Bill Cobbs, an actor with over 50 years of experience in Hollywood, is dead. He died Tuesday night at his home in Riverside, CA according to his publicist, Chuck I. Jones. The cause of death is unclear.
With an acting career spanning all the way back to the 1970s, Bill has nearly 200 movie and TV show credits to his name.
Bill Cobbs played Devaney, one of Whitney Houston’s staffers, in “The Bodyguard,” Louisiana Slim in 1979’s “The Hitter,” was Walter in 1984’s “The Brother from Another Planet,” and had a role as Reginald in 2006’s “Night at the Museum.”
He was also in 2013’s “Oz the Great and Powerful” as Master Tinker and played Arthur Chaney in 1997’s “Air Bud.”
He made his feature film debut in 1974 with a part in “The Taking of Pelham One Two Three.”
His TV credits include a recurring role as Lewis Coleman on “I’ll Fly Away” in the early 1990s, plus guest appearances on “Walker, Texas Ranger” and “The Sopranos” just to name a few.
Bill Cobbs won a Daytime Emmy Award, taking home the hardware for Outstanding Limited Performance in a Daytime Program for his work on the kids show “Dino Dana.”
Bill also acted in theater productions and played the drums.
He was 90 and had just reached that milestone birthday on June 16th, and one of his relatives, Thomas Cobbs, posted on Facebook the whole family was able to celebrate with him, calling Bill a “beloved partner, big brother, uncle, surrogate parent, godfather and friend.”
Thomas added, “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 was born in Cleveland, Ohio, to a mother, Vera, who was a domestic worker and a father, David, who worked in construction. He is the second cousin of James Baskett.
Cobbs served in the U.S. Air Force as a radar technician for eight years; he also worked in office products at IBM and sold cars in Cleveland. In 1970, at the age of 36, he left for New York to seek work as an actor. He supported himself by driving a cab, repairing office equipment, selling toys, and performing odd jobs.
As an amateur actor in the city’s Karamu House Theater, Bill Cobbs starred in the Ossie Davis play Purlie Victorious. Cobbs was in Vegetable Soup (1976), a New York public television educational series, and he made his feature film debut in The Taking of Pelham One Two Three in 1974.
Bill Cobbs has an extensive film career and has appeared and been a regular on many television programmes.
