onald Cook (Sep 26. 1901  -  Oct 1. 1961)
Height: 5' 11" (1,8 m) Brothers: Mortimer P. (1892 - 1976), Ransom McCurdy (1893 - 1986) Sister: Marjorie (1892 - bfr. 1961)        Marriages: (1) Frances Beranger, actress       (Sep 20. 1930, ca feb 1931, divorce) (2) Maxine Dailey Lewis, radio singer/dancer       (Jan 16, 1934 - Jul 1934, divorce)       Daughter: Donna Dailey Cook       (b. May 22. 1934) (3) Princess Gioia Tasca di Cuto       (1937 -  until Oct 1961, his death) Partner: Joan Bennett (1956- his death)
Donald Fenton Cook was born and raised in Portland, Oregon, to Frank Ransom Cook and Edith Parker. He originally studied farming and inaugurated his theatrical career at the little theater in Portland. Cook graduated from the University of Oregon with a degree in agriculture. He also played football.   He worked briefly as a bank clerk but gave up the job to take a fling at vaudeville during the early 1920s. So at one time he toured the West in a song and patter act. "Strictly small time," he explained. One night when he teamed with a partner for an amateur song, and patter act at The Wigwam in San Francisco. The team of Cook and Wadhams obtained a four months booking in vaudeville and toured through little western towns and down to Amarillo, Texas. The booking agent who was to meet them there to send the act to Chicago failed to appear. Undaunted he made his way to Emporia, Kansas where he sang in movie theaters. He moved to Kansas City and worked there at odd jobs as a bellhop, elevator boy, grocery clerk, and cattle counter in the stockyards. Finally he secured a job as a lumber salesman, and in the evenings, organized a Little Theatre group and studied drama. He thought he was down on his luck. But he was wrong. It was strictly a gesture anyway, because his family is in the banking business and, although they then disapproved of his choice of professions, they never have felt any financial pain. He was so stage struck he started acting in the Kansas City community theater and there Margaret Anglin saw him, liked his work, asked him to call at her hotel, and told him so. "It seemed too good to be true,' Cook related. His two years with the Kansas City Community Players were not wasted. In the summer of 1925, encouraged by letters of introduction from Miss Anglin to three producers, Donald arrived in New York. Two of the producers turned him down. The third, George C. Tyler, was in Europe. During the waiting period, Cook studied voice and dancing. When Tyler returned he interviewed Cook and sent him to Minneapolis to join a star-studded company playing on the road in The Rivals. The cast included Chauncey Olcott, James T. Powers, and Mrs. Minnie Maddern Fiske. Cook listened to all the advice from these experienced thespians, but was especially grateful to Mrs. Fiske who coached him in his role as Captain Absolute. He still attributes his “fundamental knowledge of comedy technique” to her patient teaching. This great lady of the stage, said Cook, taught him everything he knows about the theater. Cook joined the Hartman Stock Company who played at the Hartman Theater, Columbus where he performed in several plays between Oct 14 1925, and May 11. 1926. John Hayden organized the company out of New York. Among those signed were William Ingersoll, Gilberta Faust, Donn Cook, Jean Ford and John Lott.   Kansas City's Little Theater had graduated a number of amateurs including Donn Cook into Mrs. Fiske's all-star revival of The Rivals (July 1926). Later he would say it took him 3 years to get to New York One year after Kansas City he was on Broadway, and his troubles were over. He was rarely “at liberty” since. He was in 48 Hours Leave in San Francisco before making his Broadway debut under the name Donn Cook as John Roberts in Seed of the Brute (Little Theatre, Nov. 1, 1926 - Jan. 1. 1927).   The Klaw Theatre (Dec 25. 1926 - Jan 8. 1927) and 49th Street Theatre (Jan. 10 1927 - Mar 12. 1927) were the venues where New York Exchange, a play by Peter Glenney, was performed. Alison Skipworth and Sydney Shields headed the company which included Doris Underwood, Mabel Montgomery, Brandon Evans and Donn Cook.   Spellbound was a 3 act play by Frank Vosper, which ran for 24 performances in New York (Earl Carroll Theatre, Nov 14. 1927 - Dec 1. 1927). Elisabeth Patterson, Campbell Gullen and O.P. Heggie played the leading roles. Donn Cook was Rowlie Bateson a young boarder led by Ethel Underwood to murder her husband Harold Carter. Shortly thereafter he had a hit playing with Madge Kennedy in Paris Bound (aka The Wedding), a Comedy in 3 acts at the Music Box Theatre, New York (Dec 27. 1927 - Jul 1. 1928) playing another kind of husband ..., the sort that goes to Europe for romances.
Above left: Madge Kennedy, Donald MacDonald and Donn Cook. in Paris Bound, a Comedy in 3 acts at the Music Box Theatre New York (starting Dec 27. 1927). Above right: Madge Kennedy as Mary Hutton and Donn Cook as Jim Hutton in Paris Bound.
On Broadway Donn Cook, played in support of Miss Claiborne Foster in Gypsy (Klaw Theatre, January 14. 1929 - March 9. 1929). Donn then joined the Murphy Brown Players at The Wieting, Syracuse where he performed with great success in several plays (at 9 shows a week). In five consecutive productions of the Murphy-Brown Players, some husband has always gotten it right on the chin. Donn Cook had the worst of it. In This Thing Called Love (April 1) and in Excess Baggage (April 15), he found his wife in another man's arms, and even in Seventh Heaven (April 22), it is only Chico's blindness which prevented him from seeing the same thing when he came back from the war (Donn slashed his finger grabbing the knife away from Helen Baxter). In The Royal Family (April 8), Albert Hayes had to stand by and see his young wife practically desert him and their baby to return to the stage. It was Bill Jeffrey's turn in Camera (April 29), he stood on a club veranda and watched his wife in the familiar clutch. Major honors went to Frank Wilcox and Ralph Murphy's co-stars Helen Baxter and Donn Cook. Donn played Jerry Donovan, expert cameraman who himself screens as the ideal Romeo. The Skull (May 6) was a blood-curdler, Donn Cook played the part of a lawyer and Helen Baxter that of the girl he loves and saves from the menace of the criminal. Frank Wilcox had the important role of Captain Allenby. The play for the following week An American Tragedy (May 13) brought stark realism, with Donn Cook and Lucia Laska carrying the burden beautifully. In The Command to Love (May 21) Donn in resplendent costume was Gaston, Marquis Du Saint-Lac, French military attaché, fallen under the spell of the statuesque and jealous Marie-Anne (Ethel Wilson), wife of the unsuspecting French ambassador (William Jeffrey). But it turned out (such is diplomacy ) that the honor of his republic demanded that Donn Cook win the favor of Manuela (Helen Baxter), coquettish consort of the Spanish war minister... He also starred as Donn Cook in Half Gods (Plymouth Theatre, Dec 21. 1929 - Jan 4. 1930) and Rebound (Plymouth Theatre, Feb 3. - May 1. 1930) and kept using that name until 1930, even in his first film assignments. Donald would never betray his love for the theater.
Above:  Donn Cook as Bill Truesdale and Hope Williams as Sara Jaffrey in Rebound (1930).
In Elitch Gardens, Denver Selena Royle and Donn Cook were signed as members of summer's stock company playing the leading parts. Others engaged included Nedda Harrigan, Raymond Bramley, Duncan Penwarden, J. Arthur Young and Frances Beranger. It opened on June 14. 1930 and Melville Burke would direct the company. Cook fell in love with Frances Beranger. On September 16. 1930 newspapers announced the engagement of Frances Beranger/Berwanger, actress, and daughter of Mrs. William DeMille to Donn Cook, New York leading man. The announcement was made by the girl's mother. No definite date was set for the wedding but, according to Mrs. DeMille in the article, it probably will take place within the next month. “We were in love, and she urged me to go to Hollywood,” Cook said. “I did, and we were married when she returned to the coast from Denver.” They married in Los Angeles on Sep 20. 1930 and went to live in Whitley Heights, Hollywood.   The marriage lasted only six months. “We didn't hit it off” was Donald's only comment. However, the prestige of the Elitch engagement helped him get my first Hollywood contract – with Warner Brothers.
Above left: Miss Frances Beranger, daughter of Mrs. William DeMille, was married to Don Cook, New York actor, in Chicago. They met while appearing on the stage together in Denver. Above right: An engagement of interest to many Syracuse theatergoers is that of Miss Frances Beranger, daughter of Mrs. William C. DeMille, and Donn Cook, former member of the Wieting Stock Company.
He started screen work in a "short" musical Roseland (Warner Bros. ,Sep. 7. 1930) before going on to feature films. It's fair to say Donald Cook came to films initially as leading man during the early sound era. 1931's Unfaithfull (Paramount, Mar. 14 .1931) with Ruth Chatterton and Paul Lukas was his first feature (billed als Donald Cook, he was loaned from First National by Paramount). Although he is certainly an expert and handsome actor, his features are not as strongly etched as most of the top stars of the screen. Subsequently relegated to supporting roles. Cook spent seven years in Hollywood playing in 30 films. He always seemed to project a dour personality, which was more effective as the shell-shocked war veteran brother Mike Powers of James Cagney in the film The Public Enemy (Warner Bros. , Apr. 23 1931). He also played the protégé of crippled ballet impresario John Barrymore in The Mad Genius (Warner Bros. , Oct 23. 1931), and Bette Davis' love interest in The Man Who Played God (Warner Bros. , Feb. 9. 1932).
Above left: Cook was known for his portrayal of Mike Powers in the film The Public Enemy (1931) , here holding Rita Flynn ((Molly Doyle) in his arms. Above middle: In 1932 Donald and actress Evalyn Knapp (a 1932 WAMPAS Baby Star, with Marion Shockley!) announced their engagement Above right: Donald with Sylvia Sydney in Jennie Gerhardt (1933).
In 1932 Donald and actress Evalyn Knapp (a 1932 WAMPAS Baby Star, with Marion Shockley!) announced their engagement, whatever happened it didn't result in them getting married (Above middle).    Reportedly Donald Cook’s "hobby" was collecting stray dogs and giving them a home until friends take them, so the actor has room for another. After moving into a new home in Beverly Hills, the actor built the wire enclosure for his five dogs and housed them safely before he moved his own belongings. The white dog was named Jean, after Jean Harlow (1932). In May-June of 1932 Cook had a concussion of the brain after being hit by an automobile.
Top left: Evalyn Knapp visits Donald Cook in the hospital after an auto accident. Top right:  Donald Cook, Joan Bennett for the film The Trial of Vivienne Ware (1932) Above left: Mary Brian (his co-star in Fog) and Donald Cook snapped dining in the Gold Room of the Beverly Wilshire Hotel (1933) Above right: Donald Cook as Lt. John Gregg in Private Jones (1933).
When in 1933 he met Maxine Lewis, radio singer, he proposed marriage to her on August 11. and she accepted. On November 16. Cook was named in a $100,000 breach of promise suit filed by Miss Lewis, who charged, among other things, that she was soon to become a mother. On January 13. 1934 Donald Cook and Maxine Lewis seem to have come to an agreement as was revealed that they are to be married privately on Tuesday January 16. "I'm terribly happy," said Miss Lewis in the newspapers. On May 22. 1934 in Los Angeles Maxine gave birth to a girl named Donna Dailey Cook. Shortly after they were married the romance went on the rocks. According to a suit for divorce filed June 29. 1934 Cook insisted after two days of honeymoon on returning to Hollywood. Accusing him of being sullen and morose, Mrs. Cook claimed her husband preferred to sleep all day and stay out all night.
Above left: Donald Cook and Maxine Lewis obtaining their marriage license (1934) Above right: Donna Daily Cook, 4 days old, daughter of Donald Cook, film actor, and his wife, the former Maxine Dailey Lewis, singer, was more interested in getting her full quota of sleep than in such things as picture taking when she was photographed with her mother in a Hollywood Hospital (May 26. 1934).
He was one of the first film actors to portray Ellery Queen. In The Spanish Cape Mystery, (Republic, Oct 9. 1935) a low-budget mystery Cook plays Ellery Queen in a low-key, poker-faced fashion, which may not be terribly exciting but is actually closer to the original concept than most of the movie Queens. However Cook's flirtatious Ellery is unrelated to any Ellery Queen novel. (Pictures below left and right)

He was one of the suspects in the Philo Vance mystery The Casino Murder Case (MGM, Mar. 15. 1935), played the role of Steve opposite Helen Morgan's Julie in the 1936 film adaptation of Show Boat (Universal, May 14. 1936), and starred as an heroic U.S. Immigrant Inspector of the Deporting Squad in the 1936 movie, Ellis Island (Chesterfield, Nov  5. 1936). In 1937 Cook married to former Princess Giovanna Mastro - Giovanni Tasca Di Cuto, with whom he resided on Long Island, NY. (aka Gioia Tasca di Cuto) where he was hired by the Theatre Guild. Because of his unexciting and unimportant Hollywood assignments Donald returned to the stage. On Broadway he was seen in Wine of Choice (Guild Theatre, Feb 21. - Mar 30. 1938), American Landscape (Cort Theatre, Dec 3. 1938 - Jan. 7. 1939), and John Golden's successful play Skylark (Morosco Theatre, Oct. 11. 1939 - My 25. 1940) had Donald as leading man next to Gertrude Lawrence and Glenn Anders. Since good film roles were rarely offered to him, he was increasingly heard on the radio. Much less is known about his radio work. He was heard in The Rudy Vallee Hour (NBC, Sep 14. 1939) where Rudy Vallee sang with Carmen Miranda, and in Life Begins (CBS, Jan 22. 1940 - Jul 18. 1941) Donald Cook played Dick Young and  Lloyd Crawford, Virginia's Craig's (played by Toni Gilman) love interest. The name of the show was later changed to Martha Webster. Further also next to Agnes Young in Mother of Mine (aka Mother O'Mine, NBC- Sep 30. 1940 - July 4. 1941); in "The Wrong Way to Write" (CBS, June 7.1940) an episode for Campbell's Short Short Story, about an April Fool's prank which turned out not-very-funny; Campbell's Playhouse with Walter Huston (ABC, "Little is So Little", Nov. 17. 1940); in Charlie and Jessie (CBS, Dec 13. 1940 - Jan 17. 1941), with Nelson Case, and Florence Lake; and in the episode "Wings of An Eagle"(CBS, Feb 23. 1941), of radio's The Columbia Workshop, described as a very touching crime story, beautifully told.  In 1941 Don he did an average of 10 a week but in the past had made as many as 35 radio broadcasts in one week. He lived In East 48th street in the Turtle Bay district and also had a farm at Cobalt, Conn. He said not a word about his "art" He even called it "play-pretending." He didn't think that he will always be an actor. "An actor," he said, "has too many crutches... first the author writes his lines and then a director tells him how to deliver them. I'll get into something else eventually, maybe directing or writing."

Above left: In Circus Girl (Republic, Mar. 1. 1937) trapeze artist Kay Rogers (June Travis) marries aerial-act member Charles Jerome (Donald Cook), who immediately become jealous of fellow-trapeze artist Bob McAvoy, and sets out to kill him. Above right: A scene from the 1942 stage play Claudia (Booth Theatre, Feb 12. 1941 - Jan 9. 1943) included Donald Cook and Dorothy McGuire.

It was the Broadway stage, however that gave him widest range to display his talents or comic lechery:  Claudia (Booth Theatre, Feb 12. 1941 - Jan 9. 1943), Made in Heaven (Henry Miller's Theatre, Oct 24. 1946 - Jan 11. 1947), and Portrait in Black (Booth Theatre, May 14. 1947 - Jul 5. 1947). He received a gold metal in 1941 from the New York Academy at The Lambs Club for giving "the best light comedy performance of the year" in Claudia. He also enjoyed a comic lark opposite Tallulah Bankhead both in Foolish Notion (Martin Beck Theatre, Mar 13. 1945 - Jun 9. 1945), and in a 1948 revival of Private Lives (Plymouth Theatre, Oct 4. 1948 - May 7. 1949). TV roles seemed to provide a welcome change with appearances in: The Philco Television Playhouse (in "A Murder Has Been Arranged", NBC - Aug 14. 1949), The Billy Rose Show (in "Pick Up", ABC - Jan. 2. 1951), and The Prudential Family Playhouse (in "Skylark", CBS - Jan. 16. 1951). By 1950 he forsook films entirely in favor of stage work. In the original 1951 Broadway run of The Moon Is Blue (Henry Miller's Theatre, Mar 8. 1951 - May 30. 1953) he delighted Manhattan theatergoers as Barbara Bel Geddes' would-be-seducer (Below right). This play in which he starred that had the longest run, was made into a film that caused a scandal in its time because it used the word "virgin" while showing a woman's bedroom. Cook played the same role that David Niven played in the 1953 film. In 1952 Cook served as chairman of personnel committee of the Actors Equity Association.

Above left: Tallulah Bankhead with Donald Cook in  Private Lives (1948). Above right:  In the original 1951 Broadway run of "The Moon Is Blue "Cook delighted Manhattan theatergoers as Barbara Bel Geddes' would-be-seducer.

The following year Cook was also heard on radio My Son Jeep (NBC, Jan 25. - Jun 7. 1953) and subsequent CBS TV dramatizations one year later in 1954. Donald Cook plays Doctor Robert Allison, a widower in Grove Falls, USA. He is left to raise his sweet thirteen year old daughter Peggy, played by Joan Lazer, and his ten year old son, Jeffery "Jeep" Allison, a mischievous ten-year-old boy reminiscent of Dennis the Menace. In 1954 reportedly he owned a New Jersey farm and planned to build a house at Fire Island. "I took a course in weaving," he said, "I found it fascinating. I have two looms now... During the run of 'The Moon is Blue' I took a course in real estate". Among his other hobbies were photography and raising Hungarian sheep dogs. He played in the following Broadway plays: King of Hearts (Lyceum Theatre, Apr 1. 1954 - Nov 27. 1954), Champagne Complex (Cort Theatre, Apr 12. 1955 - Apr 30. 1955) and Goodbye Again (Helen Hayes Theatre, Apr 24. 1956 - Apr 28. 1956). It was at this point in the mid-Fifties that he became reassociated with Joan Bennett, when he replaced Claude Dauphin in the comedy Janus, lasting through the eleven-month tour with Joan. So from 1956 Joan Bennett was seriously involved with Donald Cook, whom she referred to as the love of her life (he legally separed Gioia a few years before his death). In her excellent book The Bennett Playbill (1970) Joan describes their “’first’’ meeting. "Producer Alfred de Liagre was looking for a leading man, and since was given cast approval, I suggested the distinguished actor Donald Cook. I’d seen him in his greatest successes, 'Skylark', 'Claudia' and 'The Moon Is Blue' and thought him a superb actor. We met during the preparation of Janus, and because I felt I knew him, I said ‘Hello Donald’ to which he replied, formally, ‘How do you do, Miss Bennett.’ It was the beginning of one of the most important relationships of my life." Neither Cook nor Joan could remember appearing together in 1932's The Trial of Vivienne Ware. Over the years Donald believed his leading lady to be Fay Wray, and Miss Bennett felt certain John Boles had been her vis-a-vis in the Fox fiasco. Commenting on their mutual lapse of memory, Miss Bennett said, "No such memory lapse about Donald Cook would ever occur again, and | consider the four years we worked together among the most charmed of my life. It was a four-year acting lesson. An actor who was the very opposite of the introspective performer, his off-hand charm and ease with a laugh line was incomparable. Endowed with impeccable timing, he knew exactly when to drop the bomb, and his technique was accurately described as 'playing with a steady glib absurdity.' " He also made television appearances in Goodyear Television Playhouse (in "The Treasure Hunters", NBC - May 26. 1957), and Wanted: Dead Or Alive (in "Angels of Vengeance", CBS - Apr 18. 1959). But perhaps he is best known for his role as "Tom Blake" next to Joan Bennett in the television series, Too Young To Go Steady (NBC, 7 episodes between May 14. and Jun 25. 1959). Although he still performed in plays on Broadway it seemed his greatest successes there were in the past: Love Me Little (Helen Hayes Theatre, Apr 15. 1958 - Apr 19. 1958) and Masquerade (John Golden Theatre, Mar 16. 1959 - Mar 16. 1959).

Above left: Donald Cook and Glenda Farrell in Masquerade (aka Lovely Star, Good Night) a play in 3 acts performed at the John Golden Theatre on Mar 16, 1959. Above right: Candid picture of Joan Bennett and Donald Cook both guests at a recent Palace Theater party following the premiere of Pillow Talk (Oct 19, 1959).

His death on October 1. 1961 came a day after he suffered a heart attack while in New Haven, CT for the tryout of a new Broadway play. After he failed to appear for a matinee performance of the French comedy A Shot in the Dark, an adaptation of the play L'Idiote, starring Julie Harris and William Shatner. The manager of the play had a bellhop check Cook's room and found Cook semi-conscious on the flour of his hotel room. He was taken to Grace New Haven Hospital were he died, aged 60.  Joel Thomas, the understudy stepped in but it was Walter Matthau who took over Cook's leading role in the play following his death. To Joan Bennett it was a horrifying blow and she wrote, "I was heartbroken and at a loss myself, not only personally but professionally. Working with Donald, I understood what ‘ensemble’ playing meant for the first time and felt I never wanted to set foot on a stage again without him." Of course, she did return to the stage. Cook left his widow Joya (sic), from whom he was legally separated several years ago, and two brothers in San Francisco. He was buried at River View Cemetery in Portland, Oregon. For his contributions to the motion picture industry, Cook was honored with a Hollywood Walk of Fame star located at 1718 Vine Street.

Notes: All dates for movies are for the first US release. All dates for TV programs are original first airdates. All dates for (radio) plays are for the time span the actor was involved. Facts in red still need confirmation.

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Other references (1) Wikipedia (2) IMDb (3) IBDB (4) Radiogoldindex (5) OTRRpedia (6) Rotten Tomatoes (7) Playbill Additional video & audio sources (1) The Public Enemy (1931) James Cagney takes a punch from Donald Cook (2) Old Time Radio Downloads (3) Too Young To Go Steady Clip 1959 TV program (YouTube-Gilmore Box)

This actor profile is a part of Ellery Queen a website on deduction. The actor above played Ellery Queen in an Ellery Queen movie.  Click Uncle Sam if you think you can help out...! Many of the profiles on this site have been compiled after very careful research of various sources. Please quote and cite ethically!

Page first published on April 23, 2017 Last updated January 29, 2024

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