Classic Entertainment Autographs

Cat. #0010411211: CLYDE W. COOK

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Uncommon vintage blue fountain pen signature on a 4x6-inch turquoise card, acquired in-person by indefatigable autograph hound John Virzi in 1969. In good condition. Diminutive, Australian-born silent comic Clyde Cook was dubbed The Kangaroo Boy because of his rubbed-limbed elasticity. Discovered while working as a contortionist at the New York Hippodrome, he was recruited by Fox for its Sunshine Comedy series, wearing his trademark paintbrush mustache and hilariously deadpan expression. In 1925, he joined Hal Roach Studios, where he completed his best work, including Stan Laurel's Wandering Papas (1926), the Taxi Boys series and a number of features opposite Louise Fazenda. During the talkie era, Cook kept busy in character and bit parts, seen briefly, but always memorably in films like The Dawn Patrol (1930), The Little Princess (1939), The Sea Hawk (1940), and Donovan's Reef (1963).