American Actor Bill Cobbs Passes Away at 90

American actor Bill Cobbs, known for his roles in both movies and TV, passed away on June 25. The veteran actor took his last breath at his home in Riverside, California. He was 90 years old. According to the actor’s publicist, Chuck I. Jones, Cobbs was surrounded by family and friends in his final moments. Natural causes are the likely cause of death, Jones said.
A Cleveland native, Cobbs appeared in films such as “The Hudsucker Proxy,” “The Bodyguard,” and “Night at the Museum.” He made his big-screen debut with a brief role in 1974’s “The Taking of Pelham One Two Three.” Over his lifetime, he amassed around 200 film and TV credits. The majority of these roles came in his 50s, 60s, and 70s, as filmmakers and TV producers frequently cast him to bring a wise and weathered soulfulness to small but significant parts.
He also appeared in shows such as “The Sopranos,” “The West Wing,” “Sesame Street,” and “Good Times.” He portrayed Whitney Houston’s manager in “The Bodyguard,” the mystical clock man in the Coen brothers’ “The Hudsucker Proxy,” and the doctor in John Sayles’ “Sunshine State.” He also played the coach in “Air Bud,” the security guard in “Night at the Museum,” and the father on “The Gregory Hines Show.”
It must be noted that it was rare for Cobbs to get major roles that stood out and won awards. Despite not having major roles, Cobbs still left an unforgettable impact on audiences’ hearts. He won a Daytime Emmy Award for outstanding limited performance in a daytime program for the series “Dino Dana” in 2020.
Interestingly, Cobbs also served eight years in the U.S. Air Force after graduating high school in Cleveland. After his military service, Cobbs worked as a car salesman. One day, a customer asked if he would like to act in a play, leading to his stage debut in 1969. He started performing in Cleveland theater and later moved to New York, where he joined the Negro Ensemble Company, acting alongside Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee.
In a later conversation, Cobbs said that acting resonated with him. He remarked, “To be an artist, you have to have a sense of giving. Art is somewhat of a prayer, isn’t it? We respond to what we see around us and what we feel and how things affect us mentally and spiritually,” Cobbs said in a 2004 interview.”