Hook studied graphic arts at Hobart Technical College (now University of Tasmania) and started his career at The Mercury (Hobart) drawing under the name "Jeff". He moved to Melbourne's The Sun News-Pictorial in 1964 and began hiding his trademark fish hook in his cartoons.

He gained international recognition in 1967 for his cartoon about the end of the Six-Day War, "The three wiser men", which was republished widely outside of Australia.

Hook retired from the Herald Sun in 1993, but continued to freelance for the Sunday Herald Sun until 2000, while focusing on painting. He has exhibited widely at regional art shows and galleries in Australia. He had 46 books published with is illustrations, including children's books.

Hook won the the Australian Black and White Artists Club's Bulletin Award for Humorous Illustration in 1987; the Best Political Cartoon at The International Cartoon Festival at Knokke-Heist, Belgium in 1987; and The Best Press Cartoon at The International Cartoon Festival in 1991. He received the Australian Black and White Artists Club's Silver Stanley Award for lifetime achievement in 1998; a lifetime achievement award by the Melbourne Press Club in 2009; and an Order of Australia Medal for "service to the print media as a political and social commentator, and as a cartoonist" in 2012.