Robert “Bruce” Cobb, 77, died on August 3, 2025, after a two-year, challenging journey confronting myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). He faced his illness with the same quiet strength, humor, and grace that defined his life.

Bruce grew up on the glimmering shores of Lake Minnetonka, Minnesota, (what he called an idyllic childhood) 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 co-founded the Rainy Lake Playhouse, working as a technical director and actor. In 1967, he auditioned for a place in the new theatre program at New York University and was accepted. Drawn by a passion for the arts and an adventurous spirit, he packed his bags for New York City’s East Village. It was here, among the bustling streets and electric energy of the late 1960s, that Bruce honed his craft at NYU’s School of the Arts, graduating in 1970 with a degree in acting.

His early years in theater were rich with collaboration and creativity. Bruce was personally 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.

Bruce’s artistry extended far beyond his desire to perform. He was an accomplished scenic carpenter, working with IATSE Local 4 from the mid-1970s through 2000, contributing his skill to some of New York’s most beloved productions—including the first season of Saturday Night Live in 1975. At Michael Stiegelbauer & Associates in the Brooklyn Navy Yard, he continued to build SNL and other TV and film sets that combined technical mastery with an artist’s eye. He also designed and built for Off-Broadway companies, bringing visual worlds to life for productions by Section Ten and Cutting Edge theatre companies.

An innovator at heart, Bruce held a patent for furniture design using recycled cardboard tubes—an idea ahead of its time. In the late 70s - early 80s he co-founded Cumulus Development Ltd. and formed Studio RBC, designing and supervising luxury commercial and residential renovations in Manhattan. In 2000 he transitioned into the world of international corporate events, serving as a technical director for events at IBM, The Coca-Cola Company, Puig USA and Ritz Carlton, where his meticulous planning and problem-solving skills were prized across borders and cultures. His work took him around the globe, but his grounding presence and understated humor always brought him home to those he loved.

Bruce’s talents were not confined to theater and carpentry. He was 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 Bruce 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 that became a gathering place for friends, neighbors, and wildlife. In recent years he and his wife moved from NYC to Livingston Manor full-time, where Bruce and friends met weekly for lunch, calling themselves ROMEOs (retired old men eating out).

To those who knew him, Bruce was more than his résumé. He 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. He was a consummate craftsman, a talented home cook who delighted in feeding others, and a generous volunteer, in Manhattan as a technical director for the Castillo Theatre, and in Livingston Manor at the food pantry and antiques shop that supported Time and the Valleys Museum.

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 country haven he so lovingly built—a place that, like Bruce himself, offered beauty, warmth, and welcome to all. His legacy endures in the homes he built and shared with Linda, the art he created, the meals he prepared with care, and the countless ways he made the world sturdier, kinder, and more beautiful.