Volume III: Biographies

COOKE, Thomas Coffin *

Actor (1915)

Thanhouser Career Synopsis: Thomas Coffin Cooke joined Thanhouser as an actor in 1915.

Biographical Notes: Thomas Coffin Cooke was born in Montgomery, Alabama in 1875 and spent his childhood in Louisville, Kentucky. His career in the entertainment field was varied, and at one time or another, over a long span of years, he was a stage actor, stage director, film director, and radio actor. Cooke made his first stage appearance in 1895, in Louisville, with the Wagenhals and Kemper production of Young Mrs. Winthrop, after which he was associated with the same producers for about 25 years, primarily as a manager and stage director but also as an actor. On September 21, 1906 he made his first appearance on Broadway, in A Midsummer Night's Dream, at the Astor Theatre. On Broadway, over a period of years, he was seen in Page Pygmalion, Peace on Earth, Stevedore, Crime and Punishment, All the Living, The Winter's Tale, and Hamlet. His last appearance on the legitimate stage was in Dame Nature in September 1938. On the radio in later years he was an actor in Easy Aces and The Goldbergs.

The New Rochelle Paragraph, May 7, 1915, told of his coming to Thanhouser : "New Director at Studio: In line with the policy of breaking in his own directors, Edwin Thanhouser has engaged Thomas Coffin Cooke, for 17 years a stage director for Wagenhals and Kemper. Mr. Cooke has never had any movie experience. At the present time Mr. Cooke is studying the methods of other directors. He will probably take his first picture next week."

A biographical note in The Moving Picture World, May 15, 1915, told of his acting experience: "Mr. Cooke has a record of 17 years as director for Messrs. Wagenhals and Kemper, during which time he produced with such famous stars as Helena Modjeska, Annie Russell, Blanche Walsh, Louis James, Katherine Kidder, and Frederick Warde. Among the more modern successes which he staged are Paid in Full, Seven Days, and The Greyhound. He served time, as they say, in stock; his record strings itself from coast to coast, and the list of players covers everything from farce comedy to Shakespeare. Mr. Cooke's 17 years with one concern is perhaps his highest recommendation, and until he came to Thanhouser he never was inside a motion picture studio."

Thomas Coffin Cooke joined Thanhouser in 1915. Little concerning his tenure with the studio ever found its way into print, and it is believed that he was in New Rochelle for just a short time. Thomas Coffin Cooke died of a heart attack at his home at 28-20 215th Street, Bayside, Queens, New York, on June 9, 1939. He was survived by his widow, Irene Oshier Cooke; a son, Harry; his mother, Mrs. Emma Cooke, of Louisville; and a sister, Mrs. Robert A. Watson, of Louisville.

Note: His middle name was spelled as "Coffen" in some notices.

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