# John J. Cooke

John J. Cooke (born John Joseph Cooke; 1874 – 1921) was an American stage performer and a silent film actor. Cooke was born on October 1, 1874, in Manhattan, New York. He was 47 when he died in Los Angeles, California on October 2, 1921. Between 1914 and 1921, Cooke acted in over 30 films.

## Early years

John Joseph Cooke was born in New York on October 1, 1874. When John was born, his father, Bartholomew Joseph Cooke, was 35 and his mother, Mary Josephine, was 31. He was the fifth child born and the only male of this burgeoning family. At the time of his birth, the Irish family was settled in New York's Lower East Side of Manhattan.

## Death

John Joseph "Johnnie" Cooke celebrated his 47th birthday on Saturday, October 1, 1921. On Sunday, October 2, 1921, Cooke died in Los Angeles, California at 8:30 AM. At the time of his death, Cooke was residing with his 78 year-old mother, Mary, and 42 year-old younger sister, Catherine. Cooke chose to be buried at the Calvary Cemetery, located in Los Angeles, California.
A simple obituary appeared in the Friday edition of The Tidings published on October 7, 1921. The obituary read:
   The funeral of Johnnie Cooke, a well-known film actor, was held at Our Lady of Loretto Church, Tuesday morning (Tues, October 4, 1921) . . . The pallbearers, coworkers (Universal) of the deceased, were Wilfred Lucas, Bobbie Mack, James O'Neill, George W Kitchen, George O'Donnell, and Dick Cummings.
John was preceded in death by his 62 year-old father Bartholomew J Cooke on October 14, 1901, his second oldest sister Margaret Maud Cooke on December 28, 1907, at age 39, and his fourth oldest sister Genevieve Cooke on February 9, 1919, who was 46. Cooke is survived by his mother Mary J. Cooke and sisters – Miss Catherine Cooke, Mrs. Mary Ellen Young, Mrs. Lillian Gonzalez, and Mrs. Theresa Haskins.

## Filmography

John J. Cooke's filmography showcases his acting career, which began at the comparatively mature age of 38. Like numerous actors transitioning from the stage, he initially ventured into the world of motion pictures as an atmosphere player. He is believed to have first appeared in films around 1912–1913. However, those early uncredited roles remain unknown and are thus not included in his filmography.
◆   Filmography of John J. Cooke (37 films)   ◆ :
| Year | Title | Role | Credit | Director | Production | Distribution | Released | Genre | Length | Notes |
| 1914 | The Desert's Sting | Professor Edwards | John Cook | Lucas | Kriterion | Kriterion | 1914-02-28 | Western | Short | |
| 1914 | The Feud | Unknown | Johnnie Cooke | Unknown | Universal | Universal | 1914-05-29 | Drama | Short | |
| 1914 | Bess the Detectress in Tick, Tick, Tick! | Cedric | Johnnie Cooke | Curtis | Universal | Universal | 1914-07-01 | Comedy | Short | |
| 1915 | The Kingdom of Nosey Land | The Dwarf | Johnnie Cooke | Mattews | Universal | Universal | 1915-11-09 | Fantasy | Short | 4379 |
| 1916 | The Bold, Bad Burglar | Second Story Steve | Johnnie Cooke | Mattews | Universal | Universal | 1916-03-14 | Comedy | Short | 778 |
| 1916 | The Three Brave Hunters | Unknown | Johnnie Cooke | Mattews | Universal | Universal | 1916-07-13 | Comedy | Short | 8099 |
| 1916 | The Shine Girl | John Kenyon | John Cook | Parke | Thanhouser | Thanhouser | 1916-08-27 | Drama | Feature | |
| 1916 | Gloriana | The Father | Johnnie Cooke | Hopper | Universal | Universal | 1916-11-06 | Drama | Feature | 2987 |
| 1916 | The Right to Be Happy | Bob Cratchit | Johnnie Cooke | Julian | Universal | Universal | 1916-12-25 | Drama | Feature | 6715 |
| 1917 | Love in Suspense | Porter | Johnnie Cooke | Beaudine | Universal | Universal | 1917-01-06 | Comedy | Short | 4844 |
| 1917 | Out for the Dough | James Cartottle | Johnnie Cooke | Beaudine | Universal | Universal | 1917-02-10 | Comedy | Short | 5924 |
| 1917 | Wanta Make a Dollar? | Cripple | Johnnie Cooke | Beaudine | Universal | Universal | 1917-03-10 | Comedy | Short | 8757 |
| 1917 | Art-Aches | The Butler | Johnnie Cooke | Beaudine | Universal | Universal | 1917-03-17 | Comedy | Short | 243 |
| 1917 | The Leak | The Justice | Johnnie Cooke | Beaudine | Universal | Universal | 1917-04-28 | Comedy | Short | 4516 |
| 1917 | Like Wildfire | Phillip Potter | Johnnie Cooke | Paton | Universal | Universal | 1917-05-21 | Comedy | Feature | 4608 |
| 1917 | The Gray Ghost | John Reis | Johnnie Cooke | Paton | Universal | Universal | 1917-06-25 | Serial | Feature | 3081 |
| 1917 | The Battling Bellboy | Mr. Pugilist | Johnnie Cooke | Beaudine | Universal | Universal | 1917-08-02 | Comedy | Short | 450 |
| 1917 | The Wart on the Wire | Pete the Unfortunate | Johnnie Cooke | Curtis | Universal | Universal | 1917-10-08 | Comedy | Short | 8781 |
| 1918 | Thieves' Gold | Uncle Larkin | Johnnie Cooke | Ford | Universal | Universal | 1918-03-18 | Western | Feature | 8061 |
| 1918 | The Widow Dangerous | Unknown | John Cook | Watt | Vitagraph | General Film | 1918-08-24 | Western | Short | |
| 1918 | The Romance of Tarzan | Unknown | John Cook | Lucas | National | Pioneer | 1918-09-16 | Action | Feature | |
| 1919 | Hoop-La | Old Toddles(Clown) | John Cooke | Chaudet | Mutual | General | 1919-01-16 | Comedy | Feature | |
| 1919 | The Little White Savage | Sailor | Johnnie Cooke | Powell | Universal | Universal | 1919-02-24 | Drama | Feature | 4696 |
| 1919 | What Am I Bid? | John Yarnell | Johnnie Cooke | Leonard | Universal | Universal | 1919-04-14 | Drama | Feature | 8863 |
| 1919 | The Blinding Trail | Bill Cairnes | Johnnie Cooke | Powell | Universal | Universal | 1919-05-19 | Drama | Feature | 732 |
| 1919 | The Weaker Vessel | J.B.Hanks | Johnnie Cooke | Powell | Universal | Universal | 1919-06-30 | Comedy | Feature | 8820 |
| 1919 | The Man in the Moonlight | Sancho Jones | Johnnie Cooke | Powell | Universal | Universal | 1919-07-28 | Drama | Feature | |
| 1919 | The Girl from Nowhere | Dr. Ferguson | J.C. Cook | Lucas | National | Pioneer | 1919-09-01 | Western | Feature | |
| 1919 | Common Property | Stepan | Johnnie Cooke | Powell | Universal | Universal | 1919-10-18 | Drama | Feature | 1451 |
| 1919 | A Gun Fightin' Gentleman | Old Sheriff | Johnnie Cooke | Ford | Universal | Universal | 1919-12-15 | Western | Feature | 3161 |
| 1919 | The Pointing Finger | William Saxton | Johnnie Cooke | Morrissey | Universal | Universal | 1919-12-24 | Comedy | Feature | 6270 |
| 1920 | The Prince of Avenue A | Butler | Johnnie Cooke | Ford | Universal | Universal | 1920-02-23 | Drama | Feature | 6363 |
| 1920 | Alias Miss Dodd | Thomas Dodd | Johnnie Cooke | Franklin | Universal | Universal | 1920-06-21 | Comedy | Feature | 1009 |
| 1920 | Just Pals | Constable | John B. Cooke | Ford | Fox | Fox | 1920-10-21 | Drama | Feature | |
| 1920 | Eyes of the Heart | John Dunn | J.C. Cook | Powell | Realart | Realart | 1920-10-31 | Drama | Feature | |
| 1921 | Bare Knuckles | Old Soaky | John Cook | Hogan | Fox | Fox | 1921-03-20 | Drama | Feature | |
| 1921 | Jackie | Winter | John Cook | Ford | Fox | Fox | 1921-11-27 | Drama | Feature | |
| The notes section contains three and four-digit numbers that serve as references to locate Silent movie data within Richard Braff's book - The Universal Silents. |||||||||||