Olga Cook

Olga Cook
A young white woman wearing a long light dress, sitting at a window
Olga Cook, from a 1918 publicity photo
Born
New York, New York, U.S.
DiedDecember 15, 1991
Other namesOlga Cook Line
Occupation(s)Actress, singer, vaudeville performer

Olga Cook Line (born about 1895,[1] died December 15, 1991)[2] was an American actress, singer, and vaudeville performer in the 1920s.

Early life and education

Cook was from New York City,[3] the daughter of policeman and athlete Edward Cook and Margaret A. Martin Cook.[4][5] She graduated from Washington Irving High School,[6] and studied singing in New York with Francis Stuart.[5]

Career

Cook began her stage career as a vaudeville performer.[7] She appeared in Broadway musicals, in The Passing Show of 1919,[8] The Midnight Rounders of 1921, Blossom Time (1921–1923),[9][10] and The Passing Show of 1924. She also sang on radio broadcasts,[11] and played herself in one short silent film, Starland Review No. 4 (1922). She was considered a stage beauty,[3] and her diet and style choices were reported in detail.[12][13]

Cook returned to vaudeville in 1923,[14][15] and starred in Gus Edwards' Sunbonnet Sue revue.[16] "Olga Cook is the queen bee of vaudeville singers," noted Washington Daily News in 1923. "No perching and twittering; no fussing and fooling. She strides to the stage, opens her mouth, and beautiful sounds come out. She is a thoro, banging hit, and deservedly."[17] She appeared in The Student Prince in Chicago in 1925,[5] and announced that she was taking "a well-earned rest" from the stage in 1926.[18]

Cook's rest was short-lived. In 1927, she and pianist Eric Zardo toured together, and performed at a midnight benefit in New York City for Mississippi flood victims.[19] In 1928, she starred as Barbara Fritchie in an operetta called My Maryland, when it was produced in Philadelphia, New York, and Hartford.[20][21] In 1934, she sang at a Daughters of the American Revolution memorial service at a battlefield on Mackinac Island.[22]

.Personal life

In December 1925,[23][24] Cook married G. Keith Line, a "millionaire sportsman" who owned horse stables and riding academies in Illinois, Michigan and Florida.[25][26][27] The Lines lived in Chicago in 1930 and 1940.[28][29] She died in 1991.[2]

References

  1. ^ "Olga Cook Wins in Vaudeville". Hudson Columbia Republican. March 27, 1914. p. 8 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
  2. ^ a b Benjamin, Ruth; Rosenblatt, Arthur (2006). Who Sang What on Broadway, 1866-1996. McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers. p. 162. ISBN 978-0-7864-1506-9.
  3. ^ a b "Loves the Gowns of 100 Years Ago; Any Girl Would be Pretty in Them, Says Beautiful Olga Cook". The Boston Globe. 1921-04-17. p. 56. Retrieved 2025-07-23 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Olga Cook to Wed". New York Star. 34 (22): 13. August 7, 1925.
  5. ^ a b c "Francis Stuart Pupil Wins Success". Musical Courier. 90 (11): 31. 1925-03-12 – via Internet Archive.
  6. ^ "Must Train for High C's". The Pittsburgh Post. 1924-03-01. p. 9. Retrieved 2025-07-23 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "With the First Nighters" Goodwin's Weekly (April 26, 1916): 12.
  8. ^ Mantle, Burns (1920). The Best Plays of 1919-1920: And the Year Book of the Drama in America. Small, Maynard. p. 377.
  9. ^ Dietz, Dan (2019-04-10). The Complete Book of 1920s Broadway Musicals. Bloomsbury Publishing PLC. pp. 78–81. ISBN 978-1-5381-1282-3.
  10. ^ "Broadway Musical Comedy Shows Represented Among Recent Edison 'Hits'". Along Broadway: The Edison Musical Magazine. 12 (4): 6–7. January 1922.
  11. ^ "Olga Cook Says: 'Studio Attendants are Models; Their Expressions Give You a Key to the Radio Audience" The Wireless Age (July 1922): 31.
  12. ^ "Beauty Secrets of Beauties; Relax and Get Plenty of Fresh Air says Olga Cook". The Saginaw News. 1922-01-27. p. 5. Retrieved 2025-07-23 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Winsome Olga Behind on Fads". Boston Post. 1921-04-25. p. 4. Retrieved 2025-07-23 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "Orpheum Route for Olga Cook". New York Clipper. 71 (12): 8. 1923-04-25 – via Internet Archive.
  15. ^ "Olga Cook to Head New Bill at Proctor's". Mount Vernon Argus. 1923-12-15. p. 11. Retrieved 2025-07-23 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ "Newsy Briefs of the Theatre and Screens". The Patriot-News. 1923-09-22. p. 20. Retrieved 2025-07-23 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ^ "'Yar-r-Mar-r-k' Keith's Topper; Russian Dancing and Olga Cook Share Honors". The Washington Daily News. 1923-07-24. p. 7. Retrieved 2025-07-23 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ^ "Olga Crook Leaves 'Student Prince'". The Billboard: 31. March 13, 1926.
  19. ^ "Six Midnight Shows to Aid Flood Relief; Performances Are to Be Given Tonight in Vaudeville Houses of Greater City". The New York Times. 1927-06-18. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-07-23.
  20. ^ "Theater Reviews of Current Offerings". New Britain Herald. 1928-02-14. p. 13. Retrieved 2025-07-23 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. ^ "Brief news item". Daily News. 1928-02-03. p. 159. Retrieved 2025-07-23 – via Newspapers.com.
  22. ^ Perry, Henry A. (Summer–Autumn 1934). "Mackinac Island's Historic Fair and Ter-centennial". Michigan History Magazine. 18: 300 – via Internet Archive.
  23. ^ "'Student Prince' Prima Donna, Weds in Chicago". The Jersey Journal. 1925-12-16. p. 16. Retrieved 2025-07-23 – via Newspapers.com.
  24. ^ "Line-Cook". The Billboard. 37 (52): 91. 1925-12-26 – via Internet Archive.
  25. ^ "Olga to Wed". Daily News. 1925-08-30. p. 22. Retrieved 2025-07-23 – via Newspapers.com.
  26. ^ "Olga Cook to Sing in 'Student Prince'". Daily News. 1926-01-21. p. 138. Retrieved 2025-07-23 – via Newspapers.com.
  27. ^ "Brief news item". The Miami News. 1926-01-29. p. 19. Retrieved 2025-07-23.
  28. ^ 1940 United States census, via Ancestry.
  29. ^ "Brief society news item". Battle Creek Enquirer. 1933-09-16. p. 5. Retrieved 2025-07-23 – via Newspapers.com.
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