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Coby Scott Bell (born May 11, 1975) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Jesse Porter on the
USA Network USA Network (simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. It was originally launched in 1977 as Mad ...
original series ''
Burn Notice ''Burn Notice'' is an American espionage television series created by Matt Nix, which originally aired on the USA Network for a total of seven seasons from June 28, 2007, to September 12, 2013. The show stars Jeffrey Donovan, Gabrielle Anwa ...
'' and professional football player Jason Pitts on
The CW ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...
/ BET comedy-drama ''
The Game The Game or The Games may refer to: Sports and games * The Game (dice game) (German: ''Das Spiel''), a dice game designed by Reinhold Wittig * The Game (mind game), a mind game, the objective of which is to avoid thinking about The Game itself * ...
''. He also co-starred as police officer Tyrone "Ty" Davis, Jr. on the
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters ...
drama ''
Third Watch ''Third Watch'' is an American crime drama television series created by John Wells and Edward Allen Bernero that aired on NBC from September 26, 1999, to May 6, 2005, with a total of 132 episodes spanning over six seasons. It was produced b ...
'' and as Aaron in the Amazon original series '' Mad Dogs''. He started on ''Sister Sister'' from 1994-1999, then starred in other shows & films.


Early life and career

Bell was born in
Orange County, California Orange County is located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area in Southern California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,186,989, making it the third-most-populous county in California, the sixth-most-populous in the United States, ...
to a white mother and an African-American father, the Broadway actor Michel Bell. Before he began acting, Bell attended
San Jose State University San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a public university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the oldest public university on the West Coast and the founding campus of the California State University (CSU) sy ...
, where he graduated with honors. He began his career with a few minor roles in various shows including ''
The Parent 'Hood ''The Parent 'Hood'' is an American sitcom television series that aired on The WB from January 18, 1995, to July 25, 1999. The series starred Robert Townsend and Suzzanne Douglas. Originally to be titled ''Father Knows Nothing'' (a parody of t ...
'', '' Buffy the Vampire Slayer'', '' ER'' and ''
Smart Guy ''Smart Guy'' is an American sitcom television series centering on the exploits of child prodigy T.J. Henderson ( Tahj Mowry), who moves from being an elementary school student in the fourth grade to a high school student in the tenth grade, att ...
'', before landing a thirteen episode stint as Patrick Owen in ''
L.A. Doctors ''L.A. Doctors'' is an American medical drama television series set in a Los Angeles primary care practice. It ran on CBS from September 21, 1998 to May 10, 1999. It replaced ''Brooklyn South'' after its cancellation in May 1998. Premise Four Los ...
''. In 1999, Bell landed the role of Officer Ty Davis, Jr. on the
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters ...
drama ''Third Watch''. He was one of only five original cast members to remain on the show throughout its entire six-season run on NBC. During the series' run, he co-starred in ''Safe'', a critically acclaimed play co-written by ''Third Watch'' co-star Anthony Ruivivar. The play co-starred ''Third Watch'' actors Jason Wiles and Yvonne Jung. He appeared in a ''Third Watch'' edition of the American version of ''
The Weakest Link ''Weakest Link'' (also known as ''The Weakest Link'') is a television game show which first appeared in the United Kingdom on BBC Two on 14 August 2000 and originally ended on 31 March 2012 when its host Anne Robinson completed her contract. ...
''. In 2005, just months after ''Third Watch'' ended its run, Bell landed a recurring role on the UPN comedy series ''
Half & Half ''Half & Half'' is an American television sitcom created by Jeffrey Klarik that aired on UPN from September 23, 2002, to May 15, 2006. The show focuses on the lives of two paternal half-sisters in their twenties who were estranged throughout ...
'' as Glen Stallworth, a San Francisco firefighter who is originally set up on a date with main character Mona, but winds up falling for her mother, Phyllis (played by actress
Telma Hopkins Telma Louise Hopkins (born October 28, 1948) is an American actress and singer. Hopkins rose to prominence as a member of the 1970s pop music group Tony Orlando and Dawn, which had several number-one songs. She also performed on the CBS varie ...
). Despite appearing in only three episodes, Bell's character was mentioned and referenced throughout the show's fourth and final season. In 2006, Bell starred in and co-produced an independent film called ''Drifting Elegant''. The project marked his debut as a producer. That same year, Bell guest-starred in an episode of the UPN comedy series '' Girlfriends'' in an episode entitled "
The Game The Game or The Games may refer to: Sports and games * The Game (dice game) (German: ''Das Spiel''), a dice game designed by Reinhold Wittig * The Game (mind game), a mind game, the objective of which is to avoid thinking about The Game itself * ...
", which served as the pilot episode for the CW comedy-drama series of the
same name ''Same Name'' is an American reality television series in which an average person swaps lives with a celebrity of the same first name and surname. It premiered on July 24, 2011 on CBS. The series received low ratings, and CBS pulled it after fou ...
. Bell stars as Jason Pitts, the captain of the fictional San Diego Sabers football team. He reprised Jason Pitts in a recurring role when ''The Game'', which was cancelled in 2009, returned on BET in January 2011. In June 2010, Bell joined the cast of the
USA Network USA Network (simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. It was originally launched in 1977 as Mad ...
series ''
Burn Notice ''Burn Notice'' is an American espionage television series created by Matt Nix, which originally aired on the USA Network for a total of seven seasons from June 28, 2007, to September 12, 2013. The show stars Jeffrey Donovan, Gabrielle Anwa ...
'' as former counter-intelligence agent Jesse Porter. On February 28, 2020, it was announced that Bell was cast as Captain Larry James, a Texas Ranger Captain, in the CW western crime drama series ''
Walker Walker or The Walker may refer to: People *Walker (given name) *Walker (surname) *Walker (Brazilian footballer) (born 1982), Brazilian footballer Places In the United States *Walker, Arizona, in Yavapai County *Walker, Mono County, California * ...
'' reboot.


Personal life

Bell is married to Aviss Pinkney-Bell and has four children, three girls and one boy, who are two sets of twins. In addition to acting, Bell is also a musician and songwriter in a reggae band. He also serves as a mentor to underprivileged youths in the
Big Brothers of America Big Brothers Big Sisters of America is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization whose mission is to "create and support one-to-one mentoring relationships that ignite the power and promise of youth". Adult volunteers are matched with children from ag ...
.


Filmography


Movies


Television


References


External links

* *
Coby Bell's biography on filmbug
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bell, Coby 1975 births Living people American male film actors American male television actors Male actors from Orange County, California San Jose State University alumni 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors African-American male actors 20th-century African-American people 21st-century African-American people