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Elisha Cook Jr. | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Cook in Dillinger (1945) | |
| Born | Elisha Vanslyck Cook Jr. December 26, 1903 San Francisco, California, U.S. |
| Died | May 18, 1995 (aged 91) Big Pine, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1926–1988 |
| Spouses | Mary Gertrude Dunckley
(m. 1928; div. 1941)Peggy McKenna
(m. 1943; div. 1968)
(m. 1971) |
Elisha Vanslyck Cook Jr. (December 26, 1903 – May 18, 1995) was an American character actor famed for his work in film noir. According to Bill Georgaris of They Shoot Pictures, Don't They,[citation needed] Cook appeared in 21 films noir, more than any other actor or actress. He played cheerful, brainy collegiates until he was cast against type as the bug-eyed baby-faced psychopathic killer Wilmer Cook in the 1941 version of The Maltese Falcon. [1] He went on to play deceptively mild-mannered villains. Cook's acting career spanned more than 60 years, with roles in productions including The Big Sleep, Shane, The Killing, House on Haunted Hill and Rosemary's Baby.
- ^ Thomas Jr., Robert McG. (May 21, 1995). "Elisha Cook Jr., Villain in Many Films, Dies at 91". The New York Times.
Elisha Cook Jr., whose intense, bug-eyed portrayal of Wilmer, the psychotic, baby-faced killer in The Maltese Falcon, made him a cult figure to a generation of moviegoers, died on Thursday at a nursing home in Big Pine, California. He was 91. He was the last surviving cast member of John Huston's 1941 film noir classic, whose company included Humphrey Bogart, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre and Mary Astor. [...] A native of San Francisco who grew up in Chicago, Mr. Cook was a traveling actor in the East and Midwest before going to New York, where Eugene O'Neill picked him to play the juvenile lead in "Ah Wilderness!," which ran on Broadway for two years.