Elisha Cook Jr.

When Mr. Elisha Cook Jr was born on 26 Dec, 1903, no one in his family would have ever imagined that this child will be amongst the most famous celebrities of the United States. Mr. Elisha Cook Jr was born in San Francisco, California, to Mr. Elisha Vanslyck Cook Sr and Mrs. Helen Henry. Although Wikipedia says that Mr. Elisha Vanslyck Cook Sr was a pharmacist but many sources describes that his mother and father were well-known actors of the theatre world.

After his birth his family shifted to Chicago, where he grew up in the stage environment. He began acting at 14 when he bagged a role in a play called Ah, Wilderness and worked for Vaudeville, Stock companies and Broadway. It didn’t take long before he started getting roles in Hollywood films and he thus made his debut in the 1930’s. Initially, he often used to play the role of a college student alongside the actress Gloria Stuart Gloria Frances Stuart was born on July 4, 1910 in >> Read More... or Judy Garland An American singer, actress, and vaudevillian, Jud >> Read More... . Soon casting directors realised his true potential and he got a Warner Brother’s movie, They Won’t Forget (1937).

Here, he played the role of a student who was a friend of a young Lana Turner, who was mysteriously murdered. Cook enacted the role in such a way that the movie audience only looked upon him as a prime suspect in Lana’s demise. It was in the year 1937 where he got a chance to play a different role. Prior to 1937 he was re-playing his stage role of the romantic juvenile lead in Her Unborn Child (1930). In the following years he continued to gain name and fame in the world of theatre and afterwards he settled permanently in Hollywood by 1936.

A total of eight films with him were released in 1937, which was his first full year in Hollywood. In 1944 Phantom Lady was released and with his performance he once again shocked the audience. He was so good in conveying emotions through his facial expressions that it used to amaze the audience, directors and critics as well. It was his just his acting which made his limited roles more powerful and memorable. He is mostly remembered for his roles in films like The Maltese Falcon (1941) where he played the role of Wilmer.

Some of his other memorable works are The Big Sheep (1946), and Born to Kill (1947) where he played the character of a murderer. He did a variety of films wherein he played a variety of roles. He appeared in many horror films also like House On Haunted Hill (1959) and Rosemary’s Baby (1968). Apart from this he appeared in many TV series like The Rebel (1960), The Wild Wild West (1966), Batman television series and many more. He was famously known for playing the character of detectives.

This was his professional life. In personal life he married twice, first to Mrs. Mary Lou Cook in 1929 (divorced in 1942) and then to Mrs. Peggy McKenna Cook in 1943, a union which lasted till his death. He had no children. Cook not only was a good actor, but also a great human being. He served in the US Army during World War II World War II is a Malayalam information TV show on >> Read More... . He was there for his nation during their tough time. He contributed 100% from his side when the United States was facing a difficult time.

Mr Cook died of a stroke on May 18, 1995 in Big Pine, California, aged 91. Not many things are known about Mr. Cook (due to a lack of information) but he was a great actor and he use to deliver each and every role and character with such ease that it used to amaze the audience and his crew members. In fact, he did roles ranging from a romantic juvenile lover to murderer to a villain in his movies. People also used to call him “Hollywood’s Lightest Heavy” because of playing cowardly villains in his movies.