Photo: 不明 / Public domain (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Elisha Cook Jr. is the patron saint of the great character actor, and I have enormous affection for performers like him. His turn as the twitchy, in-over-his-head gunman Wilmer in the 1941 Maltese Falcon is the definitive small man trying to act tough, and it cast him forever as film noir's go-to nervous wreck. What I love is how he weaponized his unthreatening, baby-faced look into something genuinely unsettling. He worked from the 1930s deep into television, never a leading man but utterly indispensable, the texture that made those movies feel real. Careers like his remind me that the supporting players often define a film's atmosphere.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Elisha Cook Jr.
- Name (Japanese)
- エリシャ・クック・Jr
- Reading
- えりしゃ・くっく・Jr
- Born
- December 26, 1903 – May 18, 1995
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Capricorn / Rabbit
- Origin
- San Francisco, California, United States
- Occupation
- actor / character actor / stage actor / television actor / film actor
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
Frequently asked questions
When was Elisha Cook Jr. born?
December 26, 1903 – May 18, 1995.
Where is Elisha Cook Jr. from?
Elisha Cook Jr. is from San Francisco, California, United States.
What does Elisha Cook Jr. do?
Elisha Cook Jr. works as actor, character actor, stage actor, television actor, film actor.
Actor — see all → · Character actor — see all → · More people from United States →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.