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#REDIRECT [[Harry Leon Wilson]]
{{short description|American novelist}}

{{Original research|date=January 2024}}
{{Rcat shell|
{{Use American English|date=June 2023}}
{{Use MDY dates|date=June 2023}}
{{R to related topic}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Helen MacGowan Cooke
| image = Helen MacGowan Cooke picking California golden poppies.jpg
| image_size =
| caption = Cooke picking California golden poppies (1908)
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{birth date|1895|12|28}}
| birth_place = [[Chattanooga, Tennessee]], U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=y|1945|07|14|1895|12|28}}
| death_place = [[Washington D.C.]], U.S.
| occupation = Actress
| spouse = {{plainlist|
*{{marriage|[[Harry Leon Wilson]]|1912|1927|end=div}}
*{{marriage|Paul Everton Peabody |1935 }} }}
| yearsactive = 1910-1926
}}
}}
'''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]].<ref name="Marriage"/>

==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 Cooke|Grace MacGowan]], the niece of writer [[Alice MacGowan]]. Cooke's younger sister was [[Katharine Cooke]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/111368471/william-b-cooke/|title=Cooke-MacGowan. The Marriage of Wm. B. Cooke and Miss Grace MacGowan.|work=The Chattanooga Commercial|place=Chattanooga, Tennessee|date=18 Feb 1887|page=8|access-date=2022-10-15}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-peninsula-times-tribune-obituary-for/127356071/|title=Grace MacGowan Cooke dies at Los Gatos|work=The Peninsula Times Tribune |place=Palo Alto, California|date=June 26, 1944|page=83|access-date=2023-06-30}}</ref> In 1906, Helen, Katherine, and their mother moved the [[Helicon Home Colony]] in [[Englewood, New Jersey]]. Their mother, Grace, had left her husband at this time.<ref name="Early Years">{{cite book|last=Dramov|first=Alissandra|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GtRzAgAAQBAJ|title=Carmel-by-the-Sea, The Early Years (1803-1913)|publisher=[[AuthorHouse]]|place=Blomington, Indiana|date=2012|pages=172–173|isbn=9781491824146|access-date=2023-03-03}}</ref>

In December 1908, Helen and Katherine, and their mother moved to the [[art colony]] at [[Carmel-by-the-Sea, California]].<ref name="Edwards"/> The family moved into a large, [[Tudor architecture|Tudor]]-style two-story house on San Antonio and 13th Avenues, one of the first homes constructed in southwest Carmels.<ref>{{cite book|last=Dramov|first=Alissandra|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YTmPDAAAQBAJ|title=Historic Homes and Inns of Carmel-by-the-Sea|publisher=Arcadia Publishing Incorporated|date=2016|page=40 |isbn=9781439656747 |access-date=2023-04-08}}</ref><ref name="Inventory">{{cite web|url=https://ci.carmel.ca.us/sites/main/files/file-attachments/3._carmel_inventory_of_historic_resources_v2019.pdf?1647560177 |title=Carmel Historic Inventory
|work= ci.carmel.ca.us|place=Carmel, California|access-date=2022-03-29}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Dramov|first=Alissandra|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PaiGEAAAQBAJ |title=Past & Present Carmel-By-The-Sea|publisher=[[Arcadia Publishing]]|place=Charleston, South Carolina|date=2022|page=91|isbn=9781467108980|access-date=2023-03-08}}</ref>

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 Lumière|Autochrome]], an early technique for capturing color. In the image, Cooke is dressed in attire reminiscent of the [[Boho-chic#Pre-Raphaelites|Pre-Raphaelite]] style.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Starr |first1=Kevin |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YeAIdOZYi_QC|title=The Dream Endures California Enters the 1940s |date=2022 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |isbn=9780199923939}}</ref>

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.<ref name="Early Years"/><ref name="Marriage">{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-san-francisco-examiner-marriage-of-h/103438137/|title=Harry Leon Wilson Marries Young Gir|work=The San Francisco Examiner |place=San Francisco, California|date=June 14, 1912|pages=1|access-date=2023-06-29}}</ref> Her daughter, Charis Wilson was a model, writer, and wife of photographer [[Edward Weston]]. She was also a subject of Weston's photographs.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Starr |first1=Kevin |title=The Dream Endures California Enters the 1940s |date=2022 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |isbn=9780199923939}}</ref>

==Career==
[[File:Helen Cooke as Cleis.jpg|thumb|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 (writer)|Herbert Heron]], in the production of ''David.'' The play was produced by [[Constance Lindsay Skinner|Constance Skinner]] and directed by Garnet Holme of Berkeley. It marked a significant milestone as the inaugural production at the Forest Theater.<ref name="Peabody"/><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/106900029/constance-skinner/|title=Biblical Drama Is Given Under Garmel Pines|work=The San Francisco Examiner|place=San Francisco, California|date=10 Jul 1910|page=3|access-date=2022-08-03}}</ref><ref name="Plays">{{cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/ccarm_001010/page/26/mode/2up?q=%22Ernest+Schweninger%22 |title=Forest Theater Plays|place=Carmel-by-the-Sea, California|work=Harrison Memorial Library|date=1910|access-date=2022-06-22}}</ref><ref name="Edwards">{{cite book|last1=Edwards|first1=Robert W.|url=https://tfaoi.org/cm/10cm/10cm69.pdf |title=Jennie V. Cannon: The Untold History of the Carmel and Berkeley Art Colonies|publisher=East Bay Heritage Project|place=Oakland, California|date=2012|chapter=Chapter Two – Western Frontiers: Birth of the Carmel Art Colony (1896-1909)|isbn=978-1467545679|pages=39|access-date=April 7, 2023}}</ref>

In July 1912, Cooke participated in ''The Toad,'' a play written by [[Bertha Newberry]], and produced by Garnet Holme.<ref name="Plays"/> 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.<ref name="Plays"/><ref name="Arrow-Maker">{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/san-francisco-chronicle-arrow-maker/127568381/|title='The Arrow-Maker' Produced At Carmel|work=San Francisco Chronicle|place=San Francisco, California |date=July 26, 1914|page=33|access-date=2023-07-03}}</ref> 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 (play)|Pomander Walk]],'' by [[Louis N. Parker]], at the Forest Theater.<ref name="Pomander">{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-san-francisco-examiner-pomander/127476669/|title=Carmel To Give Pomander Walk|work=The San Francisco Examiner|place=San Francisco, California|date=June 26, 1921|access-date=2023-07-02}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-san-francisco-examiner-pomander-walk/127480907/|title=Carmel Rows Over Forest Theater Play|work=The San Francisco Examiner|place=San Francisco, California|date=September 16, 1921|page=8|access-date=2023-07-02}}</ref>

===Move to Carmel Highlands===
[[File:Harry Leon Wilson Residence.jpg|thumb|left|The Wilson residence called "Ocean Home"]]
[[File:Helen and The Bloomin Basement.jpg|thumb|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 {{convert|8|acre||adj=pre|}} of land and was completed in 1912.<ref name="Early Years"/>

In 1925, Wilson commission [[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 [[Theatre of the Golden Bough|Golden Bough Theater]] on Ocean Avenue and Monte Verde Street in downtown Carmel.<ref name="Dramov:2">{{cite book |last=Dramov|first=Alissandra|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QX-TDwAAQBAJ&q=%22Court%20of%20the%20Golden%20Bough%22 |title=Historic Buildings of Downtown Carmel-by-the-Sea |publisher=Arcadia Publishing |place=Carmel-by-the-Sea, California |date=2019|pages=62, 77|isbn=9781467103039|access-date=2022-04-04}}</ref> The shop was built for $8,000 ({{Inflation|US|8000|1925|fmt=eq}}).<ref name="Bearton">{{cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/ccarm_005162/page/n11/mode/2up?q=Sade%27s|title=A look back at Sade's colorful past |publisher=[[Carmel Pine Cone]]|author= Scott Bearton |date=September 9, 1994|access-date=April 7, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/ccarm_001500/page/n5/mode/2up?q=%22The+Bloomin+Basement%22| title=The Bloomin Basement Court of the Golden Bough|publisher=[[Carmel Pine Cone]]|author=|date=June 21, 1924|page=7|access-date=April 7, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Dramov|first=Alissandra|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PaiGEAAAQBAJ|title=Past & Present Carmel-By-The-Sea|publisher=[[Arcadia Publishing]]|place=Charleston, South Carolina|date=2022|page=16|isbn=9781467108980|access-date=2023-03-08}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://pineconearchive.com/220304PCA.pdf|title='Embrassing' duel at Yankee Point |publisher=[[Carmel Pine Cone]]|author=Neal Hotelling |date=March 4, 2022|pages=23, 26|access-date=July 5, 2023}}</ref>

Cooke and Wilson divorced in 1927. Both children were raised by their aunt, Katharine Cooke, grandmother, Grace MacGowan Cooke, and a great aunt.<ref name="Early Years"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-san-francisco-examiner-divorce/127359040/|title=Mrs. Harry Leon Wilson Begins Suit|date=August 31, 1927|work=The San Francisco Examiner|place=San Francisco, California|page=3|access-date=30 June 2023}}</ref> Wilson died in 1939.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/105925650/carmel-point/|title=Famed Author Is Dead at Carmel|work=Napa Journal|place=Napa, California|date=30 Jun 1939|page=6|access-date=2022-07-19}}</ref>

Following her divorce, Cooke opened a dress shop named "The Carmelita Shop," where the Bloomin' Basement was.<ref name="Bearton"/> The shop catered to the fashion-conscious clientele, offering a curated selection of garments. However, during [[Great Depression]] it closed its doors.<ref name="Early Years"/>

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.<ref name="Early Years"/>

== Death==
Cooke died of cancer in July 1945, at Walter Reed General Hospital.<ref name="Early Years"/> Funeral services were held at Walter Reed Chapel. Burial was private.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/evening-star-obituary-for-helen-c-peabo/127327562/|title=Mrs. Peabody Rites Held At Walter Reed Chapel|work=Evening Star|place=Washington, District of Columbia|date=July 16, 1945|page=10|access-date=2023-06-29}}</ref><ref name="Peabody">{{cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/ccarm_002608/mode/2up?q=%22John+Ryan%22+Cooke|title=Mrs. Paul Peabody|work=Carmel Pine Cone|place=Carmel-by-the-Sea, California|date=September 9, 1945|pages=1–2|access-date=2023-07-01}}</ref>

==Plays==
* ''[[David]]'' (1910)
* ''The Toad'' (1912)
* ''[[The Arrow Maker]]'' (1914)
* ''[[Pomander Walk (play)|Pomander Walk]]'' (1921)

==See also==
[[Joseph W. Hand]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category}}
* [https://unregardoblique.com/2022/06/14/helen-macgowan-cooke/ Helen MacGowan Cooke, 1906-11]

{{Authority control}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Cooke, Helen MacGowan}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cooke, Helen MacGowan}}
[[Category:1895 births]]
[[Category:1895 births]]
[[Category:1945 deaths]]
[[Category:1945 deaths]]
[[Category:Writers from Carmel-by-the-Sea, California]]
[[Category:Actors from Carmel-by-the-Sea, California]]
[[Category:Writers from Tennessee]]
[[Category:Actors from Tennessee]]
[[Category:American child actresses]]
[[Category:American child actresses]]
[[Category:Acting]]

Latest revision as of 14:40, 11 January 2024

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