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US actor Bill Cobbs, who appeared in Night At The Museum and The Bodyguard, has died aged 90.
His agent confirmed to the PA news agency the actor died on Tuesday evening in California surrounded by his family.
Cobbs played Whitney Houston’s manager Bill Devaney in the 1992 film The Bodyguard, which also starred Kevin Costner.
The veteran actor also portrayed security guard Reggie in 2006’s Night at the Museum, opposite Ben Stiller and Robin Williams.
Cobbs’ agent said it is thought the actor died of natural causes.
The actor’s other film credits included Air Bud, Sunshine State, Get Low, Ghosts of Mississippi, The Hudsucker Proxy, The Color of Money, Demolition Man and I Still Know What You Did Last Summer.
He also appeared in episodes of The West Wing, The Sopranos, LA Law, One Tree Hill, NYPD Blue, Six Feet Under, CSI and Star Trek: Enterprise.
Cobbs notched up about 200 film and television credits, and was regularly cast in small but pivotal roles.
Cobbs was born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1934. Before becoming an actor, he served eight years in the US air force, and sold cars in the years after his service.
He began acting after a customer asked him if he wanted to appear in a play, and Cobbs made his first stage appearance in 1969. A year later, he moved to New York to pursue further acting work.
His first film role came in 1974 with a brief appearance in crime drama The Taking of Pelham One Two Three, launching a decades-long career on the big and small screen.
In 2020, Cobbs won a Daytime Emmy for his appearance in Dino Dana, a Canadian children’s educational show.
The actor’s brother Thomas G Cobbs 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 on Facebook.
“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.”
Actor Wesley Snipes was among those paying tribute on social media, writing on Twitter: “Rest in Power King.”
Abbott Elementary star Sheryl Lee Ralph tweeted: “Emmy winner, working actor and wonderful human being, Bill Cobbs [has] transitioned to act on a higher stage.”
The Wire star Wendell Pierce, who worked with Cobbs on I’ll Fly Away and The Gregory Hines Show, described him as a “father figure, a griot, an iconic artist”.
“Bill Cobbs was born and raised in Cleveland,” he said in a statement posted on Twitter.
“He shared so many stories about the city he loved. It’s serendipity that I’m here in Cleveland as I learn of his passing. He comes from a great legacy of the Black Theatre.
“His passing reminds me of the talent pool that populated the Black Theatre at that time. They were that Moses generation that is leaving us now passing on a great responsibility.”
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