In the mid-1960's, I first saw a movie on television in which Lee J.
Cobb played the part of a washed-up doctor in India, I believe. It was
a minor scene in an old movie, whose title I wish I could recall, that
predated the time and probably television, too. It might have been a
cameo appearance of his, which is why no one remembers, and I did go
through the IMDB databank, but no luck.

     My ex-wife told me it could have been an actor, who is often
mistaken for LJ Cobb, or a cameo appearance, but his cry and the sound
of his voice was unmistakably that of LJ Cobb. I compared it to his
role as Kramden in the old Flint Movies, and that was the same man.

     Can you tell us the title of that movie and how his role ended.

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Clarification of Question by drrichard-ga on 30 Jul 2006 13:15 PDT

In the mid-1960's, I first saw a movie on television in which Lee J.
Cobb played the part of a washed-up doctor in India, I believe. It was
a minor scene in an old movie, whose title I wish I could recall, that
predated the time and probably television, too. It might have been a
cameo appearance of his, which is why no one remembers, and I did go
through the IMDB databank, but no luck.

     My ex-wife told me it could have been an actor, who is often
mistaken for LJ Cobb, or a cameo appearance, but his cry and the sound
of his voice was unmistakably that of LJ Cobb. I compared it to his
role as Kramden in the old Flint Movies, and that was the same man.

     Can you tell me the title of that movie and how his role ended?

---

Request for Question Clarification by rainbow-ga on 30 Jul 2006 14:16 PDT

Is there anything else you can remember about the movie? Any detail,
no many how small, may help in this search. Thanks.

Best regards,
Rainbow

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Clarification of Question by drrichard-ga on 31 Jul 2006 20:23 PDT

I saw it a few times over the years and that same minor sequence of
that movie, so I'm sure it was LJ Cobb.  The movie predated the time
and maybe even television.  He had a distinctive quality to his voice,
cry and looks, so I'm sure it was him, even though everyone is
stumped.

     I can only suggest this:  Don't start out at the bottom, go right
to the top of the research pyramid.  We even wanted to write to his
family or former agent to ask them, but had no contact for them.

     Movie historians are stumped, too, and not agree it was Cobb. 
Think of an actor who is easily mistaken for Cobb or a cameo role of
his that would be hard to find in the abyss of his starring roles.

     We have been trying since 2000, but gave up about two or three
years ago when we reached the point of failing to contact family or
agent.




                                                                 -RK

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Request for Question Clarification by czh-ga on 01 Aug 2006 12:38 PDT

Hello drrichard-ga,

It would help if you could give us a detailed description of the
"minor scene" that you're asking about. Who else was in the scene? Who
said what? What was the setting and ambiance? Was it indoors or out?
What did the furniture, costumes, lighting, etc. look like? Even the
smallest detail might trigger a memory for someone. Thanks.

~ czh ~

---

Clarification of Question by drrichard-ga on 02 Aug 2006 17:49 PDT

czh-ga, it was an outdoor scene, brief, but not part of the movie's
theme, I don't remember if the passer-by was a significant actor or
not, it was set in India, which added to the shock, after he called LJ
Cobb "A bum," when Cobb began to cry and recalled his lamented career
by saying, "Bum???  Johns Hopkins Medical School, Chief of Surgery,
etc., etc."

    I saw that same minor sequence of that same old movie quite a few
times over the years, but never the whole film, which is why I never
could remember the title of i.  I still say it was Cobb, but in a
cameo appearance, which would explain why it's not in his movie
history.  He had a very prolific career, so a cameo role wouldn't be
significant enough to be included with the others.

---

Clarification of Question by drrichard-ga on 02 Aug 2006 18:19 PDT

In the 1960's, I first saw a movie on television in which Lee J.
Cobb played the part of a washed-up doctor, begging for money from a
stranger, in India, I believe.

     It was a minor scene in an old movie, whose title I wish I could
recall, that pre-dated the time and probably television, too. It might
have been a
cameo appearance of his, which is why no one remembers it.  I did go
through the IMDB databank, but no matches.

     My now ex-wife told me that it could have been another actor, who
is mistaken for LJ Cobb or a cameo appearance of his, which would
explain why none of his movies compared to the role to which I am
referring.

     His quality of his voice and his cry is/was unmistakable, so I
compared it to his role as Kramden in the old Flint Movies and they
matched.

     Can you tell us the title of that movie and how his role ended.

---

Clarification of Question by drrichard-ga on 07 Aug 2006 18:30 PDT

pinkfreud, any news yet?  While I'm being chared everyday, send me a
message to let me hear from you.

---

Clarification of Question by drrichard-ga on 07 Aug 2006 18:48 PDT

chz, it was a scene in a movie that I never saw from start to finish,
so I forgot the title of it long ago.  It was a striking scene that
didn't really fit into the theme of the movie, but I did see that same
scene a number of times over the years, which is why I'm so sure of
myself.

     It was an outdoor scene, the buildings in the background were
like the towering peaks of the Taj Mahal, which is why I never forgot,
which is also why the stranger was so shocked to hear Cobb reply the
way he did, saying, "BUM???"  "Johns Hopkins Medical School, Chief of
Surgery, etc.," while he cried as he recalled his lamented career.

     A washed-up doctor, begging for money from a stranger, in India
would be shocked to hear that from another American so far from home. 
The buildings in the background were unmistakable as was Cobb's role
in place and time.

     Do the movie research from the top!  I say that because we tried
every movie authority for three years before we finally quit.  The
only thing we didn't do was to ask his family or agent.  The only
reason we didn't is because we had no contact info for them.

     I never saw the whole flick, so now I am begging for help from a stranger.



                                                                 
                                                                -RK

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Clarification of Question by drrichard-ga on 11 Aug 2006 18:57 PDT

Researchers, is there any progress yet?  It is a trivia question that
has been driving us, now just myself, crazy for six years, so I really
want to know how LJ Cobb's role went in that movie.

     Remember, don't start looking for the answers at the bottom of
the databank-research pyramid.  Instead, go right to the top.  I say
that because we went through every movie historian and they were all
stumped.  They didn't agree it was Cobb after all and gave up, but
suggested contacting Cobb's family, co-stars or agent for the answer,
which we tried to do and failed because we had no way of contacting
them.

     If you can contact them, do it first because that is starting at
the bottom of the research-pyramid.

     After six years, now I'm begging for help from a stranger.
     


                                                                    -RK

I wonder if this may be the same movie that was sought here:

http://groups.google.com/group/rec.arts.movies.past-films/browse_frm/thread/35bf04cbf12ab7fb/b570487aee7ab29e?lnk=st&q=&rnum=1&hl=en#b570487aee7ab29e

It's a link that dates back to 2001, so I don't know if she even
remembers it.  I did send her a message.

     How do I reply to google answers?  Is it the same as Post Comment
and does that mean we're now on a blog?



                                                                  -RK

drrichard,

As the Customer, you have two options in posting: you can post in the
Comments section, for general remarks or responses to Comments made in
that section, or you can post in the Clarify section, to modify or
expand upon your Question (or respond to inquiries from Google Answers
Researchers who have asked Clarification questions). Google Answers is
rather blog-like in some ways.

~pinkfreud, Google Answers Researcher

pinkfreud, I didn't want people guessing at the question, but I did
want the researchers to just give me the answer.  I never did a Ask
Google question before, so tell me how to do it.

Richard,
You are doing it just fine.  People just guessing can help too. 
Someone recently identified a piece of music that the questioner had
believed to be by a different composer.
I am sure several Researchers have looked at your well-priced
question. Pinkfreud, who answers most movie quests successfully,
certainly has, but there is no assurance that an answer can be found.

Good luck, Myoarin

Mayorin, thank you for your reassurance.  People guessing could give
the researchers with "a note" that would lead them to the answer, so
pour it on.

http://www.yahoo.com

It is an important question to me, so I urge you to start at the top
of the research-pyramid of answers in order to find it.  My ex-wife
and I tried doggedly for about three years, then quit in 2003.  We
drove all the movie historians crazy, then reached the point where the
thing left was to contact his relatives, former co-stars or agent.  We
had no contact info for them, so we stopped.

     Go right to the top because it's not easy, LJ Cobb died in 1976
and I gave you all the info that I have.  I did see that same minor
sequence of that same old movie quite a few times on TV over the
years, but never the whole film, which is why I am sure of myself. 
When I compared him to known roles of LJ Cobb, such as those of the
Flint Movies, they matched perfectly well, so I am still sure.

     It's a trivia question that tops them all, which is why I'm now
begging for help from a stranger.




                                                                 -RK

what about zane grey theater?

Elanamuti-ga, I want you to look it up and give me the answers.  I'm
not a big movie fan, but I want you to do it for me.  That's why I
posted the $100.

Researchers, keep me posted as to how you're doing and what you come
up with.  It could "ring a bell" that leads to the answer.

Generally speaking, motion pictures did not typically make a
television run in the 1960's in close proximity to, or shortly
following their theatrical run like they do today. The fact that you
saw this program on the television in the 1960's suggests that it was
not a feature movie but rather a made-for-television program such as
the "Twilight Zone" and "Outer Limits" perhaps that often featured
actors who later became well known. Not all of these types of programs
credited actors early on especially if they were not well known at the
time. Just a thought...

tutuzdad-ga

It wasn't a TV show, it was a movie that pre-dated the time and
probably even television, but it was Lee J. Cobb or an actor who is
easily mistaken for him.

     I saw that sem aminor sequence of that same ol movie quite a ew
times over the years, so I sm still sure it was Cobb after all.

     Can you find it?  We tried the IMDB databank, but no luck.  We
went through alot until we reached the point of contacting his
relatives, former co-stars and agents to learn wat that movie was, but
we had no contact infor for them, so we stopped.

     Can you find the title and or how Clbb's role went init.







                                                                  -RK

Reply to tutuzdad-ga of August 25th:  

     It wasn't a TV series, such as Twilight Zone or The Outer Limits,
especially because I would immediately know that, but it was a movie
made before TV and probably from the 1940's or 30's.  It was a movie
that was
re-made for TV, just like so many others, such as Humphrey Bogart's movies, etc..  

     I don't know the vocabulary they use, even though I have six
years of recent experience, so try to "read between the lines" of what
I say.  I can't express very well what I don't know because I'm not a
big movie buff, like my ex-, nor am I a would-be actor at all.

     If you remember TV from those days, a movie would periodically
break for commercials, then resume with the title of the movie first
under the banner of something like "Milliondollar Movie," etc..  It
was Lee J. Cobb and I remember because I saw that same minor sequence
of that same movie a number of times over the years, but never the
whole film, which is why I wish I could remember the title of it. 
Would sure make the research alot easier, wouldn't it?

     Ask me new questions and maybe I'll remember something new.  Go
to actor's associations or their union for contact info to his
relatives, former co-stars or agent.  I know those who were closest to
him would and could be the only ones to know or at least lead us to
the right one.

     Ever since this whole thing began, I reached the point where I'm
the doctor begging for help from a stranger.





                                                                  -RK

I'm keeping you on the back burner. If something new comes up  or if I
develop a lead about relatives I'll let you know.

tutuzdad-ga

Just to let you know, I found a Successor-in-Interest database on the
California Secretary of State's website. Unfortunately, Lee, J. Cobb's
successors in interest do not appear therein.
http://www.ss.ca.gov/cgi-bin/sii_search.cgi

Perhaps there is one for him from another state, but we have no way of
knowing that unless you search every state (assuming every state has
such a database or such a legal provision)

tutuzdad-ga

My computer was down for a while, but I still want the answer to my 
Lee J. Cobb-question.

     Search high and low, but not wastefully, until you have the answer.





                                                                   -RK

This just in!

     The actor might have been Lionel Barrymore, instead of Lee J. Cobb.  

     Actors are often mistaken for one another by the public, so use
the same search info, except with Lionel Barrymore as the actor.




                                                                   -RK

drrichard,

If you are still seeking help with this, I suggest that you post a new
question. Note that, since this one expired unanswered, you were only
charged fifty cents: the full fee is not collected until and unless a
Google Answers Researcher posts an official answer. I hope we can find
what you need! This has been a fascinating (though frustrating)
project for several of us.

Searching with Barrymore turned up Somerset Maugham's name, who seems
like a possible author for a story in India (?) with a "washed-up
doctor".