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Theatre, Film, and Television Biographies
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Brian Patrick Clarke to Charlotte Cornwell
Bill Cobbs Biography (1935-)
Full name, William Cobbs; born June 16, 1935, in Cleveland, OH; father, a construction worker, mother, a domestic worker. Addresses: Agent: TalentWorks, 3500 West Olive Ave., Suite 1400, Burbank, CA 91505; Cunningham/Escott/Slevin and Doherty Talent Agency, 10635 Santa Monica Blvd., Suite 140, Los Angeles, CA 90025.
- Nationality
- American
- Gender
- Male
- Occupation
- Actor
- Birth Details
- June 16, 1935
- Cleveland, Ohio, United States
Famous Works
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CREDITS
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Film Appearances
- Man on platform, The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (also known asPelham 1-2-3 and El tomar de Pelham uno dos tres), United Artists, 1974
- Mr. Jones, Greased Lightning, Warner Bros., 1977
- Bartender, A Hero Ain't Nothin' but a Sandwich, New World Pictures, 1978
- Louisiana Slim, The Hitter, 1979
- Bartender, Trading Places, Paramount, 1983
- Man in lunchroom, Silkwood, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1983
- Big Joe Ison, The Cotton Club, Orion, 1984
- Walter, The Brother from Another Planet, Cinecom International Films, 1984
- Sergeant Williams, Compromising Positions, Paramount, 1985
- Klebenov's dishwasher, Streets of Gold, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1986
- Orvis, The Color of Money, Buena Vista, 1986
- Judge Franklin, Suspect, TriStar/ML Delphi Premier, 1987
- Man in coffee shop, Five Corners, Cineplex Odeon, 1987
- Dr. Caulfield, Bird, Warner Bros., 1988
- Jesse Johnson, Dominick and Eugene (also known as Nicky and Gino), Orion, 1988
- Detective Reilly, The January Man (also known as January Man), Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/United Artists, 1989
- Abraham White, Exiled in America (also known as Exiled), Prism Entertainment, 1990
- Grandpa Booker, The People under the Stairs (also known as WesCraven's "The People under the Stairs"), Universal, 1991
- Old man, New Jack City, Warner Bros., 1991
- Raggedy man, The Hard Way, Universal, 1991
- Devaney, The Bodyguard, Warner Bros., 1992
- Oscar, Roadside Prophets, Fine Line Features, 1992
- Elderly Zachary Lamb, Demolition Man, Warner Bros., 1993
- (Uncredited) Man in park, Fatal Instinct (also known as TripleIndemnity), Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1993
- Moses, The Hudsucker Proxy (also known as Hudsucker-Der grosseSprung), Warner Bros., 1994
- Bert, Fluke, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1995
- Caleb, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, 1995
- Jeff, Tuesday Morning Ride (short film), 1995
- Malt, Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead, Miramax, 1995
- Vernon, Captiva Island, R.S. Entertainment, 1995
- Charlie Evers, Ghosts of Mississippi (also known as Ghosts fromthe Past), Sony Pictures Entertainment, 1996
- Del Paxton, That Thing You Do!, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1996
- Speet, First Kid, Buena Vista, 1996
- Tipton (some sources say Tippet), Ed, Universal, 1996
- Arthur Chaney, Air Bud (also known as Disney's "Air Bud,"
MVP: Most Valuable Pooch, and Tobby le joueur), Buena Vista, 1997
- Mr. Williams, Soulmates, Curb Entertainment, 1997
- Estes, I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (also known as I Know What You Did Last Summer: The Sequel,
I Know What You Did Last Summer ... The Story Continues,
I Know What You Did Last Summer 2,
I Know What You Did Two Summers Ago,
I Still Know, and The Manwith a Hook), Columbia, 1998
- Nurse, Hope Floats, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1998
- Virgil, Paulie (also known as Polly, a Parrot's Tail), DreamWorks, 1998
- Marvin, Random Hearts, Columbia, 1999
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Valdesta's Place, VSL Entertainment International, 2000
- Dr. Elton Lloyd, Sunshine State, Sony Pictures Classics, 2002
- Jim Toller, Enough, Columbia, 2002
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Sweet Deadly Dreams, Falken Arts Productions/North River Pictures,2002
- Blues musician, A Mighty Wind, Warner Bros., 2003
- Franklin Harmon, The Mortuary (short film), Watergem Pictures, 2004
- Dr. Daniel Green, The Final Patient, 2005
- Houston Jones, The Derby Stallion, Scorpio Pictures, 2005
- Lou, Special Ed, Pharmhouse Productions, 2005
- Morgan Wendell, Squirrel Man (short film), Labor of Love Productions, 2005
- Norman, Duck, Cut Entertainment Group, 2005
- Saul Burroughs, Return to Sender (short film), Sansar Films, 2005
- Marvin Jeffries, Retirement, Corner Stone Pictures, 2006
- Ted Hamilton, The Ultimate Gift, Film Foundry Releasing, 2006
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Television Appearances
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Series
- Dutchman, The Slap Maxwell Story, ABC, 1987-88
- Phil Drexler, Homeroom, ABC, 1989
- Lewis Coleman, I'll Fly Away, NBC, 1991-93
- James Stevenson (Ben's father), The Gregory Hines Show (also knownas Square One), CBS, 1997-98
- Elmer Greentree, The Others, NBC, 2000
- Jack, The Michael Richards Show, NBC, 2000
- Tony, The Drew Carey Show, ABC, 2002-2004
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Miniseries
- Abraham Wilson, Rage of Angels (also known as Sidney Sheldon's"Rage of Angels"), NBC, 1983
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Movies
- Wiggins, Johnny Bull, ABC, 1986
- Elijah Crooks, Carolina Skeletons, NBC, 1991
- Lewis Coleman, I'll Fly Away: Then and Now, PBS, 1993
- Henry Griggs, Man with a Gun (also known as Hired for Killing and Gun for Hire), HBO, 1995
- Lyman Weeks, Out There, Showtime, 1995
- Pullman porter, Kingfish: A Story of Huey P. Long, TNT, 1995
- Sippy, Divas, Fox, 1995
- Norm, Thrill, NBC, 1996
- Old man, Nightjohn, The Disney Channel, 1996
- "Tuesday Morning Ride," Stories from the Edge, 1996
- Right Burke, Always Outnumbered (also known as Always Outnumbered, Always Outgunned and Socrates), HBO, 1998
- Proprietor and conductor, For All Time, CBS, 2000
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Bitter Winter, 2001
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Specials
- T. T., "The Member of the Wedding," NBC Live Theater, NBC, 1982
- Bovanne, "My Man Bovanne," Ossie and Ruby!, PBS, c. 1987
- Gee Penniwell, "Decoration Day," Hallmark Hall of Fame, 1990
- Voice, The Tulsa Lynching of 1921: A Hidden Story (documentary), Cinemax, 2000
- Himself, Beah: A Black Woman Speaks (documentary), HBO, 2003
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Episodic
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Vegetable Soup, New York public television and syndicated, c. 1975
- Mr. Gillard, "Evans versus David," Good Times, CBS, 1976
- Harry, "The Distant Fire," The Equalizer, CBS, 1985
- Larry Sills, "If You Knew Sammy," Spenser: For Hire, ABC, 1987
- Sam, "The Goodbye Girl," Kate & Allie, CBS, 1987
- Sam, "Stage Mother," Kate & Allie, CBS, 1987
- "Belle of the Bald," L.A. Law, NBC, 1988
- Henry Charlie, "Papa Was a Rolling Stone," Designing Women, CBS, 1990
- Walker Green, "I'm Nobody," Gabriel's Fire, ABC, 1990
- Willis, "Money Changes Everything," Married People, ABC, 1990
- Bernard Freeman (Ron's father), "Favorite Son," True Colors, Fox,1991
- George Roberts, "Why So Happy, Hayden?," Coach, ABC, 1992
- Jerome, "Gesundeit," Empty Nest, NBC, 1993
- Angelo Maxwell, "The Letter," Northern Exposure, CBS, 1994
- Hiram, "Reversal of Fortune," The Watcher, UPN, 1995
- Emmett Hawkins, High Incident, ABC, 1996
- Norval Stevens, "The Nutty Confessor," NYPD Blue, ABC, 1996
- Patient's grandfather, "The Match Game," ER (also known as Emergency Room), NBC, 1996
- Fred Watson (love connection), "Black Widower," The Wayans Bros.,The WB, 1997
- Gino Costa, "Full Contact," Walker, Texas Ranger, CBS, 1997
- Second elder, "The Camp," The Outer Limits (also known as The New Outer Limits), Showtime, Sci-Fi Channel, and syndicated, 1997
- Bob, "What about Bob?," L.A. Doctors (also known as L.A. Docs), CBS, 1998
- Uncle Stanley, "The Hair Club for Men," For Your Love, The WB, 1998
- Joe Dell, "Fathers & Sons," The Outer Limits (also known as The New Outer Limits), Showtime, Sci-Fi Channel, and syndicated, 1999
- Uncle Stanley, "The Golf War," For Your Love, The WB, 1999
- Arthur Turner, "Till Death Do Us Part," The Practice, ABC, 2000
- Reverend James, Sr., "Do Not Resuscitate," The Sopranos, HBO, 2000
- Chaplain Matthew Turner, "Answered Prayers," JAG, CBS, 2001
- Chet Armatrow, "The Fire Fight," The Fighting Fitzgeralds, NBC, 2001
- Henry Baldwin, "Band of Angels," Touched by an Angel, CBS, 2001
- Mr. Jones, "The Room," Six Feet Under, HBO, 2001
- Warren Bell, "Loving Sons," Philly, ABC, 2001
- Alan Tatum, "Enemies Foreign and Domestic," The West Wing, NBC, 2002
- Chaplain Matthew Turner, "Port Chicago," JAG, CBS, 2002
- Minister, "The Anniversary: Parts 1 & 2," My Wife and Kids (also known as Wife and Kids), ABC, 2002
- Bernie Carpenter, "Maybe Baby," NYPD Blue, ABC, 2003
- Chaplain Matthew Turner, "A Merry Little Christmas," JAG, CBS, 2003
- Chaplain Matthew Turner, "Posse Comitatus," JAG, CBS, 2003
- Earl Edmonds, "Mercy, Mercy Me," 10-8: Officers on Duty (also known as 10-8), ABC, 2003
- Mr. Greene, "Strangers," The Division (also known as Heart of the City), Lifetime, 2003
- Mr. Bradford, "Fear Eats the Soul," Soul Food, Showtime, 2004
- Cashier at barbecue, "Barbecue," Yes, Dear, CBS, 2005
- Dr. Emory Erickson, "Daedalus," Enterprise (also known as StarTrek: Enterprise,
Star Trek: Series V, and Star Trek: UntitledFifth Series), UPN, 2005
- Appeared as a chief in The Wild Thornberrys (animated), Nickelodeon; appeared in episodes of other series, including Sesame Street and Storytime, both PBS.
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Pilots
- Attorney Adam Johnson, Baby, I'm Back, 1978
- Lieutenant Langston, The Stiller and Meara Show, NBC, 1986
- Phil Drexler, Homeroom, ABC, 1989
- Lewis Coleman, I'll Fly Away, NBC, 1991
- Abe, Moe's World, ABC, 1992
- James Stevenson (Ben's father), The Gregory Hines Show (also knownas Square One), CBS, 1997
- Elmer Greentree, The Others, NBC, 2000
- Jack, The Michael Richards Show, NBC, 2000
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Stage Appearances
- Lloyd, Ride a Black Horse, Negro Ensemble Company, St. Mark's Playhouse, New York City, 1971
- Customer, "Players Inn," and Tex, "Cop and Blow," Black Visions, New York Shakespeare Festival, Joseph Papp Public Theatre, New York City, 1972
- Freeman Aquila (title role), Freeman, American Place Theatre, NewYork City, 1973
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What Winesellers Buy (also known as What Wine Sellers Buy),New Federal Theatre, New York City, beginning 1973
- Hamm, Les Femmes Noires, New York Shakespeare Festival, Joseph Papp Public Theatre, New York City, 1974
- Mongo and Preach, Waiting for Mongo, St. Mark's Playhouse, 1975
- Understudy for Alexander and J. D., Black Picture Show, Vivian Beaumont Theatre, New York City, 1975
- Understudy, The First Breeze of Summer, Negro Ensemble Company, Palace Theatre, New York City, 1975
- Collins, The Brownsville Raid, Lucille Lortel Theatre, New York City, 1976-77
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Getting Out, Center Theatre Group, Mark Taper Forum, Los Angeles,1977-78
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Back Alley Tales, Inner City Cultural Center, Los Angeles, 1978-79
- Zeke, Mobile Theatre: The Mighty Gents, New York Shakespeare Festival, Delacorte Theatre/Central Park, New York City, 1979
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Twelfth Night (also known as Twelfth Night, or What You Will), Cincinnati Playhouse, Cincinnati, OH, 1979-80
- Jake Hendricks, Weep Not for Me, Negro Ensemble Company, Theatre Four, New York City, 1981
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The Amen Corner, Center Stage Theatre, Baltimore, MD, 1981-82
- Standby for Sam and Willie, Master Harold ... and the Boys, LyceumTheatre, New York City, 1982-83
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The Road, Goodman Theatre, Chicago, IL, 1983-84
- Understudy for Cutler, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, Cort Theatre, NewYork City, 1984-85
- "Endgame," Poncho Forum, Seattle Repertory Theatre, Seattle, WA, 1985-86
- Rose, Rose Cottages, Ensemble Studio Theatre, New York City, 1986
- Appeared in other productions, including Purlie Victorious (amateur production), Karamu House Theatre, Cleveland, OH.
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Major Tours
- Hoke, Driving Miss Daisy, beginning 1988
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