Carole Cook and Tom Troupe to Receive Ovation Awards for Career Achievement
Carole Cook and Tom Troupe, a married couple of stage, film, and TV performers, will be honored for career achievement at the 2002 Ovation Awards ceremony this fall.
The couple is affectionately known as the “the Lunts of L.A. Theater” for their extensive stage work in Los Angeles and environs. Cook recently starred in the Reprise! production of Follies and has toured extensively in her one-woman show Dress Up. She created two Broadway roles: Maggie Jones in Gower Champion’s 42nd Street and Blanche Daly in Romantic Comedy. Additionally, she has co-starred in productions of Father’s Day, The Supporting Cast, and Patio/Porch, appearing with her husband in The Lion in Winter at the Pasadena Playhouse. Other stage credits: Steel Magnolias, Annie Get Your Gun, Kismet, Radio Gals, and Ladies in Retirement. Cook’s films include The Incredible Mr. Limpet, American Gigolo, and Sixteen Candles; she will soon be heard as the voice of Pearl in the upcoming Disney animated feature Sweating Bullets. On television, Cook was Donna LaMar on Cagney and Lacey and Cora on Dynasty aside from her guest shots on many major series, including several appearances with her friend Lucille Ball. For the past 18 years, she has been heavily involved in the fight against AIDS and has performed in S.T.A.G.E. benefits in Los Angeles and San Francisco.
Troupe co-founded the Los Angeles acting school The Faculty with Charles Nelson Reilly, Lu Leonard, John Erman, and Dom DeLuise. With his wife, he developed several plays in L.A. theaters that later toured. He made his Broadway debut in The Diary of Anne Frank and his other stage credits include Romantic Comedy, Same Time, Next Year, The Gin Game and, at the Mark Taper Forum, The Trial of the Catonsville Nine. Troupe has been seen in such films as The Big Fisherman, The Devil’s Brigade, Kelly’s Heroes, Che, and My Private Idaho, along with recurring role on TV’s Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman and Who’s the Boss plus guest appearances on shows ranging from Cheers to Star Trek to Frasier. Over the past few years, he has been busy acting in and directing productions of Over the River and Through the Woods.
Established in 1989, the Ovation Awards are the only peer-judged, competitive theater awards in Los Angeles. Created to celebrate theatrical achievement and excellence, the awards are administered by the not-for-profit Theatre League Alliance of Southern California. The date and location for the 2002 Ovation Awards ceremony is expected to be announced shortly.
