Carole Cole

For other uses, see Carole Cole (disambiguation).

Carole Cole
Cole in 1976.
Born	(1944-10-17)October 17, 1944 Medford, Massachusetts, U.S.
Died	May 19, 2009(2009-05-19) (aged 64) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Nationality	American
Occupation(s)	Actress, music producer
Years active	1956–2006
Children	3
Parent(s)	Carol Hawkins (biological mother) Nat King Cole (adoptive father) Maria Cole (adoptive mother)
Relatives	Natalie Cole (sister)

Carole "Cookie" Cole (October 17, 1944 – May 19, 2009) was an American actress, music producer, and CEO of King Cole Productions. She was sometimes credited as Carol Cole. She was the daughter of singer and jazz pianist Nat King Cole and jazz singer Maria Cole, and the older sister of singer Natalie Cole.

Early life

Cole was born in Medford, Massachusetts, and was the adopted daughter of Nat King Cole and adopted sister of Natalie Cole. Her biological mother, Carol Hawkins, was the sister of Nat King Cole's wife, Maria. Through her mother, Cole was a grandniece of educator Charlotte Hawkins Brown.

Career

Cole received an associate's degree at Cazenovia College and pursued a vital acting career that spanned theater, television and film. In 1964, she signed a contract with Columbia Pictures New Talent program, along with friend and colleague Harrison Ford. During her acting career she starred in the films, The Silencers (1967), The Mad Room, (1969), Promise at Dawn (1970), and The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974). She appeared on television in Positively Black (1975) and was a series costar on the NBC sitcom Sanford and Son. On stage, Cole appeared in Gore Vidal's Weekend (1968), the Lincoln Center Public Theater production of Pericles (1974 New York Shakespeare Festival) and What If It Had Turned Up Heads (1972). She also appeared as a series regular in the role of Ellie, the daughter of Grady Wilson, in the 1970s TV series Grady (a spin-off of the highly successful Sanford and Son).

In 1991, Cole became the CEO of King Cole Productions, where she masterminded the use and licensing of the vast catalog which had belonged to her father, Nat King Cole, as well as his name and likeness. She produced such albums as Christmas for Kids: From One to Ninety Two, The World of Nat King Cole, Transcriptions: Nat King Cole Trio, amongst many others. For 20 years under her supervision, Nat King Cole posthumously released an album nearly every year.

In 2009, shortly before her death from lung cancer, Cole released "Re: Generations," a collaboration of international artists providing their artistic interpretations and tributes to specific works of Nat King Cole. She executive produced the album which included tracks performed by The Roots, will.i.am, Cee Lo Green, Natalie Cole, Bebel Gilberto, Stephen & Damian Marley and Brazilian Girls.

Personal life and death

The eldest of Nat King Cole's children, she had three children, Caroline Clarke, Sage Zailm Cole, and Harleigh Maxim Cole. Her eldest daughter, Caroline, was given up for adoption immediately after birth (against Cole's wishes) but the two met in 2002 and subsequently developed a close bond. Cole died on May 19, 2009, due to lung cancer. She was 64. Carole died, in the hospital, while her sister Natalie was in another hospital undergoing kidney transplant surgery.

Filmography

• The Silencers (1966) - Waitress (uncredited)
• Model Shop (1969) - Barbara
• The Mad Room (1969) - Chris
• Promise at Dawn (1970) - Louison - a nurse
• The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974) - The Secretary (Hostage)

External links

• Carole Cole at IMDb