Oscar and Emmy Nominated Writer Thomas S. Cook Dead at 65

Thomas S. Cook earned an Oscar nomination for "The China Syndrome" and an Emmy nomination for "The Tuskegee Airmen" 

Thomas S. Cook, an Academy and Emmy Award-nominated writer, has died at the age of 65.

Cook, who was also a winner of the Writers Guild Award, died on Jan. 5 at his home in Hollywood after a battle with cancer, according to the Writers Guild.  

Cook, also known as T.S. Cook, is best known for co-writing the screenplay for the 1979 nuclear power suspense thriller “The China Syndrome” with Mike Gray and James Bridges. The trio shared Academy Award, Golden Globe, and British Academy of Film and Television screenplay nominations, and received a Writers Guild Award for Original Drama – Screen.

A Writers Guild, West member since 1975, Cook wrote numerous telefilms and television series over the past four decades.

Also read: Hollywood Says Goodbye: Notable Celebrity Deaths of 2012

He shared an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Writing for a Miniseries or Special with co-writer Robert Williams for 1995’s “The Tuskegee Airmen,” and received a Writers Guild Award for Original Long Form for the 1989 TV movie “Nightbreaker.”

He also worked on the telefilms “Scared Straight: Another Story” (1980), “Out of Darkness” (1985), “The Switch” (1992), “Forgotten Sins” (1995), a remake of the classic Western “High Noon” (2000) and the Lucille Ball biopic “Lucy” (2003).

Cook’s TV series writing or co-writing credits include series including “Airwolf,” “The Paper Chase” and “Baretta.”

Also read: Evan S. Connell, Writer of Eclectic Tastes, Dead at 88

Cook served on the WGAW’s Board of Directors (1995-97), and was a strike captain during the WGA’s 1988 strike.  He also served on several WGAW committees, and as a Pension & Health Trustee from 2006 until his death.

Born in Cleveland, Ohio, on Aug. 25, 1947, Cook is survived by his wife, Monique de Varennes, his children, Kate and Chris; his mother, Betty; his brothers, Jim and Bill.

A memorial service will be held on at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 9, at the Hollywood United Methodist Church. The family requests that, in lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Thomas Cook’s name to the Writers Guild Foundation.

Comments