Veteran character Bill Cobbs, who appeared in such projects as Night At The Museum and The Sopranos, has died at 90.
He won a Daytime Emmy Award at the age of 86 for the Canadian television series Dino Dana, playing the title character’s elderly neighbor.
Cobbs broke into acting in his mid-30s, giving up his career as a car salesman to move to New York and pursue a career in show business.
After starting off in the theater, he broke into movies at the age of 40 with the hit crime thriller The Taking Of Pelham One Two Three.
Cobbs died Tuesday at home in California, according to his brother Thomas, who broke the news Wednesday via his Facebook page.
Veteran character Bill Cobbs, who appeared in such projects as Night At The Museum and The Sopranos, has died at 90; pictured in 2019
‘We are saddened to share the passing of Bill Cobbs. On Tuesday, June 25, Bill passed away peacefully at his home in California,’ read the post.
‘A beloved partner, big brother, uncle, surrogate parent, godfather and friend, Bill recently and happily celebrated his 90th birthday surrounded by cherished loved ones,’ the death announcement continued.
‘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.’
Born in Cleveland, Ohio in June 1934, Cobbs originally served in the military, working as a radar technician for the U.S. Air Force for eight years.
He started as an actor at his hometown’s Karamu House, a historic black theater that played host to the premieres of multiple works by Langston Hughes.
Cobbs eventually moved to New York and jobbed around in the theater before The Taking Of Pelham One Two Three launched his career on the screen.
Over the course of five decades, he had supporting roles in a string of iconic films including The Bodyguard, Air Bud and The Color Of Money.
Fans of Night At The Museum will recognize him as Reginald, one of three old retiring security guards – the other two played by Dick Van Dyke and Mickey Rooney.
Fans of Night At The Museum will recognize him as Reginald, one of three old retiring security guards – the other two played by Dick Van Dyke (center) and Mickey Rooney (left)
He won a Daytime Emmy Award at the age of 86 for the Canadian television series Dino Dana, playing the title character’s elderly neighbor; pictured on the show with lead Michela Luci
Over five decades, he had supporting roles in a string of iconic films including The Bodyguard, Air Bud and The Color Of Money; pictured in the last of these with Paul Newman
His roles ranged from Louisiana Slim in the 1979 blaxploitation film The Hitter to the Master Tinker in the 2013 Disney fantasy Oz The Great And Powerful (pictured with Michelle Williams)
On The Sopranos (pictured), he featured as an elderly reverend whose son has an under-the-table arrangement with an Italian crime family
His roles ranged from Louisiana Slim in the 1979 blaxploitation picture The Hitter to the Master Tinker in the 2013 Disney fantasy Oz The Great And Powerful.
He had a no less illustrious run on the small screen, with roles on a wide variety of shows like One Tree Hill, Star Trek: Enterprise and The Drew Carey Show.
On The Sopranos, he featured as an elderly reverend whose son has an under-the-table arrangement with an Italian crime family.
His secured roles on sitcoms like Good Times, Baby…I’m Black! and Designing Women and dramas like Six Feet Under, NYPD Blue and Touched By An Angel.
Cobbs continued working to the end, with his IMDb page showing multiple releases still to come, including the drama film Broken Church starring Eric Roberts.
