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LOS ANGELES – NOV 12: Cobbs arrives at “The Muppets” World Premiere at El Capitan Theatre on November 12, 2011 in Los Angeles, CA, kathclick /bigstock.com
Birth Name: Wilbert B./Francisco Cobbs
Date of Birth: June 16, 1934
Place of Birth: Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
Date of Death: June 25, 2024
Place of Death: Upland, California, U.S.
Ethnicity: African-American
Bill Cobbs was an American actor. His roles include the films The Hitter , The Brother from Another Planet , The Cotton Club , The Color of Money , Bird (1988), The January Man , New Jack City , The People Under the Stairs , The Bodyguard , Demolition Man , Fluke , Ghosts of Mississippi , Air Bud , Paulie , Hope Floats , I Still Know What You Did Last Summer , Random Hearts , The Derby Stallion , Night at the Museum , and Oz the Great and Powerful , and the shows I’ll Fly Away , Walker, Texas Ranger ; The Sopranos , The Michael Richards Show , and Dino Dana .
He was the son of Vera (Foster), a domestic worker, and David Cleveland Cobbs, who worked in construction. His father was born in Maringouin, Iberville Parish, Louisiana. His mother was born in Cleveland. He was said to have been a second cousin of actor and singer James Baskett . Bill was in the U.S. Air Force for eight years, as a radar technician.
Bill’s maternal grandfather was named Silas P. Foster. Silas was born in Fincastle, Botetourt County, Virginia.
Sources: https://www.nytimes.com
Genealogy of Bill Cobbs – https://www.findagrave.com
Bill Cobbs on the 1950 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org