Sad news to report today as it has been confirmed that legendary character actor Bill Cobbs has died at the age of 90. The actor’s publicist, Chuck I. Jones, told TMZ that Cobbs passed away at his home in Riverside. He recently celebrated his 90th birthday. Cobbs leaves behind an incredible body of work, with memorable roles in movies such as The Hudsucker Proxy, The Bodyguard, That Thing You Do!, Ghosts of Mississippi, Night at the Museum, and so much more.
After serving for eight years in the U.S. Air Force, Cobbs sold cars and worked for IBM before he decided to give acting a try. After appearing in various theater productions, he made his feature film debut in The Taking of Pelham One Two Three. “I came back home to see my mom and dad, and all our friends and neighbors went to see the movie, and everyone was waiting for my appearance,” Cobbs recalled in 2013. “I walk up to a policeman in the subway and say, ‘Hey, man. What’s goin’ on?’“
He went on to make appearances in movies such as Trading Places, Silkwood, The Brother from Another Planet, The Cotton Club, The Color of Money, Bird, New Jack City, The Hard Way, The People Under the Stairs, Demolition Man, Fluke, First Kid, Air Bud, Hope Floats, I Still Know What You Did Last Summer, A Mighty Wind, Oz the Great and Powerful, and more.
Cobbs also made frequent appearances on the small screen in TV shows such as Good Times, The Equalizer, Sesame Street, L.A. Law, Empty Nest, Northern Exposure, NYPD Blue, ER, The Outer Limits, The Sopranos, Touched by an Angel, Six Feet Under, JAG, The West Wing, The Drew Carey Show, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and more. He was also a regular on shows such as The Slap Maxwell Story, I’ll Fly Away, The Gregory Hines Show, The Others, The Michael Richards Show, and Go On. As a Star Trek fan, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that Cobbs also played Dr. Emory Erickson, the inventor of the transporter, in Star Trek: Enterprise.
Our thoughts go out to Bill Cobbs’ family and friends; a truly wonderful actor, he will be missed.
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