By Mitch Stacy
The Associated Press

TAMPA, Fla. - The urban legend about the famous Gerber Baby goes something like this: The cherubic image on the labels was actually a diaper-clad Humphrey Bogart, sketched lovingly by his artist mom.

Trouble is, the tough-guy actor was already a grown man when the first Gerber jars appeared on store shelves in 1928.

Ann Turner Cook - the real, honest-to-goodness Gerber baby - has heard the tale before.

Her face as a happy infant is forever etched in time on every label of every Gerber product sold in 80 countries, one of the most famous and enduring trademarks in history.

These days, Cook is an energetic 77-year-old fledgling novelist who's not above using her notoriety as America's most famous baby to drum up interest in her murder mysteries, featuring an erstwhile female reporter sniffing out intrigue in small Florida towns.

"In a way, I might be exploiting it a little," she said with a smile. "Being the Gerber Baby helps get people interested. I don't think it sells books, but it gets people interested in what I have to say."

The daughter of well-known comic strip artist Leslie Turner, Cook taught literature and writing in Tampa schools for 26 years and raised four children.

But Cook will no doubt always be best known for her picture on the Gerber labels.

Cook was about 4 months old in 1927 when family friend Dorothy Hope Smith sketched the image in charcoal. Using a neighbor's baby as a model wasn't so unusual in the artist enclave of Westport, Conn., and nobody thought much about it. Least of all Cook's dad, who for 27 years wrote and drew "Wash Tubbs and Captain Easy," a daily comic strip that ran in 500 newspapers.

The next year, Gerber put out the call for images that could be used in ads for its new baby food products, and Smith submitted the drawing.

Her likeness started appearing on the products in 1928 and became the official trademark in 1931.

"The logo is the essence of who we are," said David Yates, vice president for Gerber's North America operations.

Cook didn't have much contact with Gerber after the label came out.

She participated in the 50th anniversary celebration in 1978, then reconnected with the company again in the '90s, flying to its Michigan headquarters for anniversary celebrations.

"There could be better baby foods, but if you own the concept of the beautiful baby, then you're golden," said Jim Twitchell, a University of Florida professor who has written five books on advertising and consumer culture.