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IMDbPro

Merian C. Cooper(1893-1973)

  • Producer
  • Writer
  • Additional Crew
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Merian C. Cooper
Director Jordan Vogt-Roberts reveals the motivation behind making a new theatrical trailer for his movie, 'Kong: Skull Island.'
Play trailer2:33
Kong: Skull Island (2017)
1 Video
3 Photos
In 1920, Merian C. Cooper was a member of volunteer of the American Kosciuszko Squadron that supported the Polish army in the war with Soviet Russia, where he met best friend and producing partner Ernest B. Schoedsack. On 26 July 1920, his plane was shot down, and he spent nearly nine months in the Soviet prisoner-of-war camp. He escaped just before the war was over. He was decorated by Marshall Jozef Pilsudski with the highest military decorations: Virtuti Military. He had a successful career in the military and in the movie business.
BornOctober 24, 1893
DiedApril 21, 1973(79)
BornOctober 24, 1893
DiedApril 21, 1973(79)
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
  • Nominated for 1 Oscar
    • 3 wins & 2 nominations total

Photos2

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Known for

Fay Wray and King Kong in King Kong (1933)
King Kong
7.9
  • Producer(uncredited)
  • 1933
Andy Serkis and Naomi Watts in King Kong (2005)
King Kong
7.2
  • Writer
  • 2005
John Alexander in Mighty Joe Young (1998)
Mighty Joe Young
5.7
  • Writer
  • 1998
Katharine Hepburn, Joan Bennett, Frances Dee, and Jean Parker in Little Women (1933)
Little Women
7.2
  • Producer
  • 1933

Credits

Edit
IMDbPro

Producer



  • Best of Cinerama (1963)
    Best of Cinerama
    7.1
    • co-producer
    • 1963
  • John Wayne, Natalie Wood, Ward Bond, Jeffrey Hunter, and Vera Miles in The Searchers (1956)
    The Searchers
    7.8
    • executive producer
    • 1956
  • Seven Wonders of the World (1956)
    Seven Wonders of the World
    7.0
    • producer
    • 1956
  • John Russell, Arleen Whelan, and Charles Winninger in The Sun Shines Bright (1953)
    The Sun Shines Bright
    6.9
    • producer (uncredited)
    • 1953
  • Remastered Version Movie Poster
    This Is Cinerama
    6.8
    • producer
    • 1952
  • Maureen O'Hara, John Wayne, Ward Bond, Barry Fitzgerald, and Victor McLaglen in The Quiet Man (1952)
    The Quiet Man
    7.7
    • producer (uncredited)
    • 1952
  • Harry Carey Jr., Ben Johnson, Victor McLaglen, J. Carrol Naish, and Chill Wills in Rio Grande (1950)
    Rio Grande
    7.0
    • producer (uncredited)
    • 1950
  • Joanne Dru and Ben Johnson in Wagon Master (1950)
    Wagon Master
    7.1
    • executive producer (uncredited)
    • 1950
  • Mighty Joe Young (1949)
    Mighty Joe Young
    7.0
    • producer (uncredited)
    • 1949
  • John Wayne, John Agar, Harry Carey Jr., Joanne Dru, and Ben Johnson in She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949)
    She Wore a Yellow Ribbon
    7.2
    • executive producer (uncredited)
    • 1949
  • John Wayne, Pedro Armendáriz, Harry Carey Jr., and Dorothy Ford in 3 Godfathers (1948)
    3 Godfathers
    7.0
    • producer (uncredited)
    • 1948
  • Shirley Temple and John Agar in Fort Apache (1948)
    Fort Apache
    7.4
    • executive producer (uncredited)
    • 1948
  • Henry Fonda, Pedro Armendáriz, and Dolores Del Río in The Fugitive (1947)
    The Fugitive
    6.3
    • producer (uncredited)
    • 1947
  • Dr. Cyclops (1940)
    Dr. Cyclops
    6.4
    • producer (uncredited)
    • 1940
  • Melvyn Douglas and Luise Rainer in The Toy Wife (1938)
    The Toy Wife
    5.8
    • producer
    • 1938

Writer



  • FilmToons Logic (2021)
    FilmToons Logic
    3.9
    TV Series
    • based on the characters created by (uncredited)
    • 2021
  • King Kong Skull Island
    7.2
    TV Series
    • King Kong Created By
    • 2019
  • King Kong - FAN FILM (2016)
    King Kong - FAN FILM
    6.7
    • based on characters created by
    • 2016
  • Banglar King Kong
    3.4
    • original creator
    • 2010
  • Dead of Conspiracy (2006)
    Dead of Conspiracy
    3.9
    Video
    • based on the character by
    • 2006
  • Andy Serkis and Naomi Watts in King Kong (2005)
    King Kong
    7.2
    • based on a story by
    • 2005
  • The Lost Spider Pit Sequence (2005)
    The Lost Spider Pit Sequence
    7.5
    Video
    • characters
    • 2005
  • Kong: King of Atlantis (2005)
    Kong: King of Atlantis
    4.0
    Video
    • character idea (uncredited)
    • 2005
  • Kong
    6.3
    • character idea
    • 2000
  • Kong: The Animated Series (2000)
    Kong: The Animated Series
    5.6
    TV Series
    • main characters (2000)
    • 2000–2001
  • John Alexander in Mighty Joe Young (1998)
    Mighty Joe Young
    5.7
    • story
    • 1998
  • The Mighty Kong (1998)
    The Mighty Kong
    3.8
    • screen story "King Kong" (uncredited)
    • 1998
  • King Kong Lives (1986)
    King Kong Lives
    4.0
    • based on the character created by
    • 1986
  • Kingu Kongu Tsû: Ikari no Megaton Panchi (1986)
    Kingu Kongu Tsû: Ikari no Megaton Panchi
    Video Game
    • King Kong created by (uncredited)
    • 1986
  • King Kong (1976)
    King Kong
    6.0
    • from an idea conceived by
    • 1976

Additional Crew



  • Joanne Dru and Ben Johnson in Wagon Master (1950)
    Wagon Master
    7.1
    • presenter
    • 1950
  • Mighty Joe Young (1949)
    Mighty Joe Young
    7.0
    • presenter
    • 1949
  • John Wayne, John Agar, Harry Carey Jr., Joanne Dru, and Ben Johnson in She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949)
    She Wore a Yellow Ribbon
    7.2
    • presenter
    • 1949
  • John Wayne, Pedro Armendáriz, Harry Carey Jr., and Dorothy Ford in 3 Godfathers (1948)
    3 Godfathers
    7.0
    • presenter
    • 1948
  • Shirley Temple and John Agar in Fort Apache (1948)
    Fort Apache
    7.4
    • presenter
    • 1948
  • Henry Fonda, Pedro Armendáriz, and Dolores Del Río in The Fugitive (1947)
    The Fugitive
    6.3
    • presenter
    • 1947
  • Stingaree (1934)
    Stingaree
    5.8
    • presenter
    • 1934

  • In-development projects at IMDbPro

Videos1

Trailer With Commentary
Trailer 2:33
Trailer With Commentary

Personal details

Edit
  • Alternative name
    • Merian Cooper
  • Height
    • 5′ 8″ (1.73 m)
  • Born
    • October 24, 1893
    • Jacksonville, Florida, USA
  • Died
    • April 21, 1973
    • San Diego, California, USA(cancer)
  • Spouse
    • Dorothy JordanMay 27, 1933 - April 21, 1973 (his death, 3 children)
  • Publicity listings
    • 2 Biographical Movies
    • 5 Print Biographies
    • 2 Interviews
    • 13 Articles

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    Being the producer of King Kong (1933), he personally removed a scene in which four sailors, after Kong shook them off a log bridge, fall into a ravine and are eaten alive by giant spiders because, when previewed in January 1933, audience members either fled the theater in terror or talked about the ghastly scene during the entire movie.
  • Quotes
    [about why the spider scene in King Kong (1933) was removed] It stopped the picture cold, so the next day back at the studio, I took it out myself.
  • Nickname
    • Frank Mosher

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