Donald Cook was an American stage and film actor who had a prolific career in PreCode Hollywood films and on Broadway. Cook is perhaps best known for his film roles in The Public Enemy , Safe in Hell , Baby Face , and Viva Villa , as well as for his stage role as David Naughton in Claudia, which ran for a total of 722 performances on Broadway between 1941 and 1943.
Cook was born and raised in Portland, Oregon, and originally studied farming but later worked for a lumber company. Cook attended the University of Oregon. He joined the Kansas Community Players and through this received an offer of stage work. He started screen work in shorts before going on to feature films.
Source: Wikipedia