Donald Cook (actor)
Donald Cook | |
---|---|
Cook in a 1936 publicity photo | |
Born |
Portland, Oregon, U.S.[1] | September 26, 1901
Died |
October 1, 1961 60) New Haven, Connecticut, U.S. | (aged
Cause of death | Heart attack |
Resting place | River View Cemetery, Portland, Oregon, U.S. |
Alma mater | University of Oregon[1] |
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 1926–1959 |
Donald Cook (September 26, 1901 – October 1, 1961) was an American stage and film actor who had a prolific career in Pre-Code Hollywood films and on Broadway. Cook is perhaps best known for his film roles in The Public Enemy (1931), Safe in Hell (1931), Baby Face (1933), and Viva Villa! (1934), as well as for his stage role as David Naughton in Claudia, which ran for a total of 722 performances on Broadway between 1941 and 1943.[2] He was also one of the first actors to play Ellery Queen.
Biography
Cook was born and raised in Portland, Oregon,[1] and originally studied farming but later worked for a lumber company. Cook attended the University of Oregon.[1] He joined the Kansas Community Players and through this received an offer of stage work. He started screen work in "shorts" before going on to feature films.
Cook was known for his portrayal of Mike Powers in the film The Public Enemy. He also was one of the first film actors to portray Ellery Queen, in The Spanish Cape Mystery. He played the role of Steve opposite Helen Morgan's Julie in the 1936 film adaptation of Show Boat, was one of the suspects in the Philo Vance mystery The Casino Murder Case, and starred as an heroic U.S. Immigrant Inspector of the Deporting Squad in the 1936 movie, Ellis Island.
Cook made his Broadway debut in 1926 as Donn Cook in Seed of the Brute, and his New York theatrical career continued over the following three decades. His credits included a 1948 revival of Private Lives and the original 1951 Broadway run of The Moon Is Blue.
Cook was married to Princess Gioia Tasca di Cuto from 1937 until his death from a heart attack in New Haven aged 60, in the midst of rehearsals for Cook's new play, A Shot in the Dark, an adaptation of L'Idiote.[3] Walter Matthau replaced Cook's leading role in the play following his death.[3]
Cook is buried at River View Cemetery in Portland, Oregon.[4] He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame located at the 1700 block of Vine Street.[5]
Filmography
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1931 | Unfaithful | Terry Houston | |
1931 | The Public Enemy | Mike Powers | |
1931 | Party Husband | Horace Purcell | |
1931 | Smart Money | Nick's Second Accomplice | Uncredited |
1931 | Side Show | Joe Palmer | |
1931 | The Mad Genius | Fedor Ivanoff | |
1931 | Safe in Hell | Carl Bergen | |
1932 | Taxi! | Ferdinand | Uncredited |
1932 | The Man Who Played God | Harold Van Adam | |
1932 | The Heart of New York | Milton | |
1932 | The Trial of Vivienne Ware | John Sutherland | |
1932 | The Conquerors | Lennox | |
1932 | Penguin Pool Murder | Philip Seymour | |
1932 | Frisco Jenny | Dan Reynolds | |
1933 | Private Jones | Lt. John Gregg | |
1933 | The Circus Queen Murder | The Great Sebastian | |
1933 | The Kiss Before the Mirror | Maria's Lover | |
1933 | Jennie Gerhardt | Lester Kane | |
1933 | The Woman I Stole | Corew | |
1933 | Baby Face | Stevens | |
1933 | Brief Moment | Franklin Deane | |
1933 | Fury of the Jungle | "Lucky" Allen | |
1933 | Fog | Wentworth Brown | |
1933 | The World Changes | Richard Nordholm | |
1934 | Long Lost Father | Bill Strong | |
1934 | The Ninth Guest | Jim Daley | |
1934 | Whirlpool | Bob Andrews | |
1934 | Viva Villa! | Don Felipe de Castillo | |
1934 | Most Precious Thing in Life | Bob Kelsey | |
1934 | Jealousy | Mark Lambert | |
1934 | Fugitive Lady | Jack Howard | |
1935 | Behind the Evidence | Ward Cameron | |
1935 | The Night Is Young | Toni Berngruber | |
1935 | Gigolette | Gregg Emerson | |
1935 | The Casino Murder Case | Lynn | |
1935 | Motive for Revenge | Barry Webster | |
1935 | Murder in the Fleet | Lt. Cmdr. David Tucker | |
1935 | Here Comes the Band | Don Trevor | |
1935 | Ladies Love Danger | Tom Lennox | |
1935 | The Spanish Cape Mystery | Ellery Queen | |
1935 | Confidential | FBI Agent Dave Elliott | |
1935 | The Calling of Dan Matthews | Frank Blair | |
1936 | The Leavenworth Case | Dr. Truman Harwell | |
1936 | Ring Around the Moon | Ross Graham | |
1936 | The Girl from Mandalay | Kenneth Grainger | |
1936 | Show Boat | Steve Baker | |
1936 | Ellis Island | Gary Curtis | |
1936 | Can This Be Dixie? | Longstreet Butler | |
1936 | Beware of Ladies | George Martin | |
1937 | Two Wise Maids | Bruce Arnold | |
1937 | Circus Girl | Charles Jerome | |
1944 | Freedom Comes High | The Captain | Short film |
1944 | Murder in the Blue Room | Steve | |
1944 | Bowery to Broadway | Dennis Dugan | |
1945 | Here Come the Co-Eds | Dean Larry Benson | |
1945 | Patrick the Great | Pat Donahue, Sr. | |
1945 | Blonde Ransom | Duke Randall | |
1950 | Our Very Own | Fred Macaulay | |
- Television
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1951 | Prudential Family Playhouse | Tony Kenyon | 1 episode |
1952 | Lux Video Theatre | Tad Bryson / Bruce Wallace / Roger | 1 episode |
1959 | Too Young to Go Steady | Tom Blake | 7 episodes |
Stage credits
- Broadway[6]
- Seed of the Brute (1926)
- New York Exchange (1927)
- Spellbound (1927)
- Paris Bound (1927)
- Half Gods (1929)
- Rebound (1930)
- Wine of Choice (1938)
- American Landscape (1938)
- Skylark (1939)
- Claudia (1941)
- Foolish Notion (1945)
- Made in Heaven (1946)
- Portrait in Black (1947)
- Private Lives (1948)
- The Moon Is Blue (1951)
- King of Hearts (1954)
- Champagne Complex (1955)
- Goodbye Again (1956)
- Love Me Little (1958)
- Masquerade (1959)
References
- 1 2 3 4 "Veteran actor dies". Reading Eagle. New Haven, Connecticut. October 2, 1961. p. 3. Retrieved January 10, 2016.
- ↑ "Claudia". The Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved January 11, 2016.
- 1 2 Edelman, Rob; Kupferberg, Audrey. Matthau: A Life. Taylor Trade Publishing. p. 131.
- ↑ "Donald Cook". NNDB. Retrieved January 11, 2016.
- ↑ "Donald Cook". Los Angeles Times. Hollywood Star Walk. Retrieved January 12, 2016.
- ↑ "Donald Cook". The Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved January 11, 2016.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Donald Cook. |
- Donald Cook at the Internet Broadway Database
- Donald Cook at the Internet Movie Database
- Donald Cook at Find a Grave