Gary Cooper
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Born:May 7, 1901 |
Born as:Frank James Cooper |
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Died:May 13, 1961 |
Biography:
Cooper grew up on his parents' ranch and attended school in England and California (USA). In 1925 he was introduced to Hollywood casting directors and began playing cowboy extras in Westerns.
His big break came in 1926 when he was cast in The winning of Barbara Worth. In the early fourties Cooper's star raised very high with Frank Capra's bittersweet Meet John Doe (1941), his real-life pacifist-turned-WW1 hero Alvin York in Sergeant York (1941), Ball of Fire (1941) and Pride of the Yankees (1942).
As Cooper's career progressed, he accepted more difficult, morally ambiguous roles. However, he never forgot that westerns had provided his entre into the world of the cinema, and continued to play in them. In the early fifties Cooper's films had reached a plateau, but not of the caliber his work had reached a decade earlier.
Then in 1952 came Fred Zinnemann's High Noon. This was exactly the boost Coop's career needed - he was back on top to stay.
Academy awards
1961 Won Honorary Award
1953 Won Oscar Best Actor for: High Noon (1952)
1944 Nominated Best Actor for: For Whom the Bell Tolls (1943)
1943 Nominated Best Actor for: Pride of the Yankees, The (1942)
1942 Won Oscar Best Actor for: Sergeant York (1941)
1937 Nominated Best Actor for: Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936)
Selected Movies:
- High Noon (1952)
- Sergeant York (1941)
- Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936)
- Meet John Doe (1941)
- Pride of the Yankees, The (1942)
- Westerner, The (1940)
- Ball of Fire (1941)
Bibliography » Books: