Elisha Cook Jr.

Elisha Vanslyck Cook Jr. was an American character actor famed for his work in film noir. According to Bill Georgaris of They Shoot Pictures, Don't They, Cook appeared in a total of 21 film noirs, more than any other actor or actress. He played cheerful, brainy collegiates until he was cast against type as the bug-eyed baby-faced psychopathic killer Wilmer Cook in the 1941 version of The Maltese Falcon. He went on to play deceptively mild-mannered villains. Cook's acting career spanned more than 60 years, with roles in productions including The Big Sleep, Shane, The Killing, House on Haunted Hill, and Rosemary's Baby.

26 December 1903

Born on the same birth day (26 December): Albert Gore Sr. • Aleksej Pokuševski • Bazoline Estelle Usher • E. D. E. N. Southworth • Eden Sher • Fatih Akyel • Jay Farrar • Joe Alexander • John Severin • Josef Janíček • José Yves Limantour • Kraftwerk • Leonel Fernández • Morgan Bulkeley • Phan Bội Châu • Philaret Drozdov • Ralph Hill (runner) • Richard Widmark • Vinicio Cerezo • William Loeb III • Yu Takahashi (singer-songwriter)

Born in the same month (December 1903): Ava Helen Pauling • C. F. Powell • Candido Portinari • Carlos Montoya • Danilo Blanuša • Earl Hines • Ella Baker • Hardie Albright • Harold Whitlock • Joseph Cornell • Nikolai Voznesensky • Ray Noble • William Heynes • Zelma Watson George