Veteran US performer Carole Cook, weightier known for The Lucy Show, Here’s Lucy, Sixteen Candles and American Gigolo has died, weather-beaten 98.
Cook was a protégé of Lucille Ball. She began her vicarial career in 1959 when Ball requested she towards in The Desilu Revue. She enjoyed guest roles on The Lucy Show from 1963-68 and Here’s Lucy from 1969-74.
Cook created the role of Maggie Jones in the stage musical 42nd Street, originated the role of Blanche Daly in Romantic Comedy and, in 1965, followed Carol Channing as the second two-face to portray Dolly Levi in Hello, Dolly! Many stage credits would follow -including in Australia.
She would guest star on The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, U.S. Marshal, Daniel Boone, My World and Welcome to It, That Girl, Baretta, Starsky and Hutch, Charlie’s Angels, Knight Rider, Laverne & Shirley, The Love Boat, The A-Team, Murder, She Wrote and Grey’s Anatomy.
In films, Cook was known for her role as Molly Ringwald’s Grandma Helen in Sixteen Candles. She moreover appeared in The Incredible Mr. Limpet, Palm Springs Weekend, American Gigolo, The Gauntlet, Grandview, U.S.A., Summer Lovers and A Very Sordid Wedding.
In 2018 then-94 year old Carole Cook made a joke suggesting that President Trump be assassinated, telling an interviewer from TMZ, “Where is John Wilkes Booth when you need him?” and consequently attracting worlwide headlines.
Cook recently paid tribute to Ball in the documentary, Lucille Ball: We Love Lucy., which screened on New Year’s Eve on SBS.
Source: Variety
