Lawrence Cook (May 7, 1930 – December 27, 2003) was an American actor. Cook starred in '' The Spook Who Sat by the Door'' (1973). In that film, which was based on the 1969 novel of the same name by

Sam Greenlee Samuel Eldred Greenlee, Jr. (July 13, 1930 – May 19, 2014) Margaret Busby"Sam Greenlee obituary" ''The Guardian'', June 2, 2014. was an American writer of fiction and poetry. He is best known for his novel '' The Spook Who Sat by the Door'', fir ...

, Cook portrayed Dan Freeman, a secret

black nationalist Black nationalism is a type of racial nationalism or pan-nationalism which espouses the belief that black people are a race (human categorization), race, and which seeks to develop and maintain a black racial and national identity. Black natio ...

who is trained by the

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian intelligence agency, foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gat ...

and later trains and leads black freedom fighters in an uprising against the U.S. government. Before ''The Spook Who Sat by the Door'', Cook appeared in films such as ''

Cotton Comes to Harlem ''Cotton Comes to Harlem'' is a 1970 American neo-noir action comedy thriller film co-written and directed by Ossie Davis and starring Godfrey Cambridge, Raymond St. Jacques, and Redd Foxx. The film, later cited as an early example of the ...

'' (1970) and '' Trouble Man'' (1972). After ''Spook'', he appeared in ''

Colors Color (American English) or colour (British English) is the visual perceptual property deriving from the spectrum of light interacting with the photoreceptor cells of the eyes. Color categories and physical specifications of color are associa ...

'' (1988) and ''

Posse Posse is a shortened form of posse comitatus, a group of people summoned to assist law enforcement. The term is also used colloquially to mean a group of friends or associates. Posse may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Posse'' (1975 ...

'' (1993), as well as in television series including ''

Family Matters ''Family Matters'' is an American television sitcom that debuted on ABC on September 22, 1989, and ended on May 9, 1997. However it moved to CBS, where it was shown from September 19, 1997, to July 17, 1998. A spin-off of '' Perfect Strangers ...

'', ''

The Mod Squad ''The Mod Squad'' is an American crime drama series, originally broadcast for five seasons on ABC from September 24, 1968, to March 1, 1973. It starred Michael Cole as Peter "Pete" Cochran, Peggy Lipton as Julie Barnes, Clarence Williams III as ...

'', ''

Columbo ''Columbo'' () is an American crime drama television series starring Peter Falk as Lieutenant Columbo, a homicide detective with the Los Angeles Police Department. After two pilot episodes in 1968 and 1971, the show originally aired on NBC f ...

'' and ''

McMillan & Wife ''McMillan & Wife'' (known simply as ''McMillan'' from 1976–77) is an American police procedural television series that aired on NBC from September 17, 1971, to April 24, 1977. Starring Rock Hudson and Susan Saint James in the title roles, the ...

''. He also appeared as Paul Grant on the daytime soap opera ''

Days Of Our Lives ''Days of Our Lives'' (also stylized as ''Days of our Lives''; simply referred to as ''Days'' or ''DOOL'') is an American television soap opera that streams on the streaming service Peacock. The soap, which aired on the American television net ...

'' from 1975 to 1976. Cook died in 2003 in

Marina del Rey, California Marina del Rey (Spanish for "Marina of the King") is an unincorporated seaside community in Los Angeles County, California, with an eponymous harbor that is a major boating and water recreation destination of the greater Los Angeles area. The p ...

. He was buried in

Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park & Mortuary is a cemetery and mortuary located in the Westwood Village area of Los Angeles. It is located at 1218 Glendon Avenue in Westwood, with an entrance from Glendon Avenue. The cemetery was ...

.Findagrave.com
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Filmography

References

External links

* 1930 births 2003 deaths 20th-century African-American people 20th-century American male actors 21st-century African-American people African-American male actors American male film actors American male television actors Burials at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery Male actors from New York City {{US-screen-actor-1930s-stub