Bill Cobbs Cause Of Death Revealed: 'The Bodyguard' Actor Dead At 90

"The Bodyguard" and "The West Wing" actor Bill Cobbs has died. He was 90.

The prolific character actor's publicist, Chuck I. Jones, confirmed that Cobbs passed away at his home in the Inland Empire in California Tuesday, TMZ reported.

Cobbs' suspected cause of death is pneumonia, according to the outlet. An official cause of death has not yet been announced.

His brother Thomas told TMZ that Cobbs suffered from pneumonia before his passing, which came less than two weeks after the actor's milestone birthday on June 16.

In a statement posted on Facebook, Thomas shared that their family gathered to celebrate Cobbs turning 90 earlier this month.

He described his late sibling as 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. We ask for your prayers and encouragement during this time," Thomas concluded.

Cobbs' longtime manager Susan Zachary also released a statement honoring her late client.

"He was one of my first clients in each incarnation of this leg of my professional career and I am honored and proud to be his last talent representative," Zachary told USA Today. "He was loyal and dear... an inspiring actor, director, and human. He will be sorely missed by all who knew him."

Cobbs appeared in nearly 200 film and TV projects throughout his five-decade acting career, according to IMDb.

Among his most notable roles were Bill Devaney, Whitney Houston's character's manager in 1992's "The Bodyguard," and night guard Reginald in 2006's "Night at the Museum" and its 2014 sequel, "Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb."

His other film credits included 1979's "The Hitter," 1984's "Brother From Another Planet," 1994's "The Hudsucker Proxy," 1997's "Air Bud," 2011's "The Muppets" and 2013's "Oz the Great and Powerful."

As for TV series, Cobbs appeared in "The West Wing" Season 3 as character Alan Tatum and "The Sopranos" as Reverend James Sr.

He also made appearances in "The Practice," "The Others," "Good Times," "Sesame Street" and "My Wife and Kids."

In 2020, Cobbs guest-starred in the two-part series finale of "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D."

In the same year, he took home a Daytime Emmy Award for outstanding limited performance in a daytime program for his role as Mr. Hendrickson in Amazon Prime Video's Canadian series, "Dino Dana."

Cobbs' peers and fans took to social media to pay tribute to the late actor after news broke of his death.

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, actor Wendell Pierce described Cobbs as a "father figure" and "iconic artist" who "mentored [him] by the way he led his life as an actor."

Pierce recalled Cobbs "imparting wisdom with a word of encouragement" when they worked together on "I'll Fly Away" and "The Gregory Hines Show."

"Black Lightning" star Damon Gupton wrote in his own tribute: "Rest In Peace, Mr. Bill Cobbs. I absolutely loved this actor. Such great ease. Never got enough flowers."

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Celebrity deaths, Celebrity Deaths 2024