Lee J. Cobb Lee J. Cobb Lee J. Cobb (born Leo Jacoby, December 8, 1911February 11, 1976) was an American actor. He is best known for his performances in "12 Angry Men" (1957), "On the Waterfront" (1954), and "The Exorcist" (1973). He also played the role of Willy Loman in the original Broadway production of Arthur Miller's 1949 play "Death of a Salesman" under the direction of Elia Kazan. On television, Cobb starred in the first four seasons of the Western series "The Virginian". He typically played arrogant, intimidating and abrasive characters, but often had roles as respectable figures such as judges and
A View from the Bridge great Willy Loman (a role that Hoffman would later play to great acclaim). Miller was unimpressed and later wrote that "My estimate of Grosbard all but collapsed as, observing Dustin Hoffman's awkwardness and his big nose that never seemed to get unstuffy, I wondered how the poor fellow imagined himself a candidate for any kind of acting career." Another production in New York opened on February 3, 1983, at the Ambassador Theatre, with Tony Lo Bianco as Eddie and directed by Arvin Brown. It ran for 149 performances. An award-winning production in New York opened on December 14, 1997, at