Merian C. Cooper | |
|---|---|
 Cooper in 1927 | |
| Born | Merian Caldwell Cooper (1893-10-24)October 24, 1893 Jacksonville, Florida, U.S. |
| Died | April 21, 1973(1973-04-21) (aged 79) San Diego, California, U.S. |
| Alma mater | |
| Occupations | |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3 |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance |  United States Poland |
| Branch |  United States Army Polish Air Force |
| Years of service |
|
| Rank | Brigadier General (US) Podpułkownik (PL) |
| Battles / wars | |
| Awards | |
Merian Caldwell Cooper (October 24, 1893 – April 21, 1973) was an American filmmaker, actor, producer and air officer. In film, his most famous work was the 1933 movieKing Kong, and he is credited as co-inventor of theCinerama film projection process. He was awarded anhonorary Oscar for lifetime achievement in 1952 and received a star on theHollywood Walk of Fame in 1960. He was a passionate anti-communist.[1]: 225
Before entering the movie business, Cooper fought in theWorld War I as a pilot in theUnited States Army Air Service and later in thePolish Air Force. He had a distinguished career as the founder of theKościuszko Squadron during thePolish–Soviet War and was a Soviet prisoner of war for a time. He got his start in film as part ofthe Explorers Club, traveling the world and documenting adventures. He was a member of the board of directors of Pan American Airways, but his love of film took priority. During his film career, he worked for companies such asPioneer Pictures,RKO Pictures, andMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer. In 1925, he andErnest B. Schoedsack went toIran and madeGrass: A Nation's Battle for Life, a documentary about theBakhtiari people.
Merian Caldwell Cooper was born inJacksonville, Florida, to lawyer John C. Cooper and Mary Caldwell.[2] He was the youngest of three children. At age six, Cooper decided that he wanted to be an explorer after hearing stories from the bookExplorations and Adventures in Equatorial Africa.[3]: 10, 14 He was educated atThe Lawrenceville School in New Jersey and graduated in 1911.[3]: 19 [4]
After graduation, Cooper received a prestigious appointment to theU.S. Naval Academy,[3]: 19 but was expelled during his senior year for "hell raising and for championing air power".[5] In 1916, Cooper worked for theMinneapolis Daily News as a reporter, where he metDelos Lovelace.[6] In the next few years, he also worked at theDes Moines Register-Leader and theSt. Louis Post-Dispatch.[3]: 22
In 1916, Cooper joined the GeorgiaNational Guard to helpchase Pancho Villa in Mexico.[7] He was called home in March 1917. He worked for theEl Paso Herald on a 30-day leave of absence. After returning to his service, Cooper was appointed lieutenant; however, he refused the appointment hoping to participate in combat. Instead, he went to the Military Aeronautics School inAtlanta to learn to fly. Cooper graduated at the top of his class.[3]: 24–25
In October 1917, six months after theAmerican entry into World War I, Cooper went toFrance with the 201st Squadron. He attended flying school inIssoudun. While flying with his friend, Cooper hit his head and was knocked out during a 200-foot plunge. After the incident, Cooper suffered from shock and had to relearn how to fly. Cooper requested to go toClermont-Ferrand to be trained as a bomber pilot. He became a pilot with the20th Aero Squadron (which later became the1st Day Bombardment Group).[3]: 26–27
Cooper served as aDH-4 bomber pilot with theUnited States Army Air Service duringWorld War I.[8] On September 26, 1918, his plane was shot down. The plane caught fire, and Cooper spun the plane to suck the flames out. Cooper survived, although he suffered burns, injured his hands, and was presumed dead. German soldiers saw his plane landing and took him to a prisoner reserve hospital.[3]: 8, 38–41 The death certificate on this page was sent to Cooper's family. The Army had believed him killed but he was captured by the Germans and taken as a Prisoner of war (POW). Cooper's father received a letter from Merian around the time the death certificate arrived. Merian C. Cooper sent the copy back to the Army with the notation on top "In the language of Mark Twain Your death has been greatly exaggerated."[9]
Captain Cooper remained in the Air Service after the war; he helped withHerbert Hoover'sU.S. Food Administration that provided aid to Poland. He later became the chief of the Poland division.[10] In the early spring of 1919, while supplying the besieged Poles inLviv during thePolish–Ukrainian War, he claimed to have first discussed US air support for the Polish eastern flank with GeneralTadeusz Rozwadowski who commanded the city's defence.[1]: 218
The contract for the formation of a volunteer American flight squadron was signed by Rozwadowski, Cooper and MajorCedric Fauntleroy at the Wagram Hotel in Paris on August 26, 1919.[1]: 218 On his arrival in Poland, Cooper met with cold reception from theChief of StateJózef Piłsudski, who considered the Americans "paid mercenaries". They were nonetheless dispatched to Lviv in October 1919 and drafted into the Polish military as theKościuszko Squadron in December.[1]: 219–20 Cooper then provided air combat support for thePolish Army in thePolish–Soviet War.[7] On July 13, 1920, his plane was shot down, and he spent nearly nine months in a Sovietprisoner of war camp[10] where the writerIsaac Babel interviewed him.[11] He escaped just before the war was over and made it toLatvia. For his valor he was decorated by Polishcommander-in-chiefJózef Piłsudski with the highest Polish military decoration, theVirtuti Militari.[10]
During his time as a POW, Cooper wrote an autobiography:Things Men Die For.[7] The manuscript was published byG. P. Putnam's Sons in New York (the Knickerbocker Press) in 1927. However, in 1928, Cooper regretted releasing certain details about "Nina" (probably Marjorie Crosby-Słomczyńska) with whom he had relations outside of wedlock. Cooper asked Dagmar Matson, who had the manuscript, to buy all the copies of the book possible. Matson found almost all 5,000 copies that had been printed. The books were destroyed, while Cooper and Matson each kept a copy.[7][12]
Aninterbellum Polish film directed byLeonard Buczkowski,Gwiaździsta eskadra (The Starry Squadron), was inspired by Cooper's experiences as a Polish Air Force officer. The film was made with the cooperation of the Polish army and was the most expensive Polish film prior toWorld War II. After World War II, all copies of the film found in Poland were destroyed by the Soviets.[13]
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After returning from overseas in 1921, Cooper got a job working the night shift atThe New York Times. He was commissioned to write articles forAsia magazine. Cooper was able to travel withErnest Schoedsack on a sea voyage on theWisdom II. As part of the journey, he traveled to Abyssinia, or theEthiopian Empire, where he met their prince regent, Ras Tefari, later known as EmperorHaile Selassie I. The ship left Abyssinia in February 1923. On their way home, the crew narrowly missed being attacked by pirates, and the ship was burned down.[3]: 81–83, 95–104 His three-part series forAsia was published in 1923.[3]: 106
After returning home, Cooper researched for theAmerican Geographical Society. In 1924, Cooper joined Schoedsack andMarguerite Harrison who had embarked on an expedition that would be turned into the filmGrass (1925).[3]: 111 They returned later the same year. Cooper became a member of the Explorers Club of New York in January 1925 and was asked to give lectures and attend events due to his extensive traveling.Grass was acquired byParamount Pictures. Cooper and Schoedsack's first film gained the attention ofJesse Lasky, who commissioned the duo for their second film,Chang (1927). They also produced the filmThe Four Feathers,[3]: 132–137, 162 which was filmed among the fighting tribes of the Sudan. These films combined real footage with staged sequences.[8]
From 1926 to 1927, Cooper discussed with John Hambleton the plans forPan American Airways, which was formed in 1927.[3]: 180 Cooper was a member of the board of directors of Pan American Airways.[14] During his tenure at Pan Am, the company established the first regularly scheduled transatlantic service.[10] While he was on the board, Cooper did not devote his full attention to the organization; he took time in 1929 and 1930 to work on the script forKing Kong. By 1931, he was back in Hollywood.[3]: 182, 183 He resigned from the board of directors in 1935, following health complications.[3]: 258
Cooper said that he thought ofKing Kong after he had a dream that a giant gorilla was terrorizing New York City. When he awoke, he recorded the idea and used it for the film.[15] He was going to have a giant gorilla fight aKomodo dragon or other animal, but found that the technique of interlacing that he wanted to use would not provide realistic results.[3]: 194
Cooper needed a production studio for the film, but recognized the great cost of the movie, especially during theGreat Depression. Cooper helpedDavid Selznick get a job atRKO Pictures, which was struggling financially. Selznick became the vice president of RKO and asked Cooper to join him in September 1931, although he had only produced three films thus far in his career.[3]: 202–203 Cooper began working as an executive assistant at age thirty-eight.[16]: 74 He officially pitched the idea forKing Kong in December 1931. Shortly after, he began to seek actors and build full-scale sets, although the screenplay was not yet complete.[3]: 207–208
The screenplay was delivered to Cooper in January 1932. Schoedsack contributed to the film, focusing on shooting scenes for the boat sequences and in native villages, leaving Cooper to shoot the jungle scenes. In February 1933, the title for the film was registered for copyright.[3]: 218–223 Throughout filming there were creative battles. Critics at RKO argued that the film should begin with Kong. Cooper believed that a film should begin with a "slow dramatic buildup that would establish everything from characters to mood ..." so that the action of the film could "naturally, relentlessly, roll on out of its own creative movement", and thus chose not to begin the film with a shot of Kong.
The iconic scene in which Kong climbs to the top of theEmpire State Building was almost cut by Cooper due to legal concerns over a similar sequence inThe Lost World (1925). RKO’s purchase of the rights toThe Lost World neutralized the legal risk, allowing the sequence to remain in the film.[3]: 229, 231
Overlapping with the production ofKing Kong was the making ofThe Most Dangerous Game, which began in May 1932. Cooper once again worked with Schoedsack to produce the film.[3]: 214
In the 1933 version ofKing Kong, Cooper and co-directorErnest B. Schoedsack appear at the end, piloting the plane that finally finishes off Kong. Cooper had reportedly said, "We should kill the sonofabitch ourselves."[17] Cooper personally cut a scene inKing Kong in which four sailors are shaken off a tree trunk bridge by Kong, fall into a ravine, and are eaten alive by giant spiders. According to Hollywood folklore, the decision was made after previews in January 1933, during which audience members either fled the theater in terror or talked about the ghastly scene throughout the remainder of the movie. However, more objective sources maintain that the scene merely slowed the film's pace. Despite the rumor that Cooper kept a print of the cut footage as a memento, it has never been found.[18] In 2021, film historian Ray Morton stated in an interview that, after looking through the films shooting schedule, he found no evidence the sequence was ever filmed.[19]
In 1963, Cooper argued unsuccessfully that he should own the rights toKing Kong; later in 1976, judges ruled that Cooper's estate owned the rights to King Kong outside the movie and its sequel.[3]: 362, 387 Selznick left RKO before the release ofKing Kong, and Cooper served as production chief from 1933 to 1934 with Pan Berman as his executive assistant.[16]
In the 2005 remake ofKing Kong, upon learning thatFay Wray was not available because she was making a film atRKO,Carl Denham (Jack Black) replies, "Cooper, huh? I might have known."[20]
Cooper helped the Whitney cousins formPioneer Pictures in 1933, while he was still working for RKO.[3]: 254 He was named vice president in charge of production for Pioneer Pictures in 1934.[21] He would use Pioneer Pictures to test his technicolor innovations. The company contracted with RKO in order to fulfill Cooper's obligations to the company, includingShe andThe Last Days of Pompeii. Cooper later referred toShe as the "worst picture I ever made."[3]: 259, 263
After these disappointments, Pioneer Pictures released a short film in three-striptechnicolor calledLa Cucaracha, which was well-received. The film won an Academy Award in 1934. Pioneer released the first full-length technicolor film,Becky Sharp in 1935.[3]: 267–269 Cooper helped to advocate and pave the way for the ground-breaking technology of technicolor,[10] as well as the widescreen process calledCinerama.[22]
Selznick formedSelznick International Pictures in 1935, and Pioneer Pictures merged with it in June 1936.[3]: 269, 274 Cooper became the vice president of Selznick International Pictures that same year.[2] Cooper did not stay long; he resigned in 1937 due to disagreements over the filmStagecoach.[3]: 275
After resigning from Selznick International, Cooper went toMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) in June 1937. A noteworthy project that Cooper was involved in was the fantasy filmWar Eagles. The film, which would have used extensive special effects, was abandoned in approximately 1939 and never finished. Cooper was to return to the Army Air Force.[3]: 276–281
Cooper re-enlisted and was commissioned acolonel in theU.S. Army Air Forces.[10][23] He served with Col.Robert L. Scott in India. He worked as logistics liaison for theDoolittle Raid. Thereafter, Cooper and Scott worked with Col.Caleb V. Haynes atDinjan Airfield. They all were involved in establishing the Assam-Burma-China Ferrying Command. This marked the beginnings ofThe Hump Airlift.
Colonel Cooper later served in China as chief of staff for GeneralClaire Chennault of theChina Air Task Force, which was the precursor of theFourteenth Air Force.[23] On October 25, 1942, a CATF raid consisting of 12 B-25s and 7 P-40s, led by Colonel Cooper, successfully bombed the Kowloon Docks at Hong Kong.[24]
He served from 1943 to 1945 in the Southwest Pacific as chief of staff for theFifth Air Force's Bomber Command.[25] At the end of the war, he was promoted tobrigadier general. For his contributions, he was also aboard theUSSMissouri to witnessJapan's surrender.[10]
Cooper and his friend and frequent collaborator, noted directorJohn Ford, formedArgosy Productions in 1946[26] and produced such notable films asWagon Master (1950),[27]: 112 Ford'sFort Apache (1948), andShe Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949).[26] Cooper's films at Argosy reflected his patriotism and his vision of the United States.[3]: 321
Argosy negotiated a contract with RKO in 1946 to make four pictures. Cooper was able to makeGrass a complete picture. Cooper also produced and directedMighty Joe Young, which recruited Schoedsack as director. Cooper visited the set of the film every day to check on progress.[3]: 335, 340–342
Cooper left Argosy Pictures to pursue the process ofCinerama.[3]: 350 He became the vice president ofCinerama Productions in the 1950s and was also elected a board member. After failing to convince other board members to finance skilled technicians, Cooper left Cinerama withCornelius Vanderbilt Whitney to form C. V. Whitney Productions. Cooper continued to outline movies to be shot in Cinerama, but C. V. Whitney Productions only produced a few films.[3]: 355–358 Cooper was the executive producer for Ford'sThe Searchers (1956).[27]: 117
In the 1950s, Cooper supportedJoseph McCarthy in his crusade to root out Communists in Hollywood and Washington, D.C.[3]: 386–91
He backedBarry Goldwater in the1964 United States presidential election.[28]
Cooper founded Advanced Projects Corporation (1966–1972), a technology venture focused on developing3D color television, whose mission he described as "revolutionizing both theatrical productions and exhibition as well as television".[3]: 374 [29] He served as the chairman of its board and enlistedCharles B. Fitzsimons as president, inventorWadsworth E. Pohl as vice president, Kathy Ryan as executive secretary, and his own son Richard, GeneralJohn R. Alison (an old comrade from China),William Douglas Burden,Thomas Corcoran and lawyer Earl S. Wright as directors.[3]: 374 The company won the contract to build and operate theOzark Folk Center and started the construction of its facility in 1971 before running out of funds and leasing the site to theArkansas Department of Parks and Tourism in May 1972.[30][31]
For his military service in Poland, Cooper was awarded the Silver Cross of theOrder of Virtuti Militari (presented byPiłsudski), andPoland's Cross of Valour.[7]
In 1927, Cooper was one of 19 prominent Americans who were given the title of "Honorary Scouts" by theBoy Scouts of America for "... achievements in outdoor activity, exploration and worthwhile adventure ... of such an exceptional character as to capture the imagination of boys". The other honorees wereRoy Chapman Andrews,Robert Bartlett,Frederick Russell Burnham,Richard E. Byrd,George Kruck Cherrie,James L. Clark,Lincoln Ellsworth,Louis Agassiz Fuertes,George Bird Grinnell,Charles Lindbergh,Donald Baxter MacMillan,Clifford H. Pope,George Palmer Putnam,Kermit Roosevelt,Carl Rungius,Stewart Edward White, andOrville Wright.[32]
In 1949,Mighty Joe Young won an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects, which was presented to Willis O'Brien, the man responsible for the film's special effects.[33][34]
Cooper was awarded an honorary Oscar for lifetime achievement in 1952.[35] His filmThe Quiet Man was nominated for Best Picture that year, but lost toCecil B. DeMille'sThe Greatest Show on Earth.[36] Cooper has a star on theHollywood Walk of Fame, though his first name is misspelled "Meriam".[37]
Cooper was the father of Polish translator and writerMaciej Słomczyński.[7] He married film actressDorothy Jordan on May 27, 1933.[2] They kept their marriage a secret from Hollywood for a month before it was reported by journalists. He suffered a heart attack later that year.[3]: 252, 255
Cooper died of cancer on April 21, 1973,[2] inSan Diego.[10] His ashes were scattered at sea with full military honors.[3]: 378
| Year | Title | Director | Producer | Writer | Cinematographer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1924 | The Lost Empire | No | No | Titles | No | Also editor |
| 1925 | Grass: A Nation's Battle for Life | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Role: Himself; Documentary |
| 1927 | Chang: A Drama of the Wilderness | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Documentaries |
| 1929 | Captain Salisbury's Ra-Mu | No | No | No | Yes | |
| The Four Feathers | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | ||
| 1931 | Gow the Killer | No | No | No | Yes | Documentary-based exploitation film |
| 1932 | Roar of the Dragon | No | No | Story | No | |
| 1933 | King Kong | Yes | Yes | Story | No | Role: Pilot of plane that kills Kong |
| 1935 | The Last Days of Pompeii | Yes | Yes | No | No | |
| 1949 | Mighty Joe Young | Yes | Yes | Story | No | Also presenter |
| 1952 | This Is Cinerama | Yes | Yes | No | No | Documentary |
