Robert Bruce "Bruce" Cobb

1947 - 2025

Robert "Bruce" Cobb, 77, died on August 3, 2025, after a challenging journey confronting MDS. He faced his illness with the same quiet strength, humor, and grace that defined his life.

Bruce grew up on the shores of Lake Minnetonka with his three brothers, in a home filled with creativity, friends, and sports for every season on and off the lake. After attending Bemidji State College in 1965, he enrolled at St. Cloud State College and joined the Rainy Lake Playhouse as a technical director and actor. In 1967, after being accepted to the new theatre program at New York University, he packed his bags for NYC's East Village, graduating at NYU's School of the Arts in 1970.

Bruce was called by Joe Papp to perform at The Public Theater's Shakespeare Festival in Central Park, appearing in productions of Peer Gynt, Twelfth Night, and Cymbeline. His breakthrough came with The House of Blue Leaves in a role alongside Anne Meara, directed by Mel Shapiro, earning him an Actors' Equity card in 1971 and beginning a decades-long relationship with the theater world. As a founding member of Shapiro's Shaliko Company, Bruce explored new, experimental and acrobatic ways of telling a story.

He went on to become an accomplished scenic carpenter, working with IATSE Local 4 through 2000, contributing his skill to some of New York's most beloved productions, including sets for Saturday Night Live, for the first season in 1975 and many seasons thereafter.

An innovator at heart, Bruce held a patent for furniture design using recycled cardboard tubes-an idea ahead of its time. In 2000 he transitioned into the world of international corporate events, serving as a technical director for events at IBM, Coca-Cola, and Puig USA, where his meticulous planning and problem-solving skills were prized across borders and cultures.

Bruce was also a consummate builder of spaces both literal and emotional. In 1987 he and his wife, Linda C. Hartley, bought a second home in Livingston Manor, NY, where he poured his heart into designing and building a Craftsman-style house. Around it, he shaped ponds, wild gardens, and winding trails, creating a living work of art.

Bruce was a loving and devoted husband of over 40 years-Linda first spotted him, without knowing it, during a high school field trip to see The House of Blue Leaves, never imagining she was looking at her future partner in life. He was a loyal friend, a kind neighbor, a thoughtful mentor, and a man whose quiet wit could light up a room.

Bruce is survived by Linda; his three brothers, David (Barbara), Stephen (Julie), and Gary (Diane); and his nieces and nephews, Lee, Becky, Sarah, Ian and Charlie.

He is predeceased by his parents, Katherine Fraser (née MacKenzie) and Stephen Edway Cobb.

A celebration of Bruce's life will take place in September at the Catskills haven he so lovingly built. His legacy endures in the countless ways he made the world sturdier, kinder, and more beautiful.