Randall "Tex" Cobb

Randall "Tex" Cobb
Born	May 7, 1950 (1950-05-07) (age 59) Bridge City, Texas

Randall Craig "Tex" Cobb (born May 7, 1950)^[1] is an American prizefighter turned actor.

Biography

Early life and education

Cobb was born in Bridge City, Texas, the son of Norma Grace (née Alexander) and Williard Glynn Cobb, a factory foreman.^[2] He was raised in Abilene, Texas, where he attended Abilene High School, and later Abilene Christian University. Cobb dropped out of ACU at the age of 19, and began training as a kickboxer at Joe Frazier's gym in Philadelphia.

In January 2008 at age 57, Cobb graduated magna cum laude from Temple University with a bachelor's degree in sport and recreation management. He remarked that it was odd to hear the cheers of a packed arena without being in a boxing ring. "It was nice to have that opportunity to wear a robe, to step up there and not have to worry about bleeding," Cobb said.^[3]

Boxing career

After piling up nine straight wins as a kickboxer, he entered the world of professional boxing. His boxing debut was on January 21, 1977, in El Paso, Texas, where he knocked out Pedro Vega. Cobb went on to win 13 straight fights by 1979, all by KO. On November 26, 1982, he fought champion boxer Larry Holmes for the WBC World Heavyweight title at Houston's Astrodome. Cobb suffered a unanimous decision defeat at the hands of Holmes, who won all 15 rounds on two of three scorecards. The bloody one-sidedness of the fight so horrified sportscaster Howard Cosell that he vowed never to cover another professional match, which Cobb jokingly referred to as his "gift to the sport of boxing."^[4] His sense of humor was revealed when he was asked if he would consider a rematch. Cobb quipped that he did not think that Holmes would agree, as Holmes' "hands could not take it." When he was interviewed after the Holmes fight someone asked how he could fight someone whose arms were a foot longer than his were. Cobb joked back, "Oh it seemed that way to you too?"

After the fight, many sports fans all over the world wrote to Cobb and thanked him for his effort.

Cobb was a fighter who had hitting power, as shown by his eighth round knockout victory over Earnie Shavers. He was only knocked out once in his career, by Dee Collier in 1985, and is known for having one of the greatest chins of all time. Cobb also fought Michael Dokes twice during his boxing career, losing both fights. In the early 1990s Cobb made a comeback into the world of boxing, winning 20 straight fights against lightly regarded opponents. He retired again rather suddenly.

Acting career

As a Hollywood actor he has played "extremely hairy, expressionless bad guys" in films such as Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol, Raising Arizona, Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, The Golden Child, Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult, Fletch Lives, and Ernest Goes to Jail. He has made some guest appearances on television shows, including Miami Vice, Highlander: The Series, Married... with Children, Moonlighting, Walker, Texas Ranger, MacGyver, and The X-Files. Cobb's most notable role was in the 1983 hit movie Uncommon Valor with actors Gene Hackman, Patrick Swayze, and Fred Ward, adhering to the hairy bad-guy image and ending up a hero. He also starred with Richard Pryor in the movie Critical Condition, in which he plays a character in the psych ward who thinks he's a "brother." In a nod to his former profession, he also appeared in Diggstown, playing a prison inmate who fights at the behest of a con man.

Personal life

Cobb lives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and maintained a friendship with Philadelphia Daily News columnist Pete Dexter, who frequently commented on boxing. In a notorious 1981 Grays Ferry incident Cobb came to the defense of Dexter, who, during the course of a bar brawl, was severely beaten.^[5] Cobb rescued him and endured a broken arm, costing him a scheduled fight with Mike Weaver.

References

External links

• Randall "Tex" Cobb at the Internet Movie Database
• Professional boxing record for Randall "Tex" Cobb from Boxrec
• 2005 interview with Cobb