{"id":12301,"date":"2024-06-29T14:46:32","date_gmt":"2024-06-29T14:46:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ugandaupdatenews.com\/?p=12301"},"modified":"2024-06-30T17:29:15","modified_gmt":"2024-06-30T17:29:15","slug":"the-life-times-of-bill-cobbs-a-prolific-and-sage-character-actor-who-entertained-ugandans-on-utv-sitcom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/the-life-times-of-bill-cobbs-a-prolific-and-sage-character-actor-who-entertained-ugandans-on-utv-sitcom\/","title":{"rendered":"The Life Times Of Bill Cobbs A Prolific And Sage Character Actor Who Entertained Ugandans On UTV Sitcom"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Bill Cobbs, the veteran character actor who became a ubiquitous and sage screen presence as an older man,  died of natural causes at age of  90 years  at his home in the Inland Empire, California, surrounded by family and friends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>But who was this gifted actor <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A Cleveland native, Cobbs acted in such films as \u201cThe Hudsucker Proxy,\u201d \u201cThe Bodyguard\u201d and \u201cNight at the Museum.\u201d He made his first big-screen appearance in a fleeting role in 1974\u2019s \u201cThe Taking of Pelham One Two Three.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p> He became a lifelong actor with some 200 film and TV credits. The lion share of those came in his 50s, 60s, and 70s, as filmmakers and TV producers turned to him again and again to imbue small but pivotal parts with a wizened and worn soulfulness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Cobbs appeared on television shows including \u201cThe Sopranos,\u201d \u201cThe West Wing,\u201d \u201cSesame Street\u201d and \u201cGood Times- which is very well remebered in Uganda having featured on the national UTV in the 70s and 80s.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He was Whitney Houston\u2019s manager in \u201cThe Bodyguard\u201d (1992), the mystical clock man of the Coen brothers\u2019 \u201cThe Hudsucker Proxy\u201d (1994) and the doctor of John Sayles\u2019 \u201cSunshine State\u201d (2002). He played the coach in \u201cAir Bud\u201d (1997), the security guard in \u201cNight at the Museum\u201d (2006) and the father on \u201cThe Gregory Hines Show.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Cobbs rarely got the kinds of major parts that stand out and win awards. Instead, Cobbs was a familiar and memorable everyman who left an impression on audiences, regardless of screen time. He won a Daytime Emmy Award for outstanding limited performance in a daytime program for the series \u201cDino Dana\u201d in 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Wendell Pierce, who acted alongside Cobbs in \u201cI\u2019ll Fly Away\u201d and \u201cThe Gregory Hines Show,\u201d&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/WendellPierce\/status\/1806081169588416513\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">remembered Cobbs<\/a>&nbsp;as \u201ca father figure, a griot, an iconic artist that mentored me by the way he led his life as an actor,\u201d he wrote on the social media platform X.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Wilbert Francisco Cobbs, born June 16, 1934, served eight years in the U.S. Air Force after graduating high school in Cleveland. In the years after his service, Cobbs sold cars. One day, a customer asked him if he wanted to act in a play. Cobbs first appeared on stage in 1969. He began to act in Cleveland theater and later moved to New York where he joined the Negro Ensemble Company, acting alongside Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Cobbs later said acting resonated with him as a way to express the human condition, in particular during the Civil Rights Movement in the late \u201860s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cTo be an artist, you have to have a sense of giving,\u201d\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=2H1YHf043Yo\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Cobbs said in a 2004 interview.<\/a>\u00a0\u201cArt is somewhat of a prayer, isn\u2019t it? We respond to what we see around us and what we feel and how things affect us mentally and spiritually.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Editor:msserwanga@gmail.com<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Bill Cobbs, the veteran character actor who became a ubiquitous and sage screen presence as an older man, died of<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12303,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[65],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12301","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/R-1.jpg","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1762,"url":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/actor-chadwick-boseman-who-shot-the-popular-black-panther-movie-wakanda-in-uganda-dies-at-43\/","url_meta":{"origin":12301,"position":0},"title":"ACTOR  CHADWICK BOSEMAN WHO SHOT THE POPULAR BLACK PANTHER MOVIE (WAKANDA)  IN UGANDA DIES  AT 43","author":"UgandaUpdate","date":"August 29, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"By Our International Film Correspondents Ugandans continue to mourn world film star -Chadwick Boseman who died of colon cancer on Friday . \u00a0Boseman is best known for the blockbuster Marvel Superhero film -Black Panther which features scenes shot on location from Mountain Rwenzori and Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, in Southwest\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Foreign International News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Foreign International News","link":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/category\/foreign-international-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/black-panther-sag-awards-best-picture-oscars-1078810.jpg","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/black-panther-sag-awards-best-picture-oscars-1078810.jpg 1x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/black-panther-sag-awards-best-picture-oscars-1078810.jpg 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4923,"url":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/4923-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":12301,"position":1},"title":"THE LIFE AND TIMES OF POITIER THE FIRST BLACK ACTOR TO WIN AN OSCAR","author":"UgandaUpdate","date":"January 9, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Poitier was a trailblazing actor and a respected humanitarian and diplomat. He won the Academy Award for best actor for Lilies of the Field in 1963. Former US President Barack Obama\u00a0said Poitier \"epitomised dignity and grace\"\u00a0and had \"singular talent\". He added that the actor revealed \"the power of movies to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;National News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"National News","link":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/category\/national-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/88273539_88273538.jpg","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/88273539_88273538.jpg 1x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/88273539_88273538.jpg 1.5x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/88273539_88273538.jpg 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":13952,"url":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/veteran-film-actor-gene-hackman-and-his-wife-betsy-arakawa-found-dead-in-their-new-mexico-home\/","url_meta":{"origin":12301,"position":2},"title":"Veteran film Actor Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa found dead in their New Mexico home","author":"UgandaUpdate","date":"February 27, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Oscar-winning actor Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, were found dead in their home in New Mexico, the Santa Fe County Sheriff\u2019s Office told CNN. He was 95. Their causes of death have not been confirmed, but foul play is not suspected, Santa Fe County Sheriff\u2019s Office spokesperson Denise\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;National News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"National News","link":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/category\/national-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/gettyimages-105019525.webp","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/gettyimages-105019525.webp 1x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/gettyimages-105019525.webp 1.5x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/gettyimages-105019525.webp 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":15455,"url":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/robert-redford-an-enthralling-star-with-an-aura-that-lit-up-hollywood-dead-at-89\/","url_meta":{"origin":12301,"position":3},"title":"Robert Redford: An enthralling star with an aura that lit up Hollywood dead at 89","author":"UgandaUpdate","date":"September 17, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"The popular dramas and films h acted in: The president's Men , The Horse Whisperer and Indecent Proposal Out of Africa Robert Redford,\u00a0who has died at the age of 89, appeared in more than 50 Hollywood films, won an Oscar as a director, and became a champion of independent film-makers,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;National News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"National News","link":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/category\/national-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/f3c8c4a0-ae5c-11ef-9af3-974accc25a90.jpg.webp","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/f3c8c4a0-ae5c-11ef-9af3-974accc25a90.jpg.webp 1x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/f3c8c4a0-ae5c-11ef-9af3-974accc25a90.jpg.webp 1.5x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/f3c8c4a0-ae5c-11ef-9af3-974accc25a90.jpg.webp 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":10327,"url":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/friends-star-matthew-perry-dead-at-54\/","url_meta":{"origin":12301,"position":4},"title":"\u2018Friends\u2019 star Matthew Perry dead at 54","author":"UgandaUpdate","date":"October 29, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Matthew Perry, the beloved actor who starred as Chandler Bing on \u201cFriends,\u201d has died. He was 54. Police in Los Angeles are investigating Perry\u2019s death, a law enforcement source told the media. There is currently no foul play suspected, the source said, however, the incident remains under investigation by the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Tribute&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Tribute","link":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/category\/tribute\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/221206145249-04-pop-life-chronicles-newsletter-1206.webp","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/221206145249-04-pop-life-chronicles-newsletter-1206.webp 1x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/221206145249-04-pop-life-chronicles-newsletter-1206.webp 1.5x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/221206145249-04-pop-life-chronicles-newsletter-1206.webp 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":15626,"url":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/popular-sitcom-keeping-up-appearances-star-patricia-routledge-dies-at-96\/","url_meta":{"origin":12301,"position":5},"title":"Popular Sitcom :Keeping Up Appearances star Patricia Routledge dies at 96","author":"UgandaUpdate","date":"October 6, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Actress Dame Patricia Routledge, known for playing Hyacinth Bucket in classic TV sitcom Keeping Up Appearances, has died at the age of 96. She also starred in Alan Bennett's TV monologues and played BBC One's amateur sleuth Hetty Wainthropp, while also enjoying an acclaimed stage career. Her agent told the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;National News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"National News","link":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/category\/national-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/b00df3e0-a152-11f0-928c-71dbb8619e94.jpg.webp","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/b00df3e0-a152-11f0-928c-71dbb8619e94.jpg.webp 1x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/b00df3e0-a152-11f0-928c-71dbb8619e94.jpg.webp 1.5x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/b00df3e0-a152-11f0-928c-71dbb8619e94.jpg.webp 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pc0aOV-3cp","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12301","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12301"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12301\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12302,"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12301\/revisions\/12302"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12303"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12301"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12301"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12301"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}