Bill Cobbs, a seasoned actor with almost 200 film and TV credits, died Tuesday night at the age of 90, at his home in Riverside, Calif.
The news was confirmed by his publicist in a statement to TMZ. Cobb’s brother, Thomas, also told the outlet the actor had recently been battling pneumonia, which he said is the suspected cause of death.
In a post to Facebook on Wednesday, Thomas called the actor a “beloved partner, big brother, uncle, surrogate parent, godfather and friend.”
“As a family we are comforted knowing Bill has found peace and eternal rest with his Heavenly Father,” he added. “We ask for your prayers and encouragement during this time.”
Born Wilbert Francisco Cobbs on June 16, 1934, in Cleveland, Ohio, Cobbs served for eight years in the U.S. Air Force where he experimented with standup comedy before pursuing a career in acting.
After working for IBM and later as a car salesman, he made his stage debut in the 1969 musical “Lost in the Stars” at the Karamu House in Cleveland. Other early stage roles included performances in Ossie Davis’ “Purlie” and Luigi Pirandello’s “Six Characters in Search of an Author.”
Cobbs moved to New York in 1970 to pursue acting full-time, and eventually made his feature film debut in 1974’s “The Taking of Pelham One Two Three.”
Other notable film roles include Devaney in “The Bodyguard” (1992), Del Paxton in “That Thing You Do!” (1996), and a memorable performance as Reginald, a retiring security guard in the 2006 comedy flick “Night at the Museum” and its 2014 sequel.
’90s kids will undoubtedly remember Cobbs from the family classic “Air Bud,” in which he played a basketball coach who put the eponymous golden retriever into the Timberwolves lineup.
On TV, Cobbs had a recurring role on “I’ll Fly Away” in the early 1990s and made memorable appearances on popular shows including “Walker, Texas Ranger,” “The Sopranos” and “Star Trek: Enterprise.”
He would go on to win a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Limited Performance in a Daytime Program for his work on the children’s show “Dino Dana” in 2020.
According to IMDb, Cobbs has five upcoming projects, though some are still in development.
His brother added that Cobbs “recently and happily celebrated his 90th birthday surrounded by cherished loved ones.”
