Actor Bill Cobbs passes away at 90

Veteran Hollywood actor Bill Cobbs, known for his roles in Night at the Museum, The Hitter, and The Brother from Another Planet, has passed away at his home in Riverside. According to his publicist, Chuck I Jones, Cobbs had died of natural causes.

Born as Wilbert Francisco Cobbs on June 16, 1934, he graduated from East Tech High School in Cleveland. After serving in the US Air Force for eight years, he tried his hands at stand-up comedy. His first on-stage acting performance came after his IBM stint. He was a part of the anti-apartheid musical Lost in the Stars in 1969.

Cobbs' first feature (uncredited role) was The Taking of Pelham One Two Three released in 1974. His first credited role came in Greased Lightning (1977).

His roles as Whitney Houston's manager in The Bodyguard (1992), the older brother of Medgar Evers in Rob Reiner's Ghosts of Mississippi (1996), a jazz pianist in Tom Hanks' That Thing You Do! (1996), and Master Tinker, builder of the Tin Woodsman, in Sam Raimi's Oz the Great and Powerful (2013), were notable and hailed as some of the excellent performances of the nonagenerian.

He was also a part of TV shows such as The Slap Maxwell Story, The Drew Carey Show, Star Trek: Enterprise, and The Gregory Hines Show.

Inputs from ANI