I sang for my family. And I think probably the first time I sang and got paid for it, I was about 6 or 7.
The world wants us to be who we truly are, not who we think others want us to be.
If you're happy, you eat. If you're sad, you eat. You lose a job, you eat. You get a job, you eat. It's, you know, it's addiction.
Young people who are just starting out somehow need to let you know they know how to sing.
On Saturday afternoons, there was a film, of course, and then we did about four shows between the films. And I would do a tap dance, a little military tap.
New Year's Eve, we're going to be doing a concert with the Philadelphia Orchestra in Symphony Hall. It makes me feel good, because of all the people they could have had, they wanted me! We do have to do a little work with the rhythm section.
The place that seems most dangerous is exactly where safety lies.
I look back at photographs and I remember at the time I thought I was not very attractive.
I have absolutely no desire and no thought of quitting ever.
Even within the last three or four years, I have a greater ability to communicate, I think. I have more courage to show the stuff... And it does take courage.
If you're able to be yourself, then you have no competition. All you have to do is get closer and closer to that essence.
What actors need to do is to find a way to show people their despair, their joy, their pain, their exhilaration. All of these deep, deep emotional things - good and bad - so that if you're able to do that, then there's a kind of resonance that happens.
Author details
Barbara Cook: Biography and Life Work
Barbara Cook was a notable Actress. The story of Barbara Cook began on October 25, 1927 in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.. The legacy of Barbara Cook continues today, following their passing on August 8, 2017 in New York City, U.S..
Barbara Cook (October 25, 1927 – August 8, 2017) was an American actress and singer who first came to prominence in the 1950s as the lead in the original Broadway musicals Plain and Fancy (1955), Candide (1956) and The Music Man (1957) among others, winning a Tony Award for the last. She continued performing mostly in theatre until the mid-1970s, when she began a second career as a cabaret and concert singer. She also made numerous recordings.
Legacy and Personal Influence
Personally, Barbara Cook was married to David LeGrant (divorced).
Philosophical Views and Reflections
In November 1997, Cook celebrated her 70th birthday by giving a concert at Albert Hall in London with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra , joined by performers including Elaine Stritch and Maria Friedman . The Times reviewer noted: "The world is usually divided into actresses who try to sing and singers who try to act. Cook is one of the few performers who manage to combine the best of both traditions, as she reminded us in 'It Might as Well be Spring' – and, at the close, in her encore of Bock and Harnick 's 'Ice Cream'."
Cook died from respiratory failure at her home in Manhattan on August 8, 2017, at age 89. The marquee lights of the Broadway theaters were dimmed for one minute in tribute to Cook on August 9. Cook's friend and fellow musical theater actress Elaine Paige paid tribute to Cook during her BBC Radio 2 show Elaine Paige on Sunday on August 13.
