Barbara Cook facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Barbara Cook
|
|
|---|---|
Cook at the 2009 premiere of the Metropolitan Opera
|
|
| Born | October 25, 1927 Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
|
| Died | August 8, 2017 (aged 89) New York City, U.S.
|
| Occupation | Actress, singer |
| Years active | 1950–2017 |
| Spouse(s) |
David LeGrant
(m. 1952; div. 1965) |
| Children | 1 |
| Musical career | |
| Genres | Musical theatre, traditional pop |
| Labels | Urania (1958–1959) Columbia (1975–1977) Moss Music Group (1981–1988) DRG (1993–2017) |
Barbara Cook (October 25, 1927 – August 8, 2017) was a famous American actress and singer. She became well-known in the 1950s for her lead roles in Broadway musicals. These included Plain and Fancy (1955), Candide (1956), and The Music Man (1957). She even won a Tony Award for The Music Man.
Barbara Cook performed mostly in theatre until the mid-1970s. Then, she started a new career as a cabaret and concert singer. She also recorded many albums. People praised her amazing singing voice, especially her clear, strong lyric soprano voice. She was known for her wide vocal range and how she put emotion into her songs. Later in her life, her voice became deeper. Many people called her one of the best singers of musical theatre songs. She was especially good at singing songs by Stephen Sondheim. Even in her eighties, her gentle and thoughtful way of singing American popular songs earned her high praise. In 2011, she was honored at the Kennedy Center Honors.
Contents
Growing Up: Barbara Cook's Early Life
Barbara Cook was born in Atlanta, Georgia. Her mother, Nell, worked for Southern Bell, and her father, Charles, was a traveling hat salesman. Her parents divorced when she was young. After her only sister passed away, Barbara lived alone with her mother.
Barbara started singing at a young age. She sang at the Elks Club and even to her father over the phone. After high school, she worked as a typist for three years before starting her singing career.
Barbara Cook's Amazing Career Journey
Starting Out: Early Performances
In 1947, Barbara Cook was a featured performer at Atlanta's Southeastern Fair. In 1948, she visited Manhattan with her mother and decided to stay to become an actress. In 1949, she joined a touring vaudeville show called "A Toast To Rodgers and Hammerstein". This show performed in hotels in cities like New York and Chicago. She also began singing at other clubs and resorts. In 1950, she got a job at the Blue Angel club in Manhattan.
Barbara Cook made her first appearance on Broadway in 1951. She played Sandy in the musical Flahooley. Soon after, she played Ado Annie in a 1951 revival of Oklahoma! at the City Center. She then toured the country with this show.
In 1952, Cook appeared on TV for the first time in Armstrong Circle Theatre. In 1954, she was in the soap opera Golden Windows. She also starred as Jane Piper in a TV version of Babes in Toyland. That summer, she returned to City Center to play Carrie Pipperidge in Carousel. Cook said this role made critics really notice her.
In 1955, she received great reviews for her role as Hilda Miller in Plain and Fancy. Her strong voice helped her get the role of Cunegonde in Leonard Bernstein's 1956 operetta Candide. In this show, she sang the challenging song "Glitter and Be Gay."
Even though Candide was not a big hit, Cook's performance made her a leading lady on Broadway. In 1957, she appeared in another Carousel revival, this time as Julie Jordan. She won a Tony Award for creating the role of Marian the Librarian in The Music Man in 1957. Cook continued to appear on television in the late 1950s. She was in shows like Producers' Showcase, The Ed Sullivan Show, and Alfred Hitchcock Presents.
Cook starred in a popular 1960 revival of The King and I. In 1963, she created the role of Amalia Balash in the musical She Loves Me. Critics loved her performance. One reviewer wrote that her voice was "one of the finest vocal instruments" in musical theatre. The song "Vanilla Ice Cream" from She Loves Me became one of her most famous songs.
In the mid-1960s, Cook worked less often. She appeared in the 1964 show Something More!, which closed quickly. She also tried non-musical roles, like in the play Any Wednesday in 1965. Her last original Broadway musical role was in 1971 in The Grass Harp. In 1972, she acted in the play Enemies.
A New Path: Concert and Cabaret Singing
In the mid-1970s, Barbara Cook's career changed. She met and became friends with composer and pianist Wally Harper. Harper encouraged her to create a concert. On January 26, 1975, she performed her first solo concert at Carnegie Hall. It was a big success and led to a live album.
Cook and Harper worked together for many years until his death in 2004. They became a very successful concert team. They performed in famous clubs and music halls in New York City and around the world. In 1980, they returned to Carnegie Hall. A reviewer from The New York Times said she had grown from a "delightful singer to become a delightful entertainer." This performance was released as the CD It's Better With a Band.
In 1986, Cook was nominated for an Olivier Award for her one-woman show in London. In 1987, she won a Drama Desk Award for her Broadway show A Concert for the Theatre. Cook and Harper performed at the White House for several presidents. In 1994, they performed a concert series in London. A critic wrote that Barbara Cook was "the greatest singer in the world."
From the mid-1970s, Cook acted only sometimes. She appeared in concert versions of musicals. In 1985, she performed with the New York Philharmonic in a concert version of Stephen Sondheim's Follies. In 1988, she played Margaret White in the musical Carrie. In 1994, she voiced Thumbelina's mother in the animated film Thumbelina. That same year, she was added to the American Theatre Hall of Fame.
In November 1997, Cook celebrated her 70th birthday with a concert at Albert Hall in London. She sang with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. In 2000, she performed at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Arts Festival in Australia.
In 2001, Cook returned to Carnegie Hall for Barbara Cook Sings Mostly Sondheim. This concert was recorded live and was very popular. She performed it in London and at Lincoln Center in New York. She was nominated for two Olivier Awards and a Tony Award for the show. She also took the show on a tour across the United States.
In 2004, she performed "Barbara Cook's Broadway!" at Lincoln Center. She won the New York Drama Critics Circle Award for her work in musical theatre.
Later Years: Continuing to Shine
After Wally Harper passed away in 2004, Cook continued to perform with new musicians. Her shows, like Tribute (in honor of Harper) and No One Is Alone, still received great reviews. The New York Times wrote in 2005 that her voice was "remarkably unchanged" and "as rich and clear as ever."
In January 2006, Cook made history. She became the first female pop singer to perform at the Metropolitan Opera in over a hundred years. She sang Broadway tunes and jazz songs. Guest singers like Audra McDonald and Josh Groban joined her for some songs.
In 2007, Cook performed two sold-out concerts with the New York Philharmonic. A New York Times critic wrote that she sings with "a tenderness and honesty that could break your heart and mend it all at once." In 2008, she appeared in Strictly Gershwin in London.
In 2009, she performed with several symphony orchestras and gave concerts in different cities. She also had a cabaret show in New York City.
Cook returned to Broadway in 2010 in the show Sondheim on Sondheim. She was nominated for a Tony Award for her performance. In 2011, she appeared at a gala celebrating 120 years of Carnegie Hall.
On December 4, 2011, Barbara Cook was honored at the Kennedy Center Honors. Many famous performers paid tribute to her. In 2016, Cook published her autobiography, Then & Now: A Memoir. She announced her retirement from performing in May 2017.
Barbara Cook's Personal Life
Barbara Cook married acting teacher David LeGrant on March 9, 1952. They met at a resort. They performed together in a national tour of Oklahoma in 1953. Their son, Adam, was born in 1959. Barbara and David divorced in 1965.
Her Passing
Barbara Cook passed away from respiratory failure at her home in Manhattan on August 8, 2017. She was 89 years old. The lights of Broadway theaters were dimmed for one minute on August 9 to honor her.
Barbara Cook's Music: Discography
Solo Albums
- Songs of Perfect Propriety (1958)
- Barbara Cook Sings "From the Heart" – [The Best of Rodgers & Hart] (1959)
- At Carnegie Hall (1975)
- It's Better With a Band (1981)
- The Disney Album (1988)
- Live from London (1994)
- Sings Mostly Sondheim: Live at Carnegie Hall (2001)
- Count Your Blessings (2003) – Nominated for a Grammy Award
- Barbara Cook's Broadway! (2004)
- Barbara Cook at The Met (2006)
- No One Is Alone (2007)
- Cheek to Cheek: Live from Feinstein's at Loews Regency (with Michael Feinstein) (2011)
Cast and Studio Recordings
- Flahooley (1951)
- Plain and Fancy (1955)
- Candide (1956)
- The Music Man (1957) – Won a Grammy Award
- Hansel and Gretel (TV Soundtrack, 1958)
- She Loves Me (1963) – Won a Grammy Award
- Follies in Concert (1985)
- Thumbelina (Motion Picture Soundtrack, 1994)
- Sondheim on Sondheim (2010)
Compilation Albums
- The Broadway Years: Till There Was You (1995)
- Legends of Broadway—Barbara Cook (2006)
Barbara Cook on Stage: Stage Work
- Flahooley (1951)
- Oklahoma! (1953)
- Carousel (1954, 1957)
- Plain and Fancy (1955)
- Candide (1956)
- The Music Man (1957)
- The King and I (1960)
- She Loves Me (1963)
- The Grass Harp (1971)
- Follies (1985)
- Carrie (1988)
- Mostly Sondheim (2002)
- Barbara Cook's Broadway (2004)
- Sondheim on Sondheim (2010)
Barbara Cook on Screen: Television Appearances
- Armstrong Circle Theatre (S2, Epd 24) (1952)
- Golden Windows (1954)
- Babes in Toyland (1955)
- Bloomer Girl (selections) (1956)
- Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1957)
- Hansel and Gretel (1958)
- The Ed Sullivan Show (1955)
- 60 Minutes (Interviewed by Mike Wallace, 2001)
- 34th Annual Kennedy Center Honors, 2011 (Tribute to Barbara Cook, 2011)
Images for kids
-
Cook at the 2009 premiere of the Metropolitan Opera
-
Cook in December 2008
-
Cook in April 2011
American voice actresses
See also
In Spanish: Barbara Cook para niños
