Tommy Cook (born July 5, 1930) is an American producer, screenwriter and actor. He came up with the story for the 1977 American

disaster A disaster is a serious problem occurring over a short or long period of time that causes widespread human, material, economic or environmental loss which exceeds the ability of the affected community or society to cope using its own resources ...

suspense film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre ...

Rollercoaster A roller coaster, or rollercoaster, is a type of amusement ride that employs a form of elevated railroad track designed with tight turns, steep slopes, and sometimes inversions. Passengers ride along the track in open cars, and the rides are o ...

'', starring

George Segal George Segal Jr. (February 13, 1934 – March 23, 2021) was an American actor. He became popular in the 1960s and 1970s for playing both dramatic and comedic roles. After first rising to prominence with roles in acclaimed films such as ''Ship o ...

. Cook also voiced Augie Anderson and Biff on

Hanna-Barbera Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. ( ) was an American animation studio and production company which was active from 1957 to 2001. It was founded on July 7, 1957, by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera following the decision of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to c ...

's animated series ''

The Funky Phantom ''The Funky Phantom'' is an animated television series, produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions, in association with Australian production company Air Programs International for the American Broadcasting Company (ABC). The show was a clone of Hanna- ...

'' and ''

Jabberjaw ''Jabberjaw'' is an American animated television series created by Joe Ruby and Ken Spears and produced by Hanna-Barbera which aired 16 original episodes on ABC from September 11 to December 18, 1976. Reruns continued on ABC until September 3 ...

''.

Film

Cook played a villainous tribesboy opposite

Johnny Weissmuller Johnny Weissmuller (born Johann Peter Weißmüller; June 2, 1904 – January 20, 1984) was an American Olympic swimmer, water polo player and actor. He was known for having one of the best competitive swimming records of the 20th century. H ...

in '' Tarzan and the Leopard Woman'', a "nice native lad" in ''

Jungle Girl A jungle girl (so-called, but usually adult woman) is an archetype or stock character, often used in popular fiction, of a female adventurer, superhero or even a damsel in distress living in a jungle or rainforest setting. An alternate depiction i ...

'' (a serial), and Little Beaver in the serial version of ''

Adventures of Red Ryder ''The Adventures of Red Ryder'' is a 1940 12-chapter Republic movie serial directed by William Witney and John English and starring Don "Red" Barry and Noah Beery, Sr., based on the Western comic strip '' Red Ryder''. This serial is t ...

''. He would later help write and produce ''

'', as well as '' Players'', starring

Ali MacGraw Elizabeth Alice MacGraw (born April 1, 1939) is an American actress and activist. She gained attention with her role in the film ''Goodbye, Columbus'' (1969), for which she won the Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Newcomer. She gained an ...

Radio and television

Cook started his career on radio. He played Little Beaver on the radio series ''

Red Ryder Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a seconda ...

''. He also played Alexander on '' Blondie'' and Junior on ''

The Life of Riley ''The Life of Riley'' is an American radio situation comedy series of the 1940s that was adapted into a 1949 feature film, a 1950s television series, and a 1958 comic book. Radio The radio program initially aired on the Blue Network (later kn ...

''. On television, Cook appeared in a 1961 episode of ''

The Tab Hunter Show ''The Tab Hunter Show'' is an American situation comedy starring Tab Hunter which centers around a young comic-strip artist and his romantic adventures. Original episodes aired on NBC from September 18, 1960, until April 30, 1961.McNeil, Alex, ''T ...

''. He had

voice-over Voice-over (also known as off-camera or off-stage commentary) is a production technique where a voice—that is not part of the narrative (non-Diegetic#Film sound and music, diegetic)—is used in a radio, television production, filmmaking, th ...

roles on animated series such as

Kid Flash Kid Flash is the name of several fictional superheroes appearing in comic books published by DC Comics, originally created by John Broome and Carmine Infantino Carmine Michael Infantino (; May 24, 1925 – April 4, 2013) was an American comics ...

on ''

The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure ''The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure'' is a Saturday morning Filmation animated series that aired on CBS from 1967 to 1968. Premiering on September 9, 1967, this 60-minute program included a series of six-minute adventures featuring various DC ...

'', Augie on ''

'' and Biff on ''

''. Cook returned to acting in 2017, making guest appearances on '' Better Things'' and ''

Space Force A space force is a military branch of a nation's armed forces that conducts military operations in outer space and space warfare. The world's first space force was the Russian Space Forces, established in 1992 as an independent military service. ...

''.

Military service

In the 1950s, Cook was a corporal in the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

Filmography

Film

Television

Radio

*''

'' *'' Blondie'' *''

'' *''

Lux Radio Theatre ''Lux Radio Theatre'', sometimes spelled ''Lux Radio Theater'', a classic radio anthology series, was broadcast on the NBC Blue Network (1934–35) (owned by the National Broadcasting Company, later predecessor of American Broadcasting Company ...

'' *''

The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet ''The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet'' is an American television sitcom that aired on ABC from October 3, 1952, to April 23, 1966, and starred the real-life Nelson family. After a long run on radio, the show was brought to television, where it ...

'' *''

Arch Oboler's Plays ''Arch Oboler's Plays'' is a radio anthology series written, produced and directed by Arch Oboler. Minus a sponsor, it ran for one year, airing Saturday evenings on NBC from March 25, 1939, to March 23, 1940, and revived five years later on Mutual ...

'' *''

Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar ''Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar'' is a radio drama that aired on CBS Radio from February 18, 1949 to September 30, 1962. The first several seasons imagined protagonist Johnny Dollar as a private investigator drama, with Charles Russell, Edmond O'B ...

References

Bibliography

*Holmstrom, John. ''The Moving Picture Boy: An International Encyclopaedia from 1895 to 1995'', Norwich, Michael Russell, 1996, p. 169. .

External links

*
Tommy Cook
at Voice Chasers
1991 Audio Interview with Tommy Cook on Speaking of Radio.com
1930 births Living people American male radio actors American male voice actors American male film actors American male child actors Male actors from Duluth, Minnesota American male screenwriters Screenwriters from Minnesota Film producers from Minnesota {{US-film-actor-1930s-stub