Elisha Cook
| Elisha Cook Jr. | |
|---|---|
Cook in 1944
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| Born |
Elisha Vanslyck Cook Jr. December 26, 1903 San Francisco, California, U.S. |
| Died | May 18, 1995 (aged 91) Big Pine, California, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Stroke |
| Residence | Big Pine, California, U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | St. Alban's College |
| Alma mater | Chicago Academy of Dramatic Arts |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1926–1988 |
| Home town | Chicago, Illinois |
| Spouse(s) |
Mary Lou Cook (m. 1929–42) Peggy McKenna (m. 1943–95) |
Elisha Vanslyck Cook Jr. (December 26, 1903 – May 18, 1995) was an American character actor, probably best remembered as the "gunsel" Wilmer, who tries to intimidate Sam Spade (Humphrey Bogart) in The Maltese Falcon. His acting career spanned more than 60 years, with roles in films such as The Big Sleep, Shane, The Killing, House on Haunted Hill, and Rosemary's Baby.
Cook was born in San Francisco, California, the son of Elisha Vanslyck Cook Sr., a pharmacist, and grew up in Chicago.
He started in vaudeville and by the age of fourteen. He was a traveling actor in the East Coast and the Midwest before arriving in New York City, where Eugene O'Neill cast him in his play Ah, Wilderness!, which ran on Broadway for two years. Cook enlisted in the United States Army on August 15, 1942. According to his enlistment record he stood 5 foot 5 inches and weighed 123 pounds.
In 1930, Cook settled in Hollywood. After several small and/or uncredited roles, he began a long period playing weaklings or sadistic losers and hoods. Cook's characters usually were killed off (strangled, poisoned or shot). Hollywood's most notable fall guy for many years, he made a rare appearance in slapstick comedy in the cameo role of The Screenwriter in Hellzapoppin' (1941). In Universal's Phantom Lady (1944), he portrays a slimy, intoxicated nightclub-orchestra drummer to memorable effect. He had a substantial uncredited role as Bobo in I, the Jury (1953).
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