Carole Cook

Mildred Frances Cook (January 14, 1924 – January 11, 2023), known professionally as Carole Cook, was an American actress, active on screen and stage, best known for appearances on Lucille Ball's comedy television series The Lucy Show and Here's Lucy.

Carole Cook
Attending the premiere of The Incredible Mr. Limpet in 1964
Born	Mildred Frances Cook (1924-01-14)January 14, 1924[1][2] Abilene, Texas, U.S.
Died	January 11, 2023(2023-01-11) (aged 98) Beverly Hills, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1954–2018
Spouse	Tom Troupe ​ (m. 1964)​

Her best known film roles include The Incredible Mr. Limpet, American Gigolo and Sixteen Candles.^[3]

Biography

Early life

Mildred Frances Cook was born on January 14, 1924, in Abilene, Texas, one of four children of Leland Preston (L.P.) Cook Sr. and his wife, Maudine.^[1][2] She studied Greek drama at Baylor University.^[4] After graduating in 1945, she worked in regional theater.^[4] By 1954, she had moved to New York, where she made her theatrical debut.^[4]

Lucille Ball, having recently seen her success in a stage production of Annie Get Your Gun, invited her to work for her production company Desilu Studios and changed her stage name to Carole, after her favourite actress Carole Lombard.^[4]

Film and television

She appeared in such feature films as The Incredible Mr. Limpet, American Gigolo, Sixteen Candles, Grandview, U.S.A., Summer Lovers, and Palm Springs Weekend.^[5][6]

She made guest appearances on such television shows as The Lucy Show, Here's Lucy, Darkroom, Knight Rider, Emergency!, Magnum, P.I., McMillan and Wife, Murder, She Wrote, Dynasty, Charlie's Angels, Cagney & Lacey, Grey's Anatomy, and a starring role in a Season 4 episode of Hart to Hart.^[5][6]

Cook starred in the animated Walt Disney Pictures film Home on the Range voicing Pearl Gesner.^[5]

Theatre

In addition to her film and television work, Cook appeared in the original Broadway productions of 42nd Street and Romantic Comedy, and was the second actress (after Carol Channing) to star as Dolly Levi in Hello, Dolly!^[7][8][9]

She made her theatrical debut playing Mrs. Peacham in the 1956 off-Broadway production of The Threepenny Opera, starring Lotte Lenya.^[10]

In 2024, parts of Carole Cook's life and career were celebrated in the stage production Carole Cook Died for My Sins starring Mason McCulley. LA Weekly described the show as “a heartfelt tribute” that explored themes of love, loss, and transformation while honoring Cook's enduring legacy.^[11]

Personal life

Source:^[12]

She was married to actor and writer Tom Troupe from 1964 until her death.^[4] Lucille Ball was her matron of honor.^[4]

Cook died from heart failure in Beverly Hills, California, on January 11, 2023, at the age of 98, three days before her 99th birthday.^[4]

Controversy

On September 9, 2018, a reporter from TMZ approached Cook to ask her opinion about an actor who grabbed a Trump 2020 sign from someone who had held it up in the audience during a performance of the musical Frozen. She replied "Where's John Wilkes Booth when you need him?" Someone off camera questioned "So we need to kill President Trump?", to which she replied "Why not?"^[13] Cook's comment received widespread attention and criticism.^[14][15]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1963	Palm Springs Weekend	Naomi Yates	[5]
1964	The Incredible Mr. Limpet	Bessie Limpet	[5]
1977	The Gauntlet	Waitress	[5]
1980	American Gigolo	Mrs. Dobrun	[5]
1982	Summer Lovers	Barbara Foster	[5]
1984	Sixteen Candles	Helen	[5]
	Grandview, U.S.A.	Betty Welles	[5]
1996	Fast Money	Ester	[5]
1999	Lost & Found	Sylvia	[5]
2004	Home on the Range	Pearl Gesner	Voice[5]
2017	A Very Sordid Wedding	Hortense	[16]
2018	Waiting in the Wings: Still Waiting	Erika Ericson	[17]

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1959–1960	U.S. Marshal	Mrs. Parker / Nurse	2 episodes[6][18]
1963	The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis	Fifi LaVerne / Molly O'Day
1963–1968	The Lucy Show	Thelma Green / Woman in Station (uncredited) / Hotel Guest / Mrs. Valance / Lady at the Health Club / Mrs. Baldwin / Lady Cynthia (voice) / Carrie / Effie Higgins / Piano Bar Patron (uncredited) / Gladys	18 episodes[19]
1964	The New Phil Silvers Show	Gertrude / Mrs. Kerrigan	2 episodes[20]
	Kentucky Jones	Dodie Wipple	Episode: "The Dread Disease"[21]
1966	Vacation Playhouse	Nurse	Episode: "The Hoofer"[19]
	Daniel Boone	Annie Boyd	Episode: "The Symbol"[19]
1969	My World and Welcome to It	Aunt Kate	Episode: "The Disenchanted"[18]
	That Girl	Dorothy Desmond	Episode: "My Part Belongs to Daddy"[18]
1969–1974	Here's Lucy	Second Woman / Mrs. Sheila Casten / Lillian Rylander / Ma Parker / Cynthia Duncan	5 episodes[19]
1971	Sarge	Cass	Episode: "Identity Crisis"[22]
1972–1974	McMillan & Wife	Marnie / Carole Crenshaw	4 episodes[23][24]
1973	Lady Luck	Fran	Television film[25]
1974	Maude	Marta	Episode: "Walter's Ex"[19]
1975	Baretta	Mrs. Marriott	Episode: "Woman in the Harbor"[19]
1975–1976	Chico and the Man	Flora	3 episodes[19]
1976	Ellery Queen	Gossip Columnist	Episode: "The Adventure of the Sinister Scenario"[26]
	Emergency!	Nurse	Episode: "The Nuisance"[19]
	Bronk	Beatrice	Episode: "The Vigilante"[19]
1976–1977	Charlie's Angels	Madam Dorian / Hildy Slater	2 episodes[19]
1977	Starsky & Hutch	Scorchy	Episode: "Huggy Bear and the Turkey"[19]
	In the Glitter Palace	Daisy Dolon	Television film[19]
	Kojak	Marie Stella	4 episodes[19]
1979	Rendezvous Hotel	Lucille Greenwood	Television film[25][6]
1980	Make Me an Offer	Pru Babcock
1981	Darkroom	Sally Anne	Episode: "The Partnership"[27]
1982	Laverne & Shirley	Mrs. Harmon	Episode: "I Do, I Don't"[19]
	Strike Force	Mitzi	Episode: "The John Killer"[28]
	Trapper John, M.D.	Natasha	Episode: "The Object of My Affliction"[19]
	Knight Rider	Sen. Maggie Flynn	Episode: "Just My Bill"[19]
	Something So Right	Cahuenga	Television film[19]
	Hart to Hart	Christine Garrick	Episode: "One Hart Too Many"[19]
	CBS Children's Mystery Theatre	Florence Dumont	Episode: "The Zertigo Diamond Caper"[29]
1983	The Love Boat	Phyllis Faraday	Episode: "Paroled to Love / First Impressions / Love Finds Florence Nightingale"[19]
	Quincy, M.E.	Winslow	2 episodes[19]
	Now We're Cookin'	Marge	Television film[30]
1983–1984	Capitol	Sugar Laine	[31]
1985, 1988	Murder, She Wrote	Christine Carpenter / Shayna Grant	2 episodes[19]
1986	The A-Team	Mrs. Prescott	Episode: "Members Only"[19]
	Magnum, P.I.	Sarah Tate	Episode: "All Thieves on Deck"[19]
1986–1988	Cagney & Lacey	Donna LaMarr	5 episodes[6]
1986–1987	Dynasty	Cora Van Husen	4 episodes[32]
1987	Carly's Web	Myrtle	Television film[33]
1990	A Family for Joe	Medium	Episode: "The Medium"[28]
1993	Gloria Vane	Mona Lewis	Television film[34]
2000	Strip Mall	Doreen Krudup	Episode: "Burbank Bigfoot"[35]
2006	Grey's Anatomy	Sophie Larson	Episode: "Tell Me Sweet Little Lies"[19]
2014	Major Crimes	Marcella Brewster	Episode: "Frozen Assets"[36]
2015, 2018	Break a Hip	Pearl Goodfish	3 episodes[37]

Betty Garrett, Carole Cook and Michael Lee Stever in Arsenic and Old Lace

Theatre

Year	Play	Role	Venue	Ref.
1956	The Threepenny Opera	Mrs. Peacham	Off-Broadway, New York City	[10]
1960	Kismet	The Melody Tent, Pittsburgh	[7]
1961	Parade	Performer	Hollywood Theatre Center, Los Angeles, CA
1961	The Matchmaker	Dolly Levi	Dallas Theatre Center, Dallas, Texas and Tour of Texas
1965–1966	Hello, Dolly!	Dolly Levi	Her Majesty's Theatre, Sydney; Her Majesty's Theatre, Melbourne; His Majesty's Theatre, Auckland	[9]
1964	Stop the World – I Want to Get Off	Evie		[38]
1974, 1978	Father's Day	Louise	Huntington Hartford Theatre, Los Angeles (1974); Total Theatre, Melbourne; Mayfair Theatre, Sydney	[39][40]
1979–1980	Romantic Comedy	Blanche Dailey	Broadway, New York	[8]
1980–1984	42nd Street	Maggie Jones	Broadway; US Tour (1984), Tokyo, Japan
1981	Patio/Porch	Pearl	Dallas, Texas with Tom Troupe
1982	The Supporting Cast		Huntington Hartford Theatre, Los Angeles, Summer Tour Also with Barbara Rush and Sandy Dennis	[41]
1988–1989	Steel Magnolias	Ouiser Boudreaux	Pasadena Playhouse, Pasadena; John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington, D.C. National Tour With Barbara Rush, June Lockhart, and Marion Ross	[42][43]
1992; 2007	Dress Up	Herself	Pasadena Playhouse, Pasadena (1992); New Conservatory Theatre Center, San Francisco (2007)	[44][45]
1994	The Lion in Winter	Eleanor	Pasadena Playhouse, Pasadena	[46]
1995	Ladies in Retirement	Leonora Fiske	Coconut Grove Playhouse, Miami	[47]
1996	Radio Gals	Hazel C. Hunt	John Houseman Theatre, New York	[48]
1998	Arsenic and Old Lace	Aunt Martha	Oklahoma City, Oklahoma with Betty Garrett
2002	Follies	Hattie Walker	Wadsworth Theatre, Los Angeles	[49]
2006	70, Girls, 70	Gert Appleby	New York City Center, New York	[7]