American screen legend Gary Cooper (1901-1961) is well remembered for his stoic, understated acting style in more than one hundred Westerns, comedies and dramas. He received five Oscar nominations and won twice for his roles as Alvin York in Sergeant York (1941) and as Will Kane in High Noon (1952).
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 5751/1, 1930-1931. Photo: Paramount.
Gary Cooper in
Morocco (Josef von Sternberg, 1930). Caption: Garry Cooper (sic).
French postcard by Editions P.I., Paris, no. 220. Photo: M.G.M.
British postcard in the 'Film Kurier' Series, London, no. 9. Photo: Paramount Pictures.
British postcard in the Picturegoer Series, London, no. 868b. Photo: Samuel Goldwyn.
British Real Photograph postcard, no. B. 8. Photo: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
British postcard, London, no. FS 190. Photo: Paramount. Publicity still for
Beau Geste (William A. Wellman, 1939).
French postcard in the Entr'acte series by Éditions Asphodèle, Mâcon, no. 003/7. Collection: B. Courtel / D.R.
Gary Cooper on the set of
Fighting Caravans (Otto Brower, 1931). Caption: Gary Cooper poses for a publicity photo, guns in hand, in front of the Paramount Studios where he is the star.
A dynamic new personality
Frank James Cooper was born in Helena, Montana in 1901. His parents were English immigrants,
Alice Cooper-Brazier and
Charles Henry Cooper, a prominent lawyer, rancher, and eventually a state supreme court judge. Frank left school in 1918 and returned to the family ranch to help raise their five hundred head of cattle and work full-time as a cowboy. In 1919, his father arranged for his son to complete his high school education at Gallatin County High School in Bozeman, Montana. His English teacher,
Ida W. Davis, played an important role in encouraging him to focus on academics, join the school's debating team, and become involved in dramatics. He was in a car accident as a teenager that caused him to walk with a limp for the rest of his life.
In the fall of 1924, Cooper's parents moved to Los Angeles to administer the estates of two relatives. Cooper joined them and there he met some cowboys from Montana who were working as film extras and stuntmen in low-budget Western films. Cooper decided to try his hand at working as a film extra for five dollars a day and as a stuntman for twice that amount. In early 1925, Cooper began his film career working as an extra and stuntman on Poverty Row in such silent Westerns as
Riders of the Purple Sage (Lynn Reynolds, 1925) with
Tom Mix, and
The Trail Rider (W.S. Van Dyke, 1925) with
Buck Jones. Cooper paid for a screen test and hired casting director
Nan Collins to work as his agent. Collins changed his first name to ‘Gary’ after her hometown of Gary, Indiana.
Cooper also worked in non-Western films. He appeared as a masked Cossack in
The Eagle (Clarence Brown, 1925) with
Rudolph Valentino, as a Roman guard in
Ben-Hur (Fred Niblo, 1925) with
Ramon Novarro, and as a flood survivor in
The Johnstown Flood (Irving Cummings, 1926) with
George O'Brien. Gradually he began to land credited roles that offered him more screen time, such as
Tricks (Bruce M. Mitchell, 1925), in which he played the film's antagonist. As a featured player, he began to attract the attention of major film studios and in June 1926, Cooper signed a contract with Samuel Goldwyn Productions.
His first important film role was in
The Winning of Barbara Worth (Henry King, 1926) with
Ronald Colman and
Vilma Bánky. The film was a major success, and critics called Cooper a "dynamic new personality" and future star. Cooper signed a five-year contract with
Jesse L. Lasky at Paramount Pictures for $175 per week. In 1927, with help from established silent film star
Clara Bow, Cooper landed high-profile roles opposite her in
Children of Divorce (Frank Lloyd, 1927) and
Wings (William A. Wellman, 1927), the first film to win an Academy Award for Best Picture.
With each new film, Cooper's acting skills improved and his popularity continued to grow, especially among female film-goers. He received a thousand fan letters per week. The studio placed him opposite popular leading ladies in films such as
Beau Sabreur (John Waters, 1928) with
Evelyn Brent,
Half a Bride (Gregory La Cava, 1928) with
Esther Ralston, and
Lilac Time (George Fitzmaurice, 1928) with
Colleen Moore. The latter introduced synchronised music and sound effects and became one of the biggest box office hits of the year.
German postcard by Ross-Verlag, no. 5138/1, 1930-1931. Photo: Paramount. Publicity still for
The Last Outlaw (Arthur Rosson, 1927). Cooper was in this silent Western credited as 'Garry Cooper'.
French postcard by Cinémagazine-Edition, no. 34. Photo: First National.
Colleen Moore and
Gary Cooper in
Lilac Time (George Fitzmaurice, 1928).
French postcard by Europe, no. 821. Photo: Paramount.
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 4365/1, 1929-1930. Photo: Defina / First National.
Colleen Moore and
Gary Cooper in
Lilac Time (George Fitzmaurice, 1928).
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 3999/1, 1928-1929. Photo: Paramount.
British Valentine's postcard, no. 5904 I. Photo: Paramount.
Italian postcard by B.F.F. Edit., no. 2947. Collection: Marlene Pilaete.
The tall, handsome and shy cowboy
In 1929, Gary Cooper became a major film star with his first sound picture,
The Virginian (Victor Fleming, 1929). The Virginian was one of the first sound films to define the Western code of honour and helped establish many of the conventions of the Western genre. The romantic image of the tall, handsome, and shy cowboy hero that embodied male freedom, courage, and honour was created in large part by Cooper's performance in the film.
Cooper transitioned naturally to the sound medium, with his deep, clear and pleasantly drawling voice. One of the high points of Cooper's early career was his portrayal of a sullen legionnaire in
Josef von Sternberg's
Morocco (1930) with
Marlene Dietrich in her American debut. Cooper produced one of his finest performances to that point in his career. In the
Dashiell Hammett crime drama
City Streets (Rouben Mamoulian, 1931) he played a misplaced cowboy in a big city who gets involved with gangsters to save the woman (
Sylvia Sidney) he loves.
After making ten films in two years Cooper was exhausted and had lost thirty pounds. In May 1931, he sailed to Algiers and then to Italy, where he lived for the next year. During his time abroad, Cooper stayed with the Countess
Dorothy di Frasso who taught him about good food and vintage wines, how to read Italian and French menus in the finest restaurants, and how to socialise among Europe's nobility and upper classes.
In 1932, a healthy Cooper returned to Hollywood and negotiated a new contract with Paramount for two films per year, a salary of $4,000 per week, and director and script approval. He appeared opposite
Helen Hayes in
A Farewell to Arms (Frank Borzage, 1932), the first film adaptation of an
Ernest Hemingway novel. Critics praised his highly intense and at times emotional performance, and the film went on to become one of the year's most commercially successful films. The following year, Cooper appeared in the
Ernst Lubitsch comedy
Design for Living (1933) with
Miriam Hopkins and
Fredric March, based loosely on the successful
Noël Coward play.
Wikipedia: “The film received mixed reviews and did not do well at the box office, but Cooper's performance was singled out for its versatility and revealed his genuine ability to do light comedy”.
Then, he appeared in his first of seven films by director
Henry Hathaway,
Now and Forever (1934), with
Carole Lombard and
Shirley Temple. The film was a box-office success. His next two Henry Hathaway films were the melodrama
Peter Ibbetson (1935) with
Ann Harding, about a man caught up in a dream world created by his love for a childhood sweetheart, and the romantic adventure
The Lives of a Bengal Lancer (1935), about a daring British officer and his men who defend their stronghold at Bengal against rebellious local tribes. The latter was nominated for six Academy Awards and became one of Cooper's most popular and successful adventure films.
Belgian postcard. Photo: Paramount.
Marlene Dietrich and
Gary Cooper in
Morocco (Josef von Sternberg, 1930).
British Real Photogravure Portrait. Photo: Paramount. Publicity still for
The Lives of a Bengal Lancer (Henry Hathaway, 1935).
Latvian postcard.
Anna Sten and
Gary Cooper in
The Wedding Night (King Vidor, 1935).
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 9640/1, 1935-1936. Photo: Paramount.
Marlene Dietrich and
Gary Cooper in
Desire (Frank Borzage, 1936).
British postcard in the Film Partners series, no. P 214. Photo: Paramount.
Madeleine Carroll and
Gary Cooper in
The General Died at Dawn (Lewis Milestone, 1936).
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. A 1605/1, 1937-1938. Photo: Paramount.
British postcard, London, no. FS 191. Photo: Paramount.
Robert Preston,
Gary Cooper and
Ray Milland in
Beau Geste (William A. Wellman, 1939).
An ‘open’ marriage
Gary Cooper returned to Poverty Row for the first time since his early silent film days to make
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (Frank Capra, 1936) with
Jean Arthur for Columbia Pictures. Cooper plays the character of Longfellow Deeds, an innocent, sweet-natured writer of greeting cards who inherits a fortune, leaves behind his idyllic life in Vermont, and travels to New York where he faces a world of corruption and deceit. For his performance in Mr. Deeds, Cooper received his first Oscar nomination. In the adventure film,
The General Died at Dawn (Lewis Milestone, 1936) with
Madeleine Carroll, he plays an American soldier of fortune in China who helps the peasants defend themselves against the oppression of a cruel warlord. Written by playwright
Clifford Odets, the film was a critical and commercial success. In
Cecil B. DeMille's sprawling frontier epic
The Plainsman (1936) with
Jean Arthur — his first of four films with the director — Cooper portrays Wild Bill Hickok in a highly fictionalised version of the opening of the American western frontier. That year, Cooper appeared for the first time on the
Motion Picture Herald exhibitor's poll of top ten film personalities, where he would remain for the next twenty-two years.
In
Ernst Lubitsch's romantic comedy
Bluebeard's Eighth Wife (1938) with
Claudette Colbert, Cooper plays a wealthy American businessman in France who falls in love with an impoverished aristocrat's daughter and persuades her to become his eighth wife. In the adventure film
Beau Geste (William A. Wellman, 1939) with
Ray Milland, he joined the French Foreign Legion to find adventure in the Sahara fighting local tribes.
Wikipedia: “
Beau Geste provided Cooper with magnificent sets, exotic settings, high-spirited action, and a role tailored to his personality and screen persona.” Cooper cemented his cowboy credentials in
The Westerner (William Wyler, 1940). He won his first Academy Award for Best Actor in 1942 for his performance as Alvin York, the most decorated U.S. soldier from the Great War, in
Sergeant York (Howard Hawks, 1941).
Cooper worked with
Ingrid Bergman in
For Whom the Bell Tolls (Sam Wood, 1943) which earned him his third Oscar nomination. The film was based on a novel by
Ernest Hemingway, with whom Cooper developed a strong friendship. On 23 October 1947, he appeared before the House Un-American Activities Committee in Washington, not under subpoena but responding to an invitation to give testimony on the alleged infiltration of Hollywood by communists. Although he never said he regretted having been a friendly witness, as an independent producer, he hired blacklisted actors and technicians. He did say he had never wanted to see anyone lose the right to work, regardless of what he had done. Cooper won his second Oscar for his performance as Marshal Will Kane in
High Noon (Fred Zinnemann, 1952), one of his finest roles and a kind of come-back after a series of flops. He continued to play the lead in films almost to the end of his life.
His later box office hits included the influential Western
Vera Cruz (Robert Aldrich, 1954) in which he guns down villain
Burt Lancaster in a showdown, William Wyler's
Friendly Persuasion (1956), in which he portrays a Quaker farmer during the American Civil War,
Billy Wilder's
Love in the Afternoon (1957) with
Audrey Hepburn, and the hard-edged action Western
Man of the West (Anthony Mann, 1958), with
Lee J. Cobb. Cooper's final film was the British-American co-production
The Naked Edge (Michael Anderson, 1961). In April 1960, Cooper underwent surgery for prostate cancer after it had metastasized to his colon. But by the end of the year, the cancer had spread to his lungs and bones. On 13 May 1961, six days after his sixtieth birthday, Gary Cooper died.
The young and handsome Cooper had affairs with
Clara Bow,
Lupe Velez,
Marlene Dietrich and
Tallulah Bankhead. In 1933, he married socialite
Veronica Balfe, who, billed as
Sandra Shaw, enjoyed a short-lived acting career. They had an ‘open’ marriage and Cooper also had relationships with the actresses
Grace Kelly,
Anita Ekberg, and
Patricia Neal.
Sir Cecil Beaton also claimed to have had an affair with him.
Belgian postcard by N.V. Victoria, Brussels, no. 639. Photo: Warner Bros.
French postcard by Editions P.I., Paris, no. 307. Photo: Paramount. Gary Cooper in
Unconquered (Cecil B. DeMille, 1947).
Spanish postcard, no. 348. Photo: Warner Bros.
Patricia Neal and
Gary Cooper in
The Fountainhead (King Vidor, 1949). Collection: Marlene Pilaete.
French postcard by Editions P.I., Paris, no. 19E. Photo: Warner Bros, 1953. Gary Cooper in
Dallas (Henry Hathaway, 1950).
Romanian postcard by Casa Filmului Acin, no. 40. Photo: United Artists.
Sara Montiel and
Gary Cooper in
Vera Cruz (Robert Aldrich, 1954).
German postcard by ISV, no. A 17. Photo: 20th Century Fox. Gary Cooper in
Garden of Evil (Henry Hathaway, 1954).
German postcard by Kolibri-Verlag, Minden/Westf.no. 2892. Photo: MGM. Publicity still for
Friendly Persuasion (William Wyler, 1956).
French postcard by PSG, offered by Corvisart, Epinal, no. 49.
Romanian postcard by Casa Filmului ACIN. Photo:
Gary Cooper and
Suzy Parker in
Ten North Frederick (Philip Dunne, 1958).
French postcard in the Entr'acte series by Éditions Asphodèle, Mâcon, no. 001/24. Collection: B. Courtel / D.R.
Gary Cooper on the set of
Man of the West (Anthony Mann, 1958). Caption: Gary Cooper and director Anthony Mann on the set of the film.
American postcard by the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art, no. 01-02619-3, 1994. Photo: George Hoyningen-Huene. Caption: Gary Cooper, 1934.
Sources:
Wikipedia and
IMDb.
This post was last updated on 22 October 2023.