Editing Barbara Cook (section)

{{Short description|American actress and singer (1927–2017)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2016}}
{{Infobox person
|name         = Barbara Cook
|image        = Barbara Cook Shankbone Metropolitan Opera 2009.jpg
|image_size   =
|caption      = Cook in 2009 
|birth_date   = {{birth date|1927|10|25}}
|birth_place  = [[Atlanta]], Georgia, U.S.
|death_date   = {{death date and age|2017|8|8|1927|10|25}}
|death_place  = New York City, U.S.
|occupation   = Actress, singer
|years_active = 1950–2017
|spouse       = {{marriage|David LeGrant|1952|1965|reason=divorced}}
|children     = 1
|module       = {{Infobox musical artist
| embed   = yes
| genre   = Musical theatre, [[traditional pop]]
| label   = Urania (1958–1959)<br>[[Columbia Records|Columbia]] (1975–1977)<br>Moss Music Group (1981–1988)<br>[[DRG Records|DRG]] (1993–2017)
| website = [http://www.barbaracook.com Official website]
}}
}}
'''Barbara Cook''' (October 25, 1927 – August 8, 2017) was an American actress and singer who first came to prominence in the 1950s as the lead in the original [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] musicals ''[[Plain and Fancy]]'' (1955), ''[[Candide (musical)|Candide]]'' (1956) and ''[[The Music Man]]'' (1957) among others, winning a [[Tony Award]] for the last. She continued performing mostly in theatre until the mid-1970s, when she began a second career as a cabaret and concert singer. She also made numerous recordings.

During her years as Broadway’s leading [[ingenue (stock character)|ingénue]], Cook was lauded for her excellent [[lyric soprano]] voice. She was particularly admired for her vocal agility, wide range, warm sound, and emotive interpretations. As she aged her voice took on a darker quality, even in her [[head voice]], that was less prominent in her youth.<ref name="Grove">Howard Goldstein: "Barbara Cook", ''Grove Music Online'' ed. L. Macy (Accessed December 4, 2008), [http://www.grovemusic.com (subscription access)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080516041031/http://www.grovemusic.com/ |date=May 16, 2008 }}</ref> At the time of her death, Cook was widely recognized as one of the "premier interpreters" of musical theatre songs and standards, in particular the songs of composer [[Stephen Sondheim]]. Her subtle and sensitive interpretations of American popular song continued to earn high praise even into her eighties.<ref name="nymag">{{cite news|last=Witchel|first=Alex|url=http://www.barbaracook.com/news_aloneagain.htm|title=Alone, Again|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=April 17, 2005|access-date=May 18, 2007|format=reprint|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071029203736/http://www.barbaracook.com/news_aloneagain.htm|archive-date = October 29, 2007}}</ref> She was named an honoree at the 2011 [[Kennedy Center Honors]].