Person Details

Birthday:

Aliases: Стив Кокран , Robert Alexander Cochran

Gender: Male

Place of birth: Eureka, California

Homepage:

Movie Involvements: 38

TV Involvements: 14


Most Famous Work

Biography

He is perhaps best remembered for his role of Big Ed Somers, the power hungry gangster pal of James Cagney in "White Heat" (1949). Born Robert Alexander Cochran in Eureka, California, he was the son of a California lumberjack, who moved the family to Wyoming in the 1920s, where Cochran grew to adulthood. After graduating from the University of Wyoming in 1939, Cochran began working steadily as a Wyoming cowboy, while developing his acting skills working in summer stock and regional theaters and gradually moving on to Broadway. In 1945, he signed with MGM, and for the next several years, played mostly secondary roles as gangsters or boxers. He made his film debut with "Boston Blackie Booked on Suspicion" (1945) and quickly followed with "Wonder Man" (1945). Released from his contract in 1948, he returned to Broadway where he worked with Mae West; the next year he signed on with Warner Brothers, where he earned leading roles in such films as "The Damned Don't Cry" (1950), "Highway 301" (1950) and "Tomorrow is Another Day" (1951). Warner Brothers often had him playing the villain in several of its western films, such as "Dallas" (1950), and "Back to God's Country" (1953). With the end of his contract in 1953, he began his own film company, Robert Alexander Productions, while also freelancing for other studios and moving on to guest star roles on television shows. He would show up in such television shows as Death Valley Days, Burke's Law, The Untouchables, Naked City, The Twilight Zone, Route 66, and The Virginian. A notorious womanizer, Cochran was married and divorced three times, and was often in the Hollywood tabloids reportedly having affairs with such actresses as Mae West, Jayne Mansfield, Joan Crawford, Merle Oberon, Ida Lupino and Mamie Van Doren. Cochran died under mysterious circumstances. In May 1965, Cochran had revived his production company, and together with three women, whom he had hired as his assistants, boarded his 40-foot yacht to travel to Central and South America to look for filming locations. On June 25, 1965, the yacht drifted into Port Champerico, Guatemala, with three alive but very distraught women aboard and the body of Steve Cochran, who had died ten days earlier. The women did not know how to operate the boat, and were dependent upon its drifting to shore after his death. There were numerous rumors of murder and poisoning, and actress / former lover Merle Oberon used her influence to push for further police investigation, but no evidence of foul play was ever determined. The official cause of his death was given as Acute Infectious Edema (lung infection).

Most Famous Work

The Twilight Zone
Average
8

The Twilight Zone

(1959) Fred Renard
The Virginian
Average
6

The Virginian

(1962) Jamie Dobbs
Lux Video Theatre
Average
6

Lux Video Theatre

(1950) Luke Martens
Climax!
Average
3

Climax!

(1954) Jack Rice
Robert Montgomery Presents
Average
4

Robert Montgomery Presents

(1950) Captain John Pringle
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
Average
6

Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre

(1956) Marshal Cam Tolby
Burke's Law
Average
6

Burke's Law

(1963) Fletcher Seamway
Naked City
Average
5

Naked City

(1958) Niccolo Mori

Acting

Year Character Movie/Tv
2007 Himself
1965 Dave
1964 Brad Webster
N/A
1963 St. John Carlisle
Phil Ross
Fletcher Seamway
Steve Corey
1962 N/A
Jamie Dobbs
1961 N/A
Billy Keplinger
1960 N/A
Fred Renard
Bill Gibson
Dave Culloran
Joe Sante
1958 Niccolo Mori
Captain Alan 'Wes' Westcott
1957 Aldo
H.R. Manley
1956 Marshal Cam Tolby
Mark Andrews
Matt Ballot
John C. Fremont
1954 Ralph Leslie
Jack Rice
Police Sgt. Cal Bruner
Joe Hammond
1953 Dan Webley
Paul Blake
Joe
Captain Claude Fontaine
Rick Sommers
Drogo
1952 Marcel Brevoort
Ben Kirby
1951 Francis Aloysius 'Sully' Sullivan
N/A
Peter Allendine
Bill Clark / Mike Lewis
Chuck Daniels
Cy Van Cleave
Hank Rice
1950 Bryant Marlow
George Legenza
Luke Martens
Nick Prenta
Captain John Pringle
1949 'Big Ed' Somers
1948 N/A
Peter Hadley
Dan
Tony Crow
1947 Steve Hunt
1946 Cliff Scully
Eddie Roman
Speed McFarlane
1945 Tim O'Brien
Jimmy Casey
Jack Higgins
Ten Grand Jackson
Year Character Movie/Tv

Directing

Year Role Movie/Tv
1965 Director
Year Role Movie/Tv

Writing

Year Role Movie/Tv
1965 Screenplay
Year Role Movie/Tv

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