‘Sixteen Candles’ star Carole Cook dead at 98

Hollywood has lost another great.

Carole Cook died of heart failure on Wednesday in Beverly Hills, her husband, actor Tom Troupe, announced.

Cook would have celebrated her 99th birthday on Saturday.

The legendary entertainer’s career spanned decades. Known as Lucille Ball’s protégé, the Texas native moved to California at her mentor’s behest, per Variety.

The “I Love Lucy” star even convinced the budding comedienne to change her name from Mildred to Carole.

After making a cameo in a 1959 episode of Ball’s “Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse,” Cook appeared in 18 episodes of “The Lucy Show” from 1963 to 1968, followed by five episodes of “Here’s Lucy” from 1969 to 1974.

Carole Cook
Iconic actress Carole Cook died of heart failure on Wednesday in Beverly Hills.
Getty Images for Warner Bros. St

The red-headed pals also played “Password” together in a 1965 episode of the game show.

Signed with Desilu, Cook even lived in Ball’s home after the latter’s 1960 divorce from Desi Arnaz.

Tom Troupe and Carole Cook
Her husband, actor Tom Troupe, made the announcement.
WireImage

In 1964, Cook portrayed the wife of Don Knotts’ character in “The Incredible Mr. Limpet.” Two decades later, she took on the role of Molly Ringwald’s Grandma Helen in “Sixteen Candles.”

And in 2006, she popped up in an episode of “Grey’s Anatomy.”

Lucille Ball and Carole Cook
Lucille Ball was Cook’s mentor, colleague, friend and one-time roommate.
Bettmann Archive

The actress was also on Broadway three times — first playing Mrs. Peachum in 1954 in a revival of “Threepenny Opera.”

Cook later appeared in “Romantic Comedy,” which ran from 1979 to 1980, as well as the 1980 musical “42nd Street.”

She also starred as Dolly Levi in “Hello, Dolly!” for a lengthy gig in Australia in 1965.

Carole Cook in an episode of "Grey's Anatomy"
Cook appeared in a 2006 episode of “Grey’s Anatomy.”
Disney General Entertainment Con

Most recently, Cook made headlines for suggesting that former President Donald Trump should be assassinated.

“Where is John Wilkes Booth when you need him, right?” she quipped to a TMZ paparazzo in September 2018.

Carole Cook in "Sixteen Candles"
Cook played Molly Ringwald’s Grandma Helen in “Sixteen Candles.”

It wasn’t long before the Secret Service paid her a visit.

“They couldn’t have been nicer,” she later revealed. “I said, ‘I can’t go to prison. The stripes are horizontal — they don’t look good on me.’”

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