Bill Cobbs Passed Away!

Bill Cobbs died nine days after his birthday.

Legendary actor Bill Cobbs passed away at the age of 90 in Riverside, California. He was best known for his memorable role in Night at the Museum with Ben Stiller.

Born William Francisco Cobb in 1934. He was born in Cleveland, Ohio, the son of construction worker and domestic worker, he served as a U.S. Air Force Radar Technician, sold cars and sold products for IBM. 

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.

Cobb credited Reuben Silver with his start in acting at the African American Performing Arts Center and Karamu House Theatre in Cleveland. His first professional acting role was in Ride a Black Horse at the Negro Ensemble Company. From there, he appeared in small theater productions, street theater, regional theater, and at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre.

As an amateur actor in the city's Karamu House Theater, 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. Cobbs has an extensive film career and has appeared and been a regular on many television programs, including The Michael Richards Show; The Outer Limits; I'll Fly Away; Yes, Dear; The Sopranos; Six Feet Under; The Others; JAG; The Drew Carey Show; October Road; One Tree Hill; Star Trek: Enterprise (as Dr. Emory Erickson, inventor of the Transporter); and many more. He had a recurring role as George, a blind grief-support-group member, in the TV series, Go On, which premiered in 2012.

A U.S. Air Force veteran, Bill Cobbs sought acting after doing stints of labor living in Cleveland.

In 2006, Cobbs played a supporting role in Night at the Museum as Reginald, a security guard on the verge of retirement. The character also served as an antagonist to the story. He played basketball coach and retired basketball player Arthur Chaney in Disney's Air Bud and Medgar Evers's older brother Charles Evers in Rob Reiner's Ghosts of Mississippi. He had a role in the Coen Brothers' The Hudsucker Proxy and played fictional jazz pianist Del Paxton in Tom Hanks's That Thing You Do. He has a brief appearance in the 2010 film The Search for Santa Paws.

In 2013, Cobbs co-starred in Oz the Great and Powerful as the Master Tinker, and in late 2014 reprised his role of Reginald in Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb. He recorded a public service announcement for Deejay Ra's Hip-Hop Literacy2 campaign, encouraging reading of Ice-T's autobiography.

In 2020, he guest starred in the two-part series finale of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., portraying an unnamed elderly S.H.I.E.L.D. agent.

He also appeared on the small screen with shows like Walker, Texas Ranger, The Michael Richards Show, The Wayans Bros., The Carmichael Show and Superior Donuts.