Remembering Lee J. Cobb

Leo Jacob Cobb was born on December 8, 1911 in New York City, New York. As a youth Cobb studied the violin in hopes of becoming a symphony-quality musician; he showed promise but a broken wrist and consequent lack of muscular control in his hand ended this dream. By the time he graduated from high school in 1929, Cobb had a new dream of becoming an actor. His big career break came in 1935, when he was asked to join the Group Theatre. “Golden Boy” (1937) launched his film career; when the play was made into a movie and he was asked to join the cast. 1939–1943 he moved back and forth from the stage to the movies. He then returned to a film career that included roles in some 80 movies. He’s remembered fondly for his portrayal of Judge Henry Garth on the TV series “The Virginiain” (1962-1966). Cobb was married to actress Helen Beverly [1916-2011] from 1940-1952 and is the father of actress Julie Cobb [1947- ] and grandfather of actress Rosemary Morgan [1983- ]. Lee died on February 11, 1976 from a heart attack. He appeared in only one Euro-western “Lawman” (1971) as Vincent Bronson. Today we remember Lee J. Cobb on what would have been his 100^th birthday.