Los Angeles: Renowned film and TV actor Bill Cobbs, known for his roles in films such as ‘Night at the Museum’, ‘Brother from Another Planet’, ‘Oz the Great and Powerful’ and TV shows such as ‘The Sopranos’, died at the age of 90 in the presence of his family.
The actor died of natural causes at his home in Inland Empire, California on June 25. His family confirmed his death on social media platforms including Facebook and Deadline.com. “We are saddened to share the news of the passing of Bill Cobbs,” his brother Thomas G. Cobbs wrote.
They added: “On Tuesday, June 25, Bill passed away peacefully at his home in California. A beloved companion, big brother, uncle, surrogate parent, godfather and friend, Bill recently happily celebrated his 90th birthday with his loved ones.” “As a family, we are comforted knowing that Bill has found peace and eternal rest with his Heavenly Father. We ask for your prayers and encouragement during this time.”
Bill Cobbs was born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1934. He began his acting career with stage companies and made his feature film debut in 1974 with a small role in ‘The Taking of Pelham One Two Three’.
On his way to becoming an instantly recognizable character actor, Cobbs landed roles in a variety of films in the 1980s. In 1987, he became a series regular on “The Slap Maxwell Story,” a short-lived but well-respected sitcom starring Dabney Coleman, who died in May.
Cobbs maintained a busy schedule with one-off TV appearances and film roles throughout the 1990s. In 1992, he was featured in the hit Whitney Houston-Kevin Costner film ‘The Bodyguard,’ and in 1996, he played Medgar Evers’ older brother, Charles Evers, in Rob Reiner’s ‘Ghosts of Mississippi.’
Other TV credits include ‘The Sopranos’, ‘JAG’, ‘The Drew Carey Show’, ‘One Tree Hill’, ‘Star Trek: Enterprise’, ‘Yes, Dear’, ‘Go On’, ‘The West Wing’, ‘NYPD Blue’, ‘Lost’, ‘Army Wives’, ‘The Glades’, ‘The Bay’ and many others. In 2020, he guest-starred in the two-part series finale of ‘Agents of SHIELD’. The same year, he won a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Limited Performance in a Daytime Program for his role in the children’s show ‘Dino Dana’.
