Jackie Cooper | |
|---|---|
 Cooper in 1956 | |
| Born | John Cooper Jr. (1922-09-15)September 15, 1922 Los Angeles, California |
| Died | May 3, 2011(2011-05-03) (aged 88) Santa Monica, California, U.S. |
| Resting place | Arlington National Cemetery |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1928–1990 |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 4 |
John Cooper Jr. (September 15, 1922 – May 3, 2011) was an American actor and director. Known asJackie Cooper, he began his career performing in film as a child, and successfully transitioned to adult roles and directing in both film and television. At age nine, he became the only child andyoungest person nominated for theAcademy Award for Best Actor, for the 1931 filmSkippy.[1][2] He was a featured member of theOur Gang ensemble in 1929–1931, starred in the television seriesThe People's Choice (1955–1958) andHennesey (1959–1962), and played journalistPerry White in the1978–1987 Superman films.
John Cooper Jr.[3] was born in Los Angeles, California. Cooper's father, John Cooper, left the family when Jackie was two years old.[4][5][6] His mother, Mabel Leonard Bigelow (née Polito), was a stage pianist.[7] Cooper's maternal uncle, Jack Leonard, was a screenwriter and his maternal aunt, Julie Leonard, was an actress married to directorNorman Taurog. Cooper's stepfather was C. J. Bigelow, a studio production manager.[4] His mother was Italian American (her family's surname was changed from "Polito" to "Leonard"); Cooper was told by his family that his father was Jewish. The two never reunited after he had left the family.[4][8][9]
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Cooper first appeared in films as an extra with his grandmother, who took him to her auditions hoping it would help her get extra work. At age three, Jackie appeared inLloyd Hamilton comedies under the name of "Leonard".
Cooper graduated to bit parts in feature films such asFox Movietone Follies of 1929 andSunny Side Up. His director in those films,David Butler, recommended Cooper to directorLeo McCarey, who arranged an audition for theOur Gang comedy series produced byHal Roach. In 1929, Cooper signed a three-year contract after joining the series in the shortBoxing Gloves. He initially was cast as a supporting character, but by early 1930 his success in transitioning to sound films enabled him to become one ofOur Gang's major characters, called Jackie in the series, replacingHarry Spear, who left after his contract expired. He was the main character in the 1930 entriesThe First Seven Years andWhen the Wind Blows. His most notable performances explore his crush on schoolteacher Miss Crabtree, (portrayed byJune Marlowe) in the trilogyTeacher's Pet,School's Out, andLove Business.[4]
While under contract toHal Roach Studios, in 1931 Cooper was loaned toParamount to star inSkippy, directed by his uncle, Norman Taurog. At age nine, Cooper was nominated for anAcademy Award for Best Actor, the youngest actor to be nominated for an Oscar in that category. Although Paramount paid Roach $25,000 for Cooper's services, Roach paid Cooper a standard salary of $50 per week.[4]
Cooper was in great demand, resulting in Roach selling the actor's contract toMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1931. Cooper acted withWallace Beery inThe Champ (1931—Beery'sOscar-winning role); a wittily comedic romp titledThe Bowery (1933) withGeorge Raft,Fay Wray andPert Kelton;Robert Louis Stevenson'sTreasure Island (1934) withLionel Barrymore,Lewis Stone andNigel Bruce; and a father-son circus story about a one-armed animal trainer titledO'Shaughnessy's Boy (1935). In his autobiography, Cooper wrote that Beery was a disappointment and accused Beery of upstaging him and attempting to undermine his performances out of jealousy.[4]
Cooper played the lead role in the first twoHenry Aldrich films,What a Life (1939) andLife with Henry (1941), and co-starred withHedy Lamarr,Lana Turner andJames Stewart in the 1941 MGM musicalZiegfeld Girl starringJudy Garland.
Cooper served in theU.S. Navy during World War II, remaining in the reserves until 1982, retiring at the rank ofcaptain and receiving theLegion of Merit.[10] He starred in two television sitcoms,NBC'sThe People's Choice withPatricia Breslin and as thetitle character inCBS'sHennessy withAbby Dalton. In 1954, he guest-starred on the NBC legal dramaJustice. He appeared onABC'sThe Pat Boone Chevy Showroom, guest-starred withTennessee Ernie Ford on NBC'sThe Ford Show as America's Uranium King, and asCharles A. Steen in "I Found 60 Million Dollars" on theArmstrong Circle Theatre.[11]
In 1950, Cooper was cast in a production ofMr. Roberts inBoston, Massachusetts in the role of Ensign Pulver. From 1964 to 1969, Cooper was vice president of program development at Columbia PicturesScreen Gems TV division. He was responsible for packaging series such asBewitched and selling them to the networks. In 1964, Cooper appeared in Rod Serling'sThe Twilight Zone episode "Caesar and Me", and in 1968 amade-for-television film,Shadow on the Land.[11]
Cooper left Columbia in 1969. He appeared in the fourth season ofHawaii Five-O in an episode called "The Burning Ice". Cooper appeared inCandidate for Crime starringPeter Falk asColumbo in 1973, Season 1 Episode 12 "Last Rites for a Dead Priest" ofKojak in 1974 starringTelly Savalas, and in the 1975 ABC seriesMobile One, aJack Webb/Mark VII Limited production. He guest-starred in a 1978 two-part episode ofThe Rockford Files, "The House on Willis Avenue". Cooper's work as director on episodes ofM*A*S*H andThe White Shadow earned himEmmy awards.[12]
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In the 1970s and 1980s, Cooper appeared asDaily Planet editorPerry White in theSuperman film series, a role he got afterKeenan Wynn, who was originally cast as White, became unavailable after suffering a heart attack.[13]
Cooper's final film role was as Ace Morgan in the 1987 filmSurrender, starringSally Field,Michael Caine, andSteve Guttenberg.[11] Cooper announced his retirement in 1989, with his final television appearance as John C. Dodd in two episodes ofCapital News in 1992.[14]
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Cooper served in the United States Navy during World War II and remained active in theNaval Reserve for the next several decades, reaching the rank of captain.[6] He was married to June Horne from 1944 until 1949, with whom he had a son, John "Jack" Cooper III, who was born in 1946. June was the daughter of directorJames W. Horne and actressCleo Ridgely. Cooper was married to Hildy Parks from 1950 until 1951, and to Barbara Rae Kraus from 1954 until her death in 2009. Cooper and Kraus had three children, Russell, born in 1956, Julie, born in 1957, and Cristina, born in 1959. Julie and Cristina died in 1997 and 2009, respectively.[7]
Cooper supported Republican presidential candidates and appeared at rallies forHerbert Hoover in 1932[15] andDwight D. Eisenhower in 1952.[16]
Cooper participated in several automobile racing events, including the record-breaking class D cars at theBonneville Salt Flats inUtah. He drove in severalSCCA road racing competitions. Cooper was named the honorary starter for the 1976 Winston 500 at the Alabama International Motor Speedway, which is now known asTalladega Superspeedway, inTalladega, Alabama.[17]
Cooper's autobiography,Please Don't Shoot My Dog, was published in 1982. The title refers to an incident during the filming ofSkippy, when Norman Taurog, who was the director, needed Cooper to cry a number of times on camera. To accomplish that, Taurog used various tricks intended to upset Cooper. For example, one time Taurog ordered a security guard to go backstage and pretend to shoot Cooper's dog. The stunt resulted in genuine tears; Cooper afterwards discovered his dog was in fact fine. Later that same day, his mother came to the set, and showed Cooper a better way for an actor to experience emotions in the scene–by studying the script, and empathizing with the character he was portraying.[4]
Cooper announced his retirement in 1989, although he continued directing episodes of the syndicated seriesSuperboy. He began spending more time training and racing horses at Hollywood Park and outside San Diego during theDel Mar racing season. Cooper lived inBeverly Hills from 1955 until his death.
For his contributions to the motion picture industry, Cooper was honored with aHollywood Walk of Fame star located at 1507Vine Street.[18]
Cooper died on May 3, 2011, aged 88, inSanta Monica, California. He was survived by his two sons. He outlived both his daughters and wife, Barbara Rae Kraus.[7][19] He was interred atArlington National Cemetery inArlington County, Virginia, in honor of his naval service.[6]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1929 | Fox Movietone Follies of 1929 | Little Boy | Uncredited |
| 1929 | Sunny Side Up | Jerry McGinnis | Uncredited |
| 1931 | Skippy | Skippy | Nominated –Academy Award for Best Actor |
| 1931 | Young Donovan's Kid | Midge Murray | |
| 1931 | The Champ | Dink Purcell | |
| 1931 | Sooky | Skippy | |
| 1932 | When a Feller Needs a Friend | Edward Haverford "Eddie" Randall | |
| 1932 | Divorce in the Family | Terry Parker | |
| 1933 | Broadway to Hollywood | Ted Hackett Jr. | |
| 1933 | The Bowery | Swipes McGurk | |
| 1933 | Lone Cowboy | Scooter O'Neal | |
| 1934 | Treasure Island | Jim Hawkins | |
| 1934 | Peck's Bad Boy | Bill Peck | |
| 1935 | Dinky | Dinky Daniels | |
| 1935 | O'Shaughnessy's Boy | Joseph "Stubby" O'Shaughnessy | |
| 1936 | Tough Guy | Frederick Martindale "Freddie" Vincent III | |
| 1936 | The Devil Is a Sissy | "Buck" Murphy | |
| 1937 | Boy of the Streets | Chuck Brennan | |
| 1938 | White Banners | Peter Trimble | |
| 1938 | That Certain Age | Kenneth "Ken" Warren | |
| 1938 | Gangster's Boy | Larry Kelly | |
| 1938 | Newsboys' Home | Rifle Edwards | |
| 1939 | Scouts to the Rescue | Bruce Scott | |
| 1939 | The Spirit of Culver | Tom Allen | |
| 1939 | Streets of New York | James Michael "Jimmy" Keenan | |
| 1939 | Two Bright Boys | Rory O'Donnell | |
| 1939 | What a Life | Henry Aldrich | |
| 1939 | The Big Guy | Jimmy Hutchins | |
| 1940 | Seventeen | William Sylvanus Baxter | |
| 1940 | The Return of Frank James | Clem | |
| 1940 | Life with Henry | Henry Aldrich | |
| 1940 | Gallant Sons | Byron "By" Newbold | |
| 1941 | Ziegfeld Girl | Jerry Regan | |
| 1941 | Her First Beau | Chuck Harris | |
| 1941 | Glamour Boy | Tiny Barlow | |
| 1942 | Syncopation | Johnny Schumacher | |
| 1942 | Men of Texas | Robert Houston Scott | |
| 1942 | The Navy Comes Through | Joe "Babe" Duttson | |
| 1943 | Where Are Your Children? | Danny Cheston | |
| 1947 | Stork Bites Man | Ernest (Ernie) C. Brown | |
| 1947 | Kilroy Was Here | John J. Kilroy | |
| 1948 | French Leave | Skitch Kilroy | |
| 1955 | The People's Choice | Socrates "Sock" Miller | Television series, 1955 to 1958 |
| 1959 | Hennesey | Lt. Charles "Chick" Hennesey, MD | Television series, 1959 to 1962 |
| 1961 | Everything's Ducky | Lt. J. S. Parmell | |
| 1964 | Calhoun: County Agent | Everett Calhoun | Television film |
| 1968 | Shadow on the Land | Lt. Col. Andy Davis | Television film |
| 1971 | The Love Machine | Danton Miller | |
| 1971 | Maybe I'll Come Home in the Spring | Ed Miller | Television film |
| 1971 | Hawaii Five-O (1968 TV series) | Dr. Alex Southmore | Episode: "The Burning Ice" |
| 1972 | The Astronaut | Kurt Anderson | Television film |
| 1972 | Stand Up and Be Counted | Doctor | Uncredited, also director |
| 1973 | Columbo | Nelson Hayward | Television series; episode: "Candidate for Crime" |
| 1973 | The F.B.I. | Harlan Slade | Television series; S9E3 |
| 1973 | Of Men and Women | Ted | Television film |
| 1974 | Chosen Survivors | Raymond Couzins | |
| 1974 | The Day the Earth Moved | Steve Barker | Television film |
| 1974 | Kojak | Frank Mulvaney | Television |
| 1975 | Journey into Fear | Eric Hurst | |
| 1978 | Having Babies III | Does not appear | Director |
| 1978 | Perfect Gentlemen | Does not appear | Director |
| 1978 | Superman | Perry White | |
| 1978 | The Rockford Files | Garth McGregor | Episode: "The House on Willis Avenue" |
| 1978 | Rainbow | Does not appear | Director |
| 1979 | Sex and the Single Parent | Does not appear | Director |
| 1980 | White Mama | Does not appear | Director |
| 1980 | Superman II | Perry White | |
| 1980 | Rodeo Girl | Does not appear | Director |
| 1981 | Leave 'Em Laughing | Does not appear | Director |
| 1982 | Moonlight | Does not appear | Director |
| 1982 | Rosie: The Rosemary Clooney Story | Does not appear | Director |
| 1983 | Superman III | Perry White | |
| 1984 | The Night They Saved Christmas | Does not appear | Director |
| 1985 | Izzy & Moe | Does not appear | Director |
| 1986 | Murder, She Wrote | Carl Schulman/Neil Fletcher | |
| 1987 | Magnum, P.I. | Does not appear | Director |
| 1987 | The Ladies | Does not appear | Director |
| 1987 | Superman IV: The Quest for Peace | Perry White | |
| 1987 | Surrender | Ace Morgan | (Final film role) |
