Donald Cook (actor)

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 the first actor to play Ellery Queen.

Donald Cook
Cook in a 1936 publicity photo
Born	September 26, 1901 Portland, Oregon, U.S.[1]
Died	October 1, 1961 (aged 60) New Haven, Connecticut, U.S.
Resting place	River View Cemetery, Portland, Oregon, U.S. 45.465°N 122.673°W
Alma mater	University of Oregon[1]
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1926–1959

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. In 1935, Cook's starring role in the film "The Spanish Cape Mystery" made him the first actor in any medium to play fictional sleuth Ellery Queen. 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 took over Cook's leading role in the play following his death.[3]

Cook is buried at River View Cemetery in Portland, Oregon.[4]

For his contributions to the motion picture industry, Cook was honored with a Hollywood Walk of Fame star located at 1718 Vine Street.[5][6]

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	Warren 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	Viva Villa!	Don Felipe de Castillo
1934	Whirlpool	Bob Andrews
1934	The 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 Llewellyn
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, (final appearance)

Stage credits

Broadway[7]

• 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. "Veteran actor dies". Reading Eagle. New Haven, Connecticut. October 2, 1961. p. 3. Retrieved January 10, 2016.
2. "Claudia". The Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved January 11, 2016.
3. Edelman, Rob; Kupferberg, Audrey. Matthau: A Life. Taylor Trade Publishing. p. 131.
4. Wilson, Scott (2016). Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons, 3 ed. McFarland. p. 154.
5. "Hollywood Walk of Fame - Donald Cook". walkoffame.com. Hollywood Chamber of Commerce. Retrieved February 14, 2017.
6. "Donald Cook". Los Angeles Times. Hollywood Star Walk. Retrieved January 12, 2016.
7. "Donald Cook". The Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved January 11, 2016.

External links

• Donald Cook at the Internet Broadway Database
• Donald Cook at IMDb
• Donald Cook at Find a Grave