1916-2002
One of the original Our Gang actors, Joe Cobb was also one of the most memorable of the "gangsters." Joe Frank Cobb was born on this day in Shawnee, Oklahoma. Almost all of his appearances in Hal Roach films came in the 1920's. He first auditioned for Roach and company in 1921 when he was just five years of age and was cast immediately. His first film for them was The Champeen, filmed in 1922 and released in January of 1923. All but six of his nearly 100 acting credits came between the beginning of 1923 through the end of 1929; in the vast majority of them, he was credited simply as "Joe." His first appearance in a film with sound (sound effects & music...in other words a partial silent) came in the film entitled, appropriately enough, Noisy Noises, and released in February of 1929. His first full sound picture, or talkie, Our Gang short was equally appropriately titled Small Talk and was released in May of 1929. He appeared in six more Hal Roach films that year, three of which were full or partial silents, including his last film of the decade, the 20 minute long Saturday's Lesson (November 1929). By this time, Joe had turned 13--officially a teenager, he was aging out of the Hal Roach world. He did appear in three Little Rascals films in the 1930's: Fish Hooky in 1933 was the first. The other two, Pay As You Exit (1936) and Reunion in Rhythm (1937), he had much smaller roles and in the last one, his role was simply as "Fat Kid." He only had three more film acting roles in his young career and his in his first feature length film--A Yank at Oxford--his role as "Boy with Drum"--went uncredited. His last two acting roles came in 1941. The Arthur Lubin musical Where Did You Get That Girl? was his first--and only--feature credit as "Tubby." His role in the Frank McDonald musical Tuxedo Junction--his last professional film role--also went uncredited. When he quit acting, his adult career was gained during World War II as an aircraft assembler at the North American Aviation in Downey, California. He continued to work there after the war for the remainder of his working life, retiring at the age of 65 in 1981. In 1986 he appeared in the documentary Classic Comedy Teams, which was hosted by Steve Allen. Cobb passed away at the age of 85 on the 21st of May in 2002 in Santa Ana, California. He is buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale.
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