Katharine Cooke

Cooke was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, on January 17, 1900. Her father was William Benjamin Cooke (1857-1928) and her mother was writer Grace MacGowan Cooke (1861-1944),[2] the niece of writer Alice MacGowan. Cooke had an older sister, Helen MacGowan Cooke (1895–1945), who went on to marry writer Harry Leon Wilson (1867–1939) on June 4, 1912.[3][4]

In 1906, Katherine, Helen, and their mother moved to Helicon Home Colony, an experimental community formed by author Upton Sinclair in Englewood, New Jersey. Her mother, Grace, had left her husband at this time.[5]

In December 1908, Katherine, Helen, and their mother moved to the art colony at Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, which included such influential figures as Mary Hunter Austin, Jack London, Upton Sinclair, George Sterling, Francis McComas, Xavier Martinez, Sinclair Lewis, and Nora May French.[6] The same year, they moved into a large, Tudor-style two-story house on 13th Avenue, one of the first homes constructed in southwest Carmel, built in 1905 by architect Eugenia Maybury, one of Carmel's first female architects.[7][8][9]

Two years later, someone attempted to murder her aunt, Alice MacGowan, by poison and to steal her diamonds and cash. Wilson and writer Jimmy Hopper became amateur detectives, but the perpetrator was never discovered.[6]

Cooke in the play Pygmalion and Galatea (1918)

During the early 1910s, Katharine Cooke followed her older sister, Helen MacGowan Cooke into acting at a young age. She went onto the stage of the outdoor Forest Theater, performing in notable plays of the time.[10] In her first theatrical appearance at the Forest Theater, on July 4, 1911, Cooke, age 11, played an Indian child in Herbert Heron's historical The Pageant of Carmel Mission, a commemorative of the founding of the Carmel Mission.[11] This start in acting was followed by a lead role in Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland, in July 1912 at the Forest Theater.[12]

In May 1913, Cooke played the part of the Princess Buddir al Buddoor in the Arabian Night's story of Aladdin and the Lamp, arranged by Perry Newberry and Elizabeth Field Christy.[13][10]

In August 1914, The Arrow Maker was produced by Mary Hunter Austin at the Forest Theater. Cooke played Yavi, an Indian boy and her sister, Helen Cooke Wilson played and Indian woman. Author Charlotte Kellogg, wife of biologist Vernon Lyman Kellogg played Chisera in the play. Novelist Harry Leon Wilson played Bright Water and Padahoon was played by writer John Northern Hilliard.[10][14]

On July 2–3 and 5, 1915, at age 15, Cooke played "Herald" in the play Junípero Serra, A Pageant of the Padres by Perry Newberry at the sixth annual production of the Forest Theater.[15][10] That same month (July 17), she played the fairy queen, Titaunia, in A Midsummer Night's Dream, by William Shakespeare, a play directed by Herbert Heron and Helen Parks at the Forest Theater.[16]

In 1916, she performed in several plays at the Carmel Arts and Crafts Hall, including two one-act plays on January 7, Just As Well by playwright J. Hartley Manners and Alias Trixie Kix by Gordon Davis.[17] On July 1–3, 1916, Cooke played Yolanda in Yolanda of Cyprus, by Cale Young Rice at the Forest Theater.[10][18] That same month (July 4–5), she played the foreign woman Veronika in new version of The Piper, by poet Josephine Preston Peabody under the direction of Perry Newberry.[19] On August 5, 1916, she played in Charley's Aunt (or Charlie's Aunt) written by Brandon Thomas was played at the Forest Theater.[20] On August 23, She played Phyllis Faraday in the play Green Stockings a comedy by A. E. W. Mason.[17]

Katherine Cooke in A Thousand Years Ago (1917)

On February 18, 1917, she appeared two one-act plays, Overtones, by playwright Alice Gerstenberg, and The Gift by playwright Charles King Van Riper.[17] In July 1917, Cooke played the role of Lavinia in the performance of Androcles and the Lion by George Bernard Shaw, at the Carmel Arts and Crafts Club. Perry Newberry was the producer and with Joseph W. Hand as Julius Caesar and Ernest Schweninger as the captain.[10][21] That same year she played in Percy MacKaye's A Thousand Years Ago as Turandot, Pricess of Pekin, and as Tylette, the Cat in The Blue Bird by Maurice Maeterlinck.[22][23]

In June 1918, Cooke had the role of Galatea in the mythological comedy play Pygmalion and Galatea by W. S. Gilbert, at the Forest Theater.[1] On August 16–17, 1918, Cooke was in the play The Cat And The Cherub, by writer and playwright Chester Bailey Fernald, and produced by the Carmel Arts and Crafts Club. It was about a street in San Francisco Chinatown in 1905, where she played Ah Yoi.[24]

In June 1921, Cooke directed and oversaw the stagecraft for the British play Pomander Walk, by Louis N. Parker, at the Forest Theater. She was helped on the play by her sister, Helen Cooke Wilson in the role of Madame Lucie Lachesnais.[25][26]

In December 1922, Cooke was in the marionette play The Rented Ranch, as Santa Anna, written and produced by playwright Ira Mallory Remsen at the Carmel Arts and Crafts Hall.[17] On November 28–29, 1923, Cooke played Gloria Pakrs in Doubling in Brass by writer Charles Caldwell Dobie.[17][27]

During the performances on May 2–3, 1924, at the Carmel Arts and Crafts Theater, Cooke showcased her talent across multiple acts. In act 7, titled "The Spanish Shawls," she portrayed the character of the "Black Shawls," while her sister, Helen Wilson, took on the role of the "Soft Shawls." In act 9, known as "Captain Flapjack," Cooke depicted "His Little Daughter," and in act 11, titled "The Villain," she embodied "The Adventuress." Lastly, in act 13, called "White Shadows in the South Sea," Cooke delivered a captivating performance as the "Tahitian Dancer."[17] In August 1924, Cooke produced the play Prunella, based on Prunella, or, Love in a Dutch Garden by Granville Barker and Laurence Housman.[28]

In August 1926, Cooke joined forces with Fenton Foster to produce "King Dodo" the musical comedy by Frank S. Pixley and Gustav Luders at the Forest Theater. Not only did Cooke take charge of stage management, but she also dedicated herself to nurturing the musical elements of the production.[29][30]

With her appearances at the Forest Theater and the Carmel Arts and Crafts Club, Cooke not only demonstrated her dedication to her craft but also solidified her presence in the theatrical community. Her performances in plays such as Alice in Wonderland and Prunella highlighted her ability to act and write, captivating audiences with her talent and stage presence.[10]

Tragically, her sister, Helen, faced a daunting battle with cancer, a battle she ultimately succumbed to. She found herself in the care of Walter Reed General Hospital, now known as Walter Reed Army Medical Center, located in Washington D.C. In July 1945, at the age of 49, she passed away at Walter Reed General Hospital.[31][32]

Shortly after her sister's death, on August 3, 1945, Cooke, at the age of 45, married John William Ryan (1884–1954) at St. Mary's Catholic church in Los Gatos, California. After their honeymoon they returned to Oak Farm, their home near Los Gatos. Ryan was a construction engineer, experienced in industrial structures, steel and concrete bridges.[33]

Cooke died on July 15, 1971, in San Diego, California.[34][35][36]

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  Kit Cooke holding bowl
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  Cooke in Alice in Wonderland
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  Cooke in Androcles and the Lion
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  Katharine Cooke in Yolanda of Cyprus

• Charis Wilson

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Katharine Cooke.

• Helen MacGowan Cooke, 1906-11