Gary Cooper

He was born Frank James Cooper in Helena, Montana in 1901, but as a child lived in Dunstable, England, with his mother Alice, and elder brother Arthur Le Roy (1895 - 1982). The two boys attended the prestigeous Dunstable School between 1910 and 1913.

The Winning of Barbara Worth

When he was thirteen years old he was injured in an automobile accident, and had to move to his father's cattle ranch in Montana to recuperate. It was here where he learned his considerable riding skills.
After high school Cooper attended Helena, Montana and Iowa College, Grinnell, Iowa. His first stage experience was during high school and college. Afterwards, he worked as an extra for one year before getting a part in a two reeler by Hans Tissler. Eileen Sedgwick was his first leading lady. He changed his name to Gary in 1925, following the advice of his agent, who felt it evoked the "rough, tough" nature of Gary, Indiana.

He then appeared in The Winning of Barbara Worth, (1926) for United Artists before moving to Paramount. While there he appeared in a small part in the Oscar winning Wings (1927), It (1927), and other films.

Whilst filming It, Cooper had an affair with the star, Clara Bow, who saw to it that he was cast in a couple of her films. Cooper really couldn't act at this point, but he applied himself to his work in a brief series of silent Westerns for his home studio, Paramount Pictures, and, by 1929, both his acting expertise and his popularity had soared. Cooper's first talking-picture success was The Virginian (1929), in which he developed the taciturn, laconic speech patterns that became fodder for every impressionist on radio, nightclubs, and television.
The Virginian included the famous line, "When you call me that, smile" delivered to swearing badman Walter Huston. In 1930 he starred in The Texan and A Man From Wyoming before being teamed with exotic Marlene Dietrich in Morocco a desert romance in which he played, unusually, a Legionnaire.

In 1952 an aging, weary looking Cooper assumed what may be his greatest role, that of the embattled marshal abandoned by the townspeople he spent years protecting, in High Noon (1952), a "traditional" Western. He won his second Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance. He wasn't present to receive his Academy Award in February 1953. He asked John Wayne to accept it on his behalf.


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Cooper continued to appear in films almost to the end of his life. Among his later box office hits was his portrayal of a Quaker farmer during the Civil War in William Wyler's Friendly Persuasion in 1956. His final motion picture was a British film, The Naked Edge (1961), directed by Michael Anderson. Among his final projects was serving as narrator for an NBC documentary, The Real West, in which he helped clear up myths about famous Western figures.

In April 1961 Coop won a special, career-achievement Academy Award, which was accepted in an emotional speech by his friend James Stewart. A month later he died on May 31, 1961 of lung and prostrate cancer in Los Angeles, California.

One of the greatest Westerns ever made gets the deluxe treatment on this superior disc from Republic Home Video's Silver Screen Classics line of special-edition DVDs. Written by Carl Foreman (who was later blacklisted during the anticommunist hearings of the '50s) and superbly directed by Fred Zinnemann,

High Noon (Collector's Edition)

this 1952 classic stars Gary Cooper as just-married lawman Will Kane, who is about to retire as a small-town sheriff and begin a new life with his bride (Grace Kelly) when he learns that gunslinger Frank Miller (Ian MacDonald) is due to arrive at high noon to settle an old score. Kane seeks assistance from deputies and townsfolk, but soon realizes he'll have to stand alone in his showdown with Miller and his henchmen. Innovative for its time, the suspenseful story unfolds in approximate real time (from 10:40 a.m. to high noon in an 84-minute film), and many interpreted Foreman's drama as an allegorical reflection of apathy and passive acceptance of Senator Joseph McCarthy's anticommunist campaign. Political underpinnings aside, this remains a milestone of its genre (often referred to as the first "adult" Western), and Cooper is flawless in his Oscar-winning role. Additional features on this first rate DVD include the exclusive documentary The Making of High Noon, hosted by film historian Leonard Maltin and featuring interviews with the late Lloyd Bridges (who played Cooper's rival ex-deputy), director Fred Zinnemann, and producer Stanley Kramer. Also included is the original theatrical trailer and a special chapter stop highlighting the Oscar-winning song "Do Not Forsake Me."


Product Description

Gary Cooper won the Oscar for the Best Actor in this classic tale of a lawman who stands alone to defend a town of righteous cowards in the greatest showdown in the history of cinema. The film also stars one of Hollywood's most beloved and prolific actors, Lloyd Bridges, and marks the first starring role foria beautiful young actress and internationally adored screen legend--Grace Kelly.

Gary Cooper, c.1930s
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