GARY COOPER BIOGRAPHY & FILMOGRAPHY:

Gary Cooper was born on May 7th, 1901 in Helena, Montana with the birth name Frank James Cooper.  He had one brother and both his parents were British.  His father was a lawyer and served as the supreme justice from 1919-1924.  As a child, Cooper spent much of his time on the Cooer ranch where he learned to ride, do ranch work and he also worked as a tour driver for 4 years at Yellowstone National Park. 
 
Cooper enrolled in Wesleyan College at Bozeman, Montana, in 1920.  Early on in his life his goal was to be an artist and during 1924 he published cartoons on Helena's daily newspaper.  After an automobile accident he enrolled in college at  Grinnell, Iowa, in 1921, however he decided this line of work was not for him and so the following year he relocated to Los Angeles.  He began by working small extra jobs as a cowboy in various Westerns for the first two years living in Los Angeles.  During this time his agent suggested he change his name to Gary, due to there being too many Frank Coopers in the acting industry.

In 1926, his big break came on, "The Winning of Barbara Worth" starring Ronald Colman and Vilma Banky, where his tall and handsome presence was well received by the public.  His career took off from here.  Paramount Pictures soon after signed a contract with him.  Another early hit was his 1929 appearance in "The Virginian" also starring Mary Brian, Walter Huston and Richard Arlen.   He was becoming a box office hit and even during the Great Depression he had no problem maintaining his wealth and fame.  He continued to work in the film industry with a role in, "A Farewell to Arms" (1932) co-starring Helen Hayes and Adolphe Menjou.
 
In 1933 Cooper wed Veronica Balfe, an aspiring actress, on December 15, and together they had one daughter.  However, Cooper was not a very faithful husband and was known to have numerous affairs.  Between 1936 and 1943, Cooper's career took a new direction. With box office success and triumphs that varied his screen image.
 
The Frank Capra romantic comedy "Mr. Deeds Goes to Town" (1936) co-starring Jean Arthur and "Meet John Doe" (1941) starring with Barbara Stanwyck, Walter Brennan, Edward Arnold, James Gleason and Spring Byington, were his next two films followed by winning two Academy Awards as best actor for "Sergeant York" (1941) the biography of World War I Congressional Medal of Honor recipient Alvin C. York, starring with Walter Brennan, Joan Leslie, George Tobias and Ward Bond, and "High Noon" (1952) starring with the beautiful and talented Grace Kelly.  He also starred in the film version of Montanan Dorothy Johnson's novel, "The Hanging Tree" (1959) starring alongside Karl Malden, Maria Schell and George C. Scott.  His roles varied from stunt man to leading man.  The 50's were tough for him personally suffering from a painful back and ulcers, plus as he was appearing in more films, he was looking older and losing his boyish thin image.
 
By 1960, Cooper decided to change the direction of his career.  Entering television, he narrated a documentary, "The Real West" (1961), which tried to separate the frontier realities from the images in the television westerns he had come to detest. 

Gary Cooper was in the film industry for 35 years and portrayed every type of character from a pilot, cowboy and soldier.  Cooper represented the All-American man."

In 1961 his friend and fellow star James Stewart accepted an award on Coopers behalf, and revealed that Cooper was dying of cancer. Cooper died less than a month later. He died at Los Angeles on May 13, 1961.  To many, this signaled the end of an era in Hollywood.
 

Filmography
 
1959   The Hanging Tree
1959   The Wreck of the Mary Deare
1959   They Came to Cordura
1958   Man of the West
1958   Ten North Frederick
1957   Love in the Afternoon
1956   Friendly Persuasion
1955   The Court Martial of Billy Mitchell 
1954   Blowing Wild
1953   Return to Paradise
1953   Vera Cruz 
1952   High Noon
1952   Springfield Rifle
1951   Distant Drums
1949   It's a Great Feeling 
1949   Task Force 
1949   The Fountainhead 
1948   Good Sam 
1947   Unconquered 
1947   Variety Girl
1946   Cloak and Dagger
1945   Along Came Jones
1945   Saratoga Trunk
1944   Casanova Brown
1943   For Whom the Bell Tolls
1942   The Pride of the Yankees
1941   Ball of Fire
1941   Meet John Doe
1941   Sergeant York 
1940   The Westerner
1939   Beau Geste 
1939   The Real Glory
1938   Bluebeard's Eighth Wife 
1938   The Adventures of Marco Polo
1938   The Cowboy and the Lady
1937   Souls at Sea
1937   The Plainsman
1936   Desire
1936   Mr. Deeds Goes to Town
1936   The General Died at Dawn
1935   The Lives of a Bengal Lancer
1933   A Farewell to Arms 
1933   Today We Live
1931   Fighting Caravans
1930   The Texan
1930   Morocco
1929   The Virginian
1927   It
1927   Nevada
1927   The Last Outlaw 
1927   Wings