Gary Cooper

 Gary Cooper, born Frank James Cooper (May 7, 1901 – May 13, 1961).

His career spanned thirty-five years, from 1925 to 1960, and included leading roles in eighty-four feature films. He was a major movie star from the end of the silent film era through the end of the golden age of Classical Hollywood. Noted for his stoic, understated style, Cooper found success in a number of film genres. Cooper began his career as a film extra and stunt rider and soon landed acting roles. After establishing himself as a Western hero in his early silent films, Cooper became a movie star in 1929 with his first sound picture, The Virginian. In the early 1930s, he expanded his heroic image to include more cautious characters in adventure films and dramas such as A Farewell to Arms (1932) and The Lives of a Bengal Lancer (1935). During the height of his career, Cooper portrayed a new type of hero—a champion of the common man—in films such as Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936), Meet John Doe (1941), Sergeant York (1941), The Pride of the Yankees (1942), and For Whom the Bell Tolls (1943). In the post-war years, he portrayed more mature characters at odds with the world in films such as The Fountainhead (1949) and High Noon (1952).

In his final films, Cooper played non-violent characters searching for redemption in films such as Friendly Persuasion (1956) and Man of the West (1958). In 1960, Cooper was diagnosed with prostate cancer and, despite treatment, it spread to his lungs and bones. He died in 1961, at the age of 60. Gary Cooper was buried originally at Holy Cross in Culver City, but his remains were relocated to Sacred Hearts Cemetery in Southampton (NY), after his wife moved in 1974