Carole Cook, ‘Sixteen Candles’ and ‘Lucy Show’ Actress, Dead at 98

Carole Cook, a veteran stage and screen actor who was a protégé of Lucille Ball and known for her roles in Sixteen Candles and The Lucy Show, has died. Cook died “peacefully” of heart failure in Beverly Hills, California on Wednesday, Jan. 11, her husband Tom Troupe and agent Robert Malcolm confirmed to multiple outlets, including Deadline and CNN. Cook would have turned 99 on Saturday, Jan. 14.

Born Mildred Frances Cook in Abilene, Texas in January 1924, she worked in regional theater following her graduation in 1945 from Baylor University before making her Broadway debut as Charlotte Rae’s replacement as Mrs. Peachum in 1954’s Threepenny Opera. Per The Hollywood Reporter, it was as Cook was appearing in Kismet in Warren, Ohio that she received a call from Ball, whom she would later credit for giving her career its big break. Having read a review of her performance in Annie Get Your Gun, Ball asked Cook to travel to California to audition for her Desilu Workshop company of young actors. She signed with Desilu, with Ball eventually suggesting the name spelling of Carole in honor of movie star Carole Lombard. In the years that followed, Cook and Ball worked closely with Cook appearing on The Lucy Show from 1963 to 1968 as well as spinoff Here’s Lucy from 1969 to 1974. They remained close friends through Ball’s death in 1989.

Cook’s decades-long career included a number of other notable roles, including her role of Maggie Jones in the Tony Award-winning musical 42nd Street, as well as Blanche Dailey in Broadway’s Romantic Comedy. She also notably starred as Grandma Helen in the 1984 John Hughes rom-com Sixteen Candles, in addition to roles in movies such as The Incredible Mr. Limpet, American Gigolo, and Home on the Range, the animated Disney film for which Cook provided the voice of Pearl.

In addition to her work in film, Cook also had an impact on the small screen. She guest starred 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.

Cook’s credits also include 70 Girls 70, Call Me Madam, Follies, Dear World, Annie Get Your Gun, and Steel Magnolias, among many others. Cook is survived by her husband Tom, stepson Christopher Troupe and his wife Becky, sister Regina Cocanougher, and several nieces and nephews.