Category: TV

Bill Cobbs died Tuesday, June 25, 2024.  Mr. Cobbs was 90.

After high school, Bill Cobbs served eight years in the Air Force.  Upon his discharge, he returned to his hometown of Cleveland.  There Mr. Cobbs took jobs as a salesman.  He also began acting at the African American Performing Arts Center and Karamu House Theatre in Cleveland.  He had found his calling.

At the age of 36, Bill Cobbs moved to New York to pursue a career in acting.  Mr. Cobbs first acting roles were in street theater, small theater productions and ultimately the Eugene O’Neill Theatre on Broadway.  Bill Cobbs first feature film appearance was in The Taking of Pelham One Two Three.  For the remainder of his career, Mr. Cobbs took roles on television and feature films.

Television appearances of Bill Cobbs include: First Ladies Diary: Rachel Jackson; Good Times; Baby, I’m Back; The Member of the Wedding; Rage of Angels; The Equalizer; One Life to Live; Sesame Street (2 episodes); Kate & Allie (2 episodes); Spenser for Hire; L.A. Law; The Slap Maxwell Story (20 episodes); Homeroom (13 episodes); Designing Women; Married People; Decoration Day; True Colors; Carolina Skeletons; I’ll Fly Away (13 episodes); Coach; I’ll Fly Away: Then and Now; Empty Nest; Northern Exposure; Kingfish: A Story of Huey P. Long; The Watcher; Divas; ER; Walker, Texas Ranger; The Wayans Bros; Always Outnumbered; The Wild Thornberrys; For Your Love (2 episodes); The Gregory Hines Show (21 episodes); The Outer Limits (2 episodes); The Sopranos; The Practice; The Others (13 episodes); For All Time; The Michael Richards Show (9 episodes); The Fighting Fitzgeralds; Touched By An Angel; Rugrats; Six Feet Under; Philly; The West Wing; My Wife and Kids (2 episodes); N.Y.P.D. Blue (2 episodes); 10-8: Officers On Duty; JAG (4 episodes); Soul Food; The Drew Carey Show (9 episodes); Star Trek: Enterprise; Yes, Dear (2 episodes); October Road; Army Wives; One Tree Hill; C.S.I.: Crime Scene Investigation; The Glades; Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior; Harry’s Law; Go On (10 episodes); Back in the Game; Rake (4 episodes); Hand of God (2 episodes); Greenleaf (4 episodes); Dino Dana (6 episodes); Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Incandescent Love.

Feature film appearances of Bill Cobbs include: The Taking of Pelham One Two Three; Greased Lightning; A Hero Ain’t Nothin’ But a Sandwich; The Hitter; Trading Places; Silkwood; The Brother From Another Planet; The Cotton Club; The Color of Money; Streets of Gold; Suspect; Dominic & Eugene; Bird; The January Man; New Jack City; The Hard Way; The People Under the Stairs; The Bodyguard; Demolition Man; Fatal Instinct; The Hudsucker Proxy; Things to Do in Denver When You’re Dead; Fluke; That Thing That You Do; Ghosts of Mississippi; Air Bud; Hope Floats; I Still Know What You Did Last Summer; Random Hearts; Sunshine State; Enough; A Mighty Wind; Special Ed; Night at the Museum; The Muppets; Oz the Great and Powerful; Of Mind and Music and Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb.

Bill Cobbs had a career where many folks might not have known his name, but knew when he appeared onscreen, the show just got better.  I don’t remember when I first saw Mr. Cobbs act.  It may have been in that episode of Good Times.  I do know that when I think of Bill Cobbs, the first thing that comes to mind is his performance in Demolition Man. Looking at Bill Cobbs’ partial resume above, it becomes clear how talented he was.  If there was a Hall of Fame for character actors, Bill Cobb would be a shoe-in.

Out thoughts and prayers go out to Bill Cobb’s family, friends and fans.

Donald Sutherland died today after a long illness.  Mr. Sutherland was 88.

Mr. Sutherland was born in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada.  He wasn’t a healthy child and suffered from rheumatic fever, hepatitis, and polio.  After graduating from high school, Donald Sutherland attended Victoria University, where he graduated with a double major in engineering and drama.  Mr. Sutherland then decided to pursue a career as an actor so he attended the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.

Donald Sutherland began to get small roles on British television shows and films.  After the success of The Dirty Dozen, and the positive reviews he received, Mr. Sutherland left England for Hollywood.  He never looked back.  For the rest of his career Donald Sutherland appeared in feature films and television roles.

Over the course of his career Donald Sutherland was nominated for…

• Nine Golden Globe Awards, winning two (1995’s Citizen X for Best Supporting Actor – Television; 2002’s Path to War for Best Supporting Actor – Television)
• Two Primetime Emmy Awards winning one (1995’s Citizen X for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Movie)

Donald Sutherland also won an Honorary Academy Award in 2017.

Television appearances of Donald Sutherland include: Studio 4; Suspense; The Odd Man; The Sentimental Agent; Hamlet at Elsinore; ITV Play of the Week (3 episodes); A Farewell to Arms; Court Martial; Theater 625; Gideon C.I.D.; The Saint (2 episodes); The Avengers; Man in a Suitcase (2 episodes); The Champions; The Name of the Game; Bethune; The Winter of Our Discontent; Buffy the Vampire Slayer; Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All; Citizen X; The Simpsons; Uprising; Path to War; Salem’s Lot (2 episodes); Frankenstein (2 episodes); Human Trafficking ( 4 episodes); Commander in Chief (19 episodes); Dirty Sexy Money (23 episodes); The Pillars of Earth (8 episodes); Moby Dick (2 episodes); Treasure Island (2 episodes); Crossing Lines (34 episodes); Ice (6 episodes); Trust (9 episodes); The Undoing (6 episodes); Swimming with Sharks (6 episodes) and Lawman Bass Reeves (8 episodes).

Feature film appearances of Donald Sutherland include: The World Ten Times Over; The Castle of the Living Dead; Dr. Terror’s House of Horror; Die! Die! My Darling!; The Bedford Incident; The Dirty Dozen; The Split; M*A*S*H; Start the Revolution Without Me; Kelly’s Heroes; Johnny Got His Gun; Klute; Don’t Look Now; Alien Thunder; S*P*Y*S; The Day of the Locust; Casanova; The Eagle Has Landed; The Kentucky Fried Movie; National Lampoon’s Animal House; The Great Train Robbery; Invasion of the Body Snatchers; Murder by Decree; Ordinary People; Eye of the Needle; Max Dugan Returns; Heaven Help Us; Lock Up; A Dry White Season; Backdraft; JFK; Six Degrees of Separation; Disclosure; Outbreak; A Time to Kill; Fallen; Without Limits; Virus; Instinct; Space Cowboys; The Art of War; The Italian Job; Cold Mountain; Pride & Prejudice; The Mechanic; The Hunger Games; The Hunger Games: Catching Fire; The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part I; Forsaken; The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 and Mr. Harrigan’s Phone.

I first saw Donald Sutherland in The Dirty Dozen. After that, I remember Mr. Sutherland showing up as an off-kilter character in M*A*S*H, Kelly’s Heroes and Animal House. When I think of Mr. Sutherland, the first image that comes to mind is the final shot in Invasion of the Body Snatchers.  My favorite Donald Sutherland roles are in JFK and Lock Up (he brought gravitas to the film).  My favorite movie that Donald Sutherland starred in is Eye of the Needle.  Of course he was awesome in so many movies and television series that I wouldn’t argue if you suggested other Donald Sutherland roles.  What a career.  What a talent.

Out thoughts and prayers go out to Donald Sutherland’s family, friends and fans.

Tony Lo Bianco, award-winning actor of stage and screen, died June 11, 2024. Mr. Lo Bianco was 87.

Tony Lo Bianco graduated from William E. Grady CTE High School.  He then attended the Dramatic Workshop, where he studied acting and theater production.  In 1963, Tony Lo Bianco founded the Triangle Theater where he served as the artistic director for six years.

In 1963, Mr. Lo Bianco made his first television appearance in an episode of The Doctors.  In 1964, he performed as an understudy on the Broadway play Incident at Vichy.  In 1965, Tony Lo Bianco appeared in the Broadway production of Tartuffe.  Mr. Lo Bianco followed that with a starring role in The Royal Hunt of the Sun on Broadway.  Tony Lo Bianco’s film debut came in 1965 in The Sex Perils of Paulette.

For the rest of his career Tony Lo Bianco would appear on stage, television and in feature films. In 1975, Mr. Lo Bianco won an OBIE (Off Broadway Theater) Award in the category Distinguished Performance by an Actor for Yanks-3, Detroit-0, Top of the Seventh.  In 1983, he was nominated for a Tony Award and won the Outstanding Actor in a Play Award for the Outer Critics Circle for his performance in A View from a Bridge.  In 1985, he won a New York Emmy for Outstanding Individual Crafts for his performance in Hizzoner!

Television appearances of Tony Lo Bianco include: The Doctors; Get Smart; Hawk; NYPD (2 episodes); Hidden Faces; Love of Life; Madigan; The Story of Jacob and Joseph; The Streets of San Francisco; Jesus of Nazareth (4 episodes); Police Story (6 episodes); Magee and the Lady; Champions: A Love Story; A Last Cry for Help; Marciano; Marco Polo (2 episodes); Another Woman’s Child; The Paper Chase; Hizzoner!; The Twilight Zone (1985); Welcome Home Bobby; Blood Ties; Police Story: The Freeway Killings; Night Heat; The Ann Jillian Story; CBS Summer Playhouse; Perry Mason: The Case of the Poisoned Pen; Fredrick Forsythe Presents; Palace Guard (8 episodes); Murder, She Wrote (2 episodes); The Maharaja’s Daughter (4 episodes); Homicide: Life on the Street (3 episodes); Tyson; F/X: The Series; Rocky Marciano; Walker, Texas Ranger; Law & Order (3 episodes); Law & Order: Criminal Intent and Somewhere in Queens.

Feature film appearances of Tony Lo Bianco include: The Sex Perils of Paulette; The Honeymoon Killers; The French Connection; Serpico; The Seven Ups; FIST; Bloodbrothers; City Heat; City of Hope; Boiling Point; Nixon; The Juror; Mafia!; The Day the Ponies Came Back; Friends and Family and Kill the Irishman.

I don’t remember the first time I saw Tony Lo Bianco.  I do remember it seemed he came from nowhere and was holding his own with big name stars: Hackman in The French Connection, Pacino in Serpico, Roy Schneider in The Seven Ups, Sly Stallone in FIST, Eastwood and Reynold in City Heat.  My favorite role is probably his performance as Babe Milano in FIST.  I need to revisit Bloodbrothers.  I remember really liking that film (that had Richard Gere, Paul Sorvino and Tony Lo Bianco as its stars).  It’s evidence of Mr. Lo Bianco’s  talent that he could move from stage to television to feature films with ease.

Out thoughts and prayers go out to Tony LoBianco’s family, friends and fans.