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Helen MacGowan Cooke

From EverybodyWiki Bios & Wiki

Helen MacGowan Cooke
Helen MacGowan Cooke picking California golden poppies.jpg Helen MacGowan Cooke picking California golden poppies.jpg
Cooke picking California golden poppies (1908)
Born(1895-12-28)December 28, 1895
Chattanooga, Tennessee, U.S.
💀Died14 July 1945(1945-07-14) (aged 49)
Washington D.C., U.S.14 July 1945(1945-07-14) (aged 49)
💼 Occupation
Actress
📆 Years active  1910-1926
👩 Spouse(s)

Helen MacGowan Cooke (December 28, 1895 – July 14, 1945) was an American actress best known for her marriage to Harry Leon Wilson. Cooke was the daughter of writer Grace MacGowan Cooke. She appeared on stage at the Forest Theater.[1]

Early life

Cooke was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, on December 28, 1895. Her father was William Benjamin Cooke and her mother was writer Grace MacGowan, the niece of writer Alice MacGowan. Cooke's younger sister was Katharine Cooke.[2][3] In 1906, Helen, Katherine, and their mother moved to the Helicon Home Colony in Englewood, New Jersey. Their mother, Grace, had left her husband at this time.[4][unreliable source?]

In December 1908, Helen and Katherine, and their mother moved to the art colony at Carmel-by-the-Sea, California.[5] The family moved into a large, Tudor-style two-story house on San Antonio and 13th Avenues, one of the first homes constructed in southwest Carmel.[6][7][8]

During 1908, Arnold Genthe captured a photograph of Cooke amidst a poppy field located near Carmel. The resulting piece, titled Helen Cooke, Monterey Poppy Field (1908), exemplifies the composition of Pictorialism, an early use of color. The photograph is an example of Autochrome, an early technique for capturing color. In the image, Cooke is dressed in attire reminiscent of the Pre-Raphaelite style.[9]

On June 4, 1912, Cooke, at the age of 18, married Harry Leon Wilson (1867–1939) at the Hotel Steward in San Francisco. They had two children, Harry Leon Wilson Jr. in 1913 and Charis Wilson in 1914.[4][unreliable source?][1] Her daughter, Charis Wilson was a model, writer, and wife of photographer Edward Weston. She was also a subject of Weston's photographs.[10]

Career

Helen Cooke as Cleis in The Toad

During the early 1910s, Cooke went to the stage of the Forest Theater, performing in plays of the time. In July 1910, at the age of fifteen, Cooke took on the role of Michal, opposite actor Herbert Heron, in the production of David. The play was produced by Constance Skinner and directed by Garnet Holme of Berkeley. It marked a significant milestone as the inaugural production at the Forest Theater.[11][12][13][5]

In July 1912, Cooke participated in The Toad, a play written by Bertha Newberry, and produced by Garnet Holme.[13] In August 1914, The Arrow Maker was produced by Mary Hunter Austin at the Forest Theater. Cooke played an Indian woman and her sister, Katharine, played Yavi, an Indian boy.[13][14] In June 1921, Cooke was cast in the role of Madame Lucie Lachesnais and her sister Katharine directed and oversaw the stagecraft for the play Pomander Walk, by Louis N. Parker, at the Forest Theater.[15][16]

Move to Carmel Highlands

The Wilson residence called "Ocean Home"
Helen Wilson in 1924 at the original The Bloomin' Basement flower shop

The family moved from Carmel to Carmel Highlands where Wilson built a large home he called "The Ocean Home." The home had 12 rooms on 8 acres (3.2 ha) of land and was completed in 1912.[4][unreliable source?]

In 1925, Wilson commissioned Lee Gottfried to build a two-story commercial building for Helen, who ran a flower shop called the Bloomin' Basement. It was in front of the two-story Golden Bough Theater on Ocean Avenue and Monte Verde Street in downtown Carmel.[17] The shop was built for $8,000 (Error when using {{Inflation}}: |index=US (parameter 1) not a recognized index.).[18][19][20] The Bloomin' Basement was an enlarged version of the original shop she started in 1924 in the basement of the corner Amelia Gates Building located at Ocean and Monte Verde.[21]

Cooke and Wilson divorced in 1927. Both children were raised by their aunt, Katharine Cooke, grandmother, Grace MacGowan Cooke, and a great aunt.[4][unreliable source?][22] Wilson died in 1939.[23]

Following her divorce, Cooke opened a dress shop named "The Carmelita Shop," where the Bloomin' Basement was.[18] The shop catered to the fashion-conscious clientele, offering a curated selection of garments. However, during Great Depression it closed its doors.[4][unreliable source?]

In 1934, Cooke met Colonel Paul E. Peabody, stationed at the Monterey Presidio and in 1935, she relocated to Washington D.C., where he had been transferred. In Washington D.C. They later married.[4][unreliable source?]

Death

Cooke died of cancer in July 1945, at Walter Reed General Hospital.[4][unreliable source?] Funeral services were held at Walter Reed Chapel. Burial was private.[24][11]

Plays

  • David (1910)
  • The Toad (1912)
  • The Arrow Maker (1914)
  • Pomander Walk (1921)

See also

Joseph W. Hand

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Harry Leon Wilson Marries Young Girl". The San Francisco Examiner. San Francisco, California. June 14, 1912. p. 1. Retrieved 2023-06-29.
  2. ↑ "Cooke-MacGowan. The Marriage of Wm. B. Cooke and Miss Grace MacGowan". The Chattanooga Commercial. Chattanooga, Tennessee. 18 Feb 1887. p. 8. Retrieved 2022-10-15.
  3. ↑ "Grace MacGowan Cooke dies at Los Gatos". The Peninsula Times Tribune. Palo Alto, California. June 26, 1944. p. 83. Retrieved 2023-06-30.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 Dramov, Alissandra (2012). Carmel-by-the-Sea, The Early Years (1803-1913). Bloomington, Indiana: AuthorHouse. pp. 172–173. ISBN 9781491824146. Retrieved 2023-03-03. Search this book on
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Edwards, Robert W. (2012). "Chapter Two – Western Frontiers: Birth of the Carmel Art Colony (1896-1909)". Jennie V. Cannon: The Untold History of the Carmel and Berkeley Art Colonies (PDF). Oakland, California: East Bay Heritage Project. p. 39. ISBN 978-1467545679. Retrieved April 7, 2023. Search this book on
  6. ↑ Dramov, Alissandra (2016). Historic Homes and Inns of Carmel-by-the-Sea. Arcadia Publishing Incorporated. p. 40. ISBN 9781439656747. Retrieved 2023-04-08. Search this book on
  7. ↑ "Carmel Historic Inventory" (PDF). ci.carmel.ca.us. Carmel, California. Retrieved 2022-03-29.
  8. ↑ Dramov, Alissandra (2022). Past & Present Carmel-By-The-Sea. Charleston, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing. p. 91. ISBN 9781467108980. Retrieved 2023-03-08. Search this book on
  9. ↑ Starr, Kevin (2022). The Dream Endures California Enters the 1940s. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199923939. Search this book on
  10. ↑ Starr, Kevin (2022). The Dream Endures California Enters the 1940s. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199923939. Search this book on
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 "Mrs. Paul Peabody". Carmel Pine Cone. Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. September 9, 1945. pp. 1–2. Retrieved 2023-07-01.
  12. ↑ "Biblical Drama Is Given Under Carmel Pines". The San Francisco Examiner. San Francisco, California. 10 Jul 1910. p. 3. Retrieved 2022-08-03.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 "Forest Theater Plays". Harrison Memorial Library. Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. 1910. Retrieved 2022-06-22.
  14. ↑ "'The Arrow-Maker' Produced At Carmel". San Francisco Chronicle. San Francisco, California. July 26, 1914. p. 33. Retrieved 2023-07-03.
  15. ↑ "Carmel To Give Pomander Walk". The San Francisco Examiner. San Francisco, California. June 26, 1921. Retrieved 2023-07-02.
  16. ↑ "Carmel Rows Over Forest Theater Play". The San Francisco Examiner. San Francisco, California. September 16, 1921. p. 8. Retrieved 2023-07-02.
  17. ↑ Dramov, Alissandra (2019). Historic Buildings of Downtown Carmel-by-the-Sea. Carmel-by-the-Sea, California: Arcadia Publishing. pp. 62, 77. ISBN 9781467103039. Retrieved 2022-04-04. Search this book on
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Scott Bearton (September 9, 1994). "A look back at Sade's colorful past". Carmel Pine Cone. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
  19. ↑ "The Bloomin Basement Court of the Golden Bough". Carmel Pine Cone. June 21, 1924. p. 7. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
  20. ↑ Dramov, Alissandra (2022). Past & Present Carmel-By-The-Sea. Charleston, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing. p. 16. ISBN 9781467108980. Retrieved 2023-03-08. Search this book on
  21. ↑ Neal Hotelling (March 4, 2022). "'Embrassing' duel at Yankee Point" (PDF). Carmel Pine Cone. pp. 23, 26. Retrieved July 5, 2023.
  22. ↑ "Mrs. Harry Leon Wilson Begins Suit". The San Francisco Examiner. San Francisco, California. August 31, 1927. p. 3. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
  23. ↑ "Famed Author Is Dead at Carmel". Napa Journal. Napa, California. 30 Jun 1939. p. 6. Retrieved 2022-07-19.
  24. ↑ "Mrs. Peabody Rites Held At Walter Reed Chapel". Evening Star. Washington, District of Columbia. July 16, 1945. p. 10. Retrieved 2023-06-29.

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