Bill Cobbs, ‘The Bodyguard’ and ‘Night at the Museum’ actor has died at 90.
Bill Cobbs was best known for his roles as security guard Reggie in the 2006 film Night At The Museum, and as Whitney Houston’s manager Bill Devaney in the 1992 film The Bodyguard.
He also featured in the former’s sequel Secret Of The Tomb, released in 2014.
He died “peacefully” on Tuesday night at his home in Riverside, California, his brother Thomas G. Cobbs confirmed. His publicist Chuck I Jones told Associated Press that natural causes is the likely cause of death.
Cobbs’ brother remembered him as “a beloved partner, big brother, uncle, surrogate parent, godfather and friend.”
“Bill recently and happily celebrated his 90th birthday surrounded by cherished loved ones,” he wrote. “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.”
Other roles Bill Cobbs will be remembered for include Arthur Chaney in Air Bud, Moses the Clock Man in The Hudsucker Proxy and Dr Elton Lloyd in Sunshine State.
His TV credits included appearances on The Sopranos, The West Wing, Sesame Street and ER.
In total, Cobbs featured in 200 films and TV programmes throughout his career.
In 2020, he won an Emmy award for outstanding limited performance in a daytime programme for the series Dino Dana.
In a statement on X, Wendell Pierce, who appeared alongside Cobbs in I’ll Fly Away and The Gregory Hines Show, described him as a “father figure, a griot, an iconic artist that mentored me by the way he led his life as an actor.”
“To honour Bill and his memory, I will dedicate myself to creating work he would be proud of,” he said.
