David Kenneth Cook (21 September 1940 – 16 September 2015) was a British
author
An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states:
"''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...
,
screenwriter
A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based.
...
and
actor
An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...
. He is best known for the screen adaptation of his 1978 novel ''
Walter
Walter may refer to:
People
* Walter (name), both a surname and a given name
* Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–1968)
* Gunther (wrestler), Austrian professional wrestler and trainer Walter Hahn (born 19 ...
'', and was the first presenter of the UK TV programme ''
Rainbow''. He was born in
Preston, Lancashire
Preston () is a city on the north bank of the River Ribble in Lancashire, England. The city is the administrative centre of the county of Lancashire and the wider City of Preston local government district. Preston and its surrounding distri ...
.
He studied at the
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, London, from 1959 to 1961. His first role was in the 1962 film adaptation of ''
A Kind of Loving''. Thereafter, he worked on both stage and television. He began to write novels and also for television in the early 1970s.
He presented the first and second series of ''Rainbow'', the first episode of which aired in October 1972. He left the show to concentrate on his writing before the third series in 1973, and was replaced as presenter by
Geoffrey Hayes
Charles Geoffrey Hayes (13 March 1942 – 30 September 2018) was an English television presenter and actor. He presented Thames Television's children's show ''Rainbow'' from 1972 to 1992.
Early life and education
Hayes had various jobs such as ...
.
Cook went on to write ''Walter'', a novel about a young man with learning disabilities, that won the
Hawthornden Prize
The Hawthornden Prize is a British literary award that was established in 1919 by Alice Warrender, who was born at Hawthornden Castle. Authors under the age of 41 are awarded on the quality of their "imaginative literature", which can be written ...
in 1978. In 1982, the movie ''
Walter
Walter may refer to:
People
* Walter (name), both a surname and a given name
* Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–1968)
* Gunther (wrestler), Austrian professional wrestler and trainer Walter Hahn (born 19 ...
'' was broadcast on
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
's opening night. It starred
Ian McKellen
Sir Ian Murray McKellen (born 25 May 1939) is an English actor. His career spans seven decades, having performed in genres ranging from Shakespearean and modern theatre to popular fantasy and science fiction. Regarded as a British cultural i ...
and was directed by
Stephen Frears. Cook's follow-up novel, ''Winter Doves'', was also filmed with McKellen, and a 2009 radio play, ''Walter Now'', saw Walter become a pensioner. It also focused on reproductive rights for people with learning disabilities.
Cook continued to act, and provided several of the screenplays for the BBC TV series ''
Hetty Wainthropp Investigates'', a series based on his 1986 novel ''Missing Persons''.
In 1989, Cook was on the controversial judging panel of the (then) Whitbread Book Award, now known as the
Costa Book Awards.
He died on 16 September 2015, aged 74. He was survived by his long-term partner, novelist and playwright
John Bowen.
References
External links
David Cook on Thames TV- History*
* http://www.tv.com/david-cook-ii/person/198592/summary.html
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cook, David
1940 births
2015 deaths
Actors from Preston, Lancashire
Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
20th-century English novelists
English screenwriters
English male screenwriters
English male television actors
English male stage actors
English LGBT actors
20th-century English male actors
English gay actors
British gay writers
Male actors from Lancashire
English male novelists
20th-century English male writers
20th-century LGBT people
21st-century LGBT people
Writers from Preston, Lancashire