:...
(1947) - Boomerang!Boomerang (1947 film)Boomerang! is a 1947 film based on the true story of a vagrant who was accused of murder, only to be found innocent through the efforts of the prosecutor...
(1947) - Captain from CastileCaptain from CastileCaptain from Castile is an action historical drama and swashbuckler film released by 20th Century Fox in 1947. Directed by Henry King, the Technicolor film starred Tyrone Power, Jean Peters, and Cesar Romero. Shot on location in Michoacán, Mexico, the film includes scenes of the Parícutin...
(1947) - Call Northside 777Call Northside 777Call Northside 777 is a documentary-style film noir directed by Henry Hathaway. It is based on the true story of a Chicago reporter who proved that a man, who had been in prison for murder, was wrongly convicted 11 years before....
(1948) - The Miracle of the Bells (1948)
- The Luck of the IrishThe Luck of the Irish (1948 film)The Luck of the Irish is a 1948 film with Tyrone Power, Anne Baxter, Lee J. Cobb, Cecil Kellaway, and Jayne Meadows.-Plot:Stephen Fitzgerald , a newspaper reporter from New York, meets a leprechaun and a beautiful young woman while traveling in Ireland...
(1948) - The Dark PastThe Dark PastThe Dark Past is a psychological thriller film directed by Rudolph Maté, and starring William Holden, Nina Foch, and Lee J. Cobb. The film, released by Columbia Pictures is a remake of Blind Alley , also released by Columbia, and based on a play by American playwright James Warwick.-Plot:A...
(1948) - Thieves' HighwayThieves' HighwayThieves' Highway is a 1949 film noir directed by Jules Dassin. The screenplay was written by A. I. Bezzerides, based on his novel Thieves' Market.-Plot:...
(1949) - The Man Who Cheated HimselfThe Man Who Cheated HimselfThe Man Who Cheated Himself is an American crime film, released on December 26, 1950.-Plot summary:Socialite Lois Faaaaarazer wants a divorce from her wealthy husband, but he's not ready to let her go so easy. Suspecting that he intends to murder her, she calls Lieutenant Ed Cullen, with whom...
(1950) - SiroccoSirocco (film)Sirocco is an American film noir directed by Curtis Bernhardt and written by A.I. Bezzerides and Hans Jacoby. It is based on the novel Coup de Grace written by Joseph Kessel. The drama features Humphrey Bogart, Märta Torén, Lee J. Cobb, among others.-Plot:In 1925 Damascus, the natives are engaged...
(1951) - The Family Secret (1951)
- The Fighter (1952)
- The Tall Texan (1953)
- Yankee Pasha (1954)
- Gorilla at Large (1954)
- On the WaterfrontOn the WaterfrontOn the Waterfront is a 1954 American drama film about union violence and corruption among longshoremen. The film was directed by Elia Kazan and written by Budd Schulberg. It stars Marlon Brando, Rod Steiger, Eva Marie Saint, Lee J. Cobb and Karl Malden. The soundtrack score was composed by Leonard...
(1954) - Day of Triumph (1954)
- The Racers (1955)
- The Road to Denver (1955)
- The Left Hand of GodThe Left Hand of GodThe Left Hand of God is a 1955 drama film made by 20th Century Fox. It was directed by Edward Dmytryk and produced by Buddy Adler, from a screenplay by Alfred Hayes, based on the novel The Left Hand of God by William Edmund Barrett. It stars Humphrey Bogart and Gene Tierney, with a supporting cast...
(1955) - The Man in the Gray Flannel SuitThe Man in the Gray Flannel SuitThe Man in the Gray Flannel Suit, by Sloan Wilson, is a 1955 novel about the American search for purpose in a world dominated by business. Tom and Betsy Rath share a struggle to find contentment in their hectic and material culture while several other characters fight essentially the same battle,...
(1956) - Miami Expose (1956)
- 12 Angry Men (1957)
- The Garment JungleThe Garment JungleThe Garment Jungle is a 1957 American crime film noir directed by Vincent Sherman and Robert Aldrich and written by Lester Velie and Harry Kleiner. The drama features Gia Scala, Lee J. Cobb, Kerwin Matthews and Richard Boone, among others.-Plot:...
(1957) - The Three Faces of EveThe Three Faces of EveThe Three Faces of Eve is a 1957 American film adaptation of a case study by Corbett H. Thigpen and Hervey M. Cleckley. It was based on the true story of Chris Costner Sizemore, also known as Eve White, a woman who suffered from Dissociative Identity Disorder formerly known as multiple personality...
(1957) - The Brothers Karamazov (1958)
- Man of the WestMan of the WestMan of the West is a 1958 western film starring Gary Cooper and directed by Anthony Mann in his last film in the genre. The screenplay, written by Reginald Rose, is based on the novel The Border Jumpers by Will C...
(1958) - Party GirlParty Girl (1958 film)Party Girl is a film noir filmed in Metrocolor and CinemaScope. The film was directed by Nicholas Ray and starred Robert Taylor, Cyd Charisse, and Lee J. Cobb. Charisse performs two dance routines in the gangster film...
(1958) - The TrapThe Trap (1959 film)The Trap is a 1959 color film noir directed by Norman Panama and released through 20th-Century Fox. It stars Richard Widmark, Lee J. Cobb, Tina Louise, Earl Holliman, and Lorne Greene -Plot:...
(1959) - Green MansionsGreen Mansions (film)Green Mansions is a 1959 American romantic adventure film directed by Mel Ferrer. Based upon the 1904 novel Green Mansions by William Henry Hudson, the film starred Audrey Hepburn as Rima, a jungle girl who falls in love with a Venezuelan traveller played by Anthony Perkins. Also appearing in the...
(1959) - But Not for MeBut Not for Me (film)But Not for Me is a 1959 Paramount Pictures comedy film starring Clark Gable and Carroll Baker. It is based on the play Accent on Youth written by Samson Raphaelson.-Cast:*Clark Gable ... Russell 'Russ' Ward*Carroll Baker ... Ellie Brown / Borden...
(1959) - ExodusExodus (film)Exodus is a 1960 epic war film made by Alpha and Carlyle Productions and distributed by United Artists. Produced and directed by Otto Preminger, the film was based on the 1958 novel Exodus, by Leon Uris. The screenplay was written by Dalton Trumbo, which represented the breaking of the Hollywood...
(1960) - The DuPont Show with June AllysonThe DuPont Show with June AllysonThe DuPont Show with June Allyson is an American anthology drama series which aired on CBS from September 21, 1959 to April 3, 1961 with rebroadcasts continuing until June 12, 1961...
as Captain Maximilian Gault in "School of the Soldier" (CBS, 1961) - The Final Hour (1962)
- Four Horsemen of the ApocalypseFour Horsemen of the Apocalypse (film)The 4 Horsemen of the Apocalypse is a 1962 drama film based on a novel by Vicente Blasco Ibáñez. It was directed by Vincente Minnelli and starred Glenn Ford, Ingrid Thulin, Charles Boyer, Lee J. Cobb, Paul Lukas, Yvette Mimieux, Karlheinz Böhm, and Paul Henreid.Released by MGM, the film lost six...
(1962) - The Brazen Bell (1962)
- How the West Was WonHow the West Was Won (film)How the West Was Won is a 1962 American epic Western film. The picture was one of the last "old-fashioned" epic films made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to enjoy great success. It follows four generations of a family as they move ever westward, from western New York state to the Pacific Ocean...
(1962) - Come Blow Your HornCome Blow Your Horn (film)Come Blow Your Horn is a 1963 comedy film directed by Bud Yorkin and based on the play of the same name.-Cast:* Frank Sinatra - Alan Baker* Lee J. Cobb - Harry R. Baker* Molly Picon - Mrs. Sophie Baker* Barbara Rush - Connie...
(1963) - Our Man FlintOur Man FlintOur Man Flint is a 1966 action film that parodies of James Bond genre. The film was directed by Daniel Mann, written by Hal Fimberg and Ben Starr, and starring James Coburn as master spy Derek Flint...
(1966) - In Like FlintIn Like FlintIn Like Flint is a 1967 film directed by Gordon Douglas, the sequel to the parody spy film Our Man Flint . It posits an international feminist conspiracy to depose the ruling American patriarchy with a feminist matriarchy. To achieve and establish it, they kidnap and replace the U.S. President,...
(1967) - The Day of the Owl (1968)
- Coogan's BluffCoogan's Bluff (film)Coogan's Bluff is a 1968 American Universal film directed by Don Siegel and starring Clint Eastwood, Lee J. Cobb, Don Stroud, and Susan Clark...
(1968) - They Came to Rob Las VegasThey Came to Rob Las VegasThey Came to Rob Las Vegas is a 1968 crime film directed by Antonio Isasi-Isasmendi and starring Gary Lockwood, Elke Sommer and Lee J. Cobb. A crime outfit plan a heist to rob a truck containing $7 million in Las Vegas. Its Spanish title was Las Vegas 500 Milliones.-Cast:* Gary Lockwood - Tony...
(1968) - Mackenna's GoldMackenna's GoldMackenna's Gold is a 1969 western film directed by J. Lee Thompson, starring Gregory Peck, Omar Sharif, Telly Savalas, Camilla Sparv, and Julie Newmar...
(1969) - The Liberation of L.B. JonesThe Liberation of L.B. JonesThe Liberation of L.B. Jones is a 1970 American drama film directed by William Wyler, his final project in a career that spanned 45 years.The screenplay by Jesse Hill Ford and Stirling Silliphant is based on Ford's 1965 novel The Liberation of Lord Byron Jones. The novel, in turn, was based on...
(1970) - Macho Callahan (1970)
- Lawman (1971)
- The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing (1973)
- Ultimatum (1973)
- Ransom! Police Is Watching (1973)
- The ExorcistThe Exorcist (film)The Exorcist is a 1973 American horror film directed by William Friedkin, adapted from the 1971 novel of the same name by William Peter Blatty and based on the exorcism case of Robbie Mannheim, dealing with the demonic possession of a young girl and her mother’s desperate attempts to win back her...
(1973) - The Balloon VendorThe Balloon VendorThe Balloon Vendor is a 1974 drama film directed by Mario Gariazzo and starring Lee J. Cobb.-Cast:* Alfredo Adami - Alfredo* Gianni Agus - Circus manager* Giordano Albertoni* Maurizio Arena - Romolo* Adolfo Celi - Professor...
(1974) - Mark of the Cop (1975)
- That Lucky Touch (1975)
- Cross Shot (1976)
- Nick the Sting (1976)