Carole Cook, Grandma Helen in ‘Sixteen Candles,’ Dead at 98

Sixteen Candles actress Carole Cook has died. She was 98.

Cook, who was known for her roles onscreen and on the Broadway stage, died of heart failure on Wednesday (Jan. 11) in Beverly Hills, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Her husband Tom Troupe said Cook died just three days before what would have been her 99th birthday.

John Hughes fans will remember Cook as the touchy Grandma Helen in Sixteen Candles, but her career spanned far beyond her appearance in the ’80s comedy. Cook’s time in Hollywood began thanks to none other than Lucille Ball, who was responsible for her “big break.”

Cook told the website Queer Voices in 2019 that she was “building a name for myself as an actress” when she got a call from Ball, who asked her to audition for the Desilu Workshop company.

“I had no place to live in California so I lived in Lucy’s guesthouse until I got settled. She changed my name. I was born Mildred Frances Cook, but Lucy didn’t think it was a good show business name,” Cook told the outlet. “She gave me the name Carole after Carole Lombard. Lucy said to me, ‘You have the same healthy disrespect for everything in general, just like Lombard.’ Lucy gave me my big break.”

Cook’s acting credits include Starsky and Hutch, Charlie’s Angels, Kojak, American Gigolo, Laverne & Shirley, The Love Boat and Dynasty, among many others. In more recent years, she appeared in Grey’s Anatomy and Major Crimes. Her final role is listed on IMDb as Still Waiting in the Wings, a musical released in 2018.

Outside of her work as an actress, Cook was a staunch advocate for HIV/AIDS treatment and charities, working with organizations like S.T.A.G.E. LA and performing at San Francisco’s Help Is On The Way benefit, per CNN.

She is survived by her husband, as well as her stepson Christopher and his wife Becky, her sister Regina, and nieces and nephews, per THR.