![Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly in <i>High Noon</i> (1952), for which Cooper won the Oscar for best &elipsis; [Credit: United Artists; photographs, The Kobal Collection]](http://images.bookrags.com/images/eb/24127.gif)
Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly in High Noon (1952), for which Cooper won the Oscar for best &elipsis; [Credit: United Artists; photographs, The Kobal Collection](born May 7, 1901, Helena, Mont., U.S.—died May 13, 1961, Los Angeles) American motion-picture actor whose portrayal of homespun characters established him as a glamorized image of the average man. He was one of Hollywood's most consistently popular and beloved stars.
![(From left) Ray Milland, Gary Cooper, and Robert Preston in <i>Beau Geste</i> &elipsis; [Credit: © 1939 Paramount Pictures Corporation; photograph from a private collection]](http://images.bookrags.com/images/eb/90716.gif)
(From left) Ray Milland, Gary Cooper, and Robert Preston in Beau Geste &elipsis; [Credit: © 1939 Paramount Pictures Corporation; photograph from a private collection]The son of a Montana Supreme Court justice, Cooper left Grinnell College, Iowa, in 1924 and went to Hollywood, where he earned a living as a cowboy extra and stunt rider. His agent changed his name, and he advanced to leading parts in modestly budgeted westerns that were often box-office hits. A major stroke of luck was his being cast in
The Winning of Barbara Worth (1926). He rose to stardom in
The Virginian (1929), one of his first talking pictures, and became one of Hollywood's leading male actors with his appearances in such films as
Morocco (1930),
A Farewell to Arms (1932),
Design for Living (1933),
The Lives of a Bengal Lancer (1935),
Desire (1936),
The Plainsman (1937),
Beau Geste (1939), and
The Westerner (1940).
![(From left) Walter Brennan, Gary Cooper, and Barbara Stanwyck in <i>Meet John </i>&elipsis; [Credit: © 1941 Warner Brothers, Inc.; photograph from a private collection]](http://images.bookrags.com/images/eb/90737.gif)
(From left) Walter Brennan, Gary Cooper, and Barbara Stanwyck in Meet John &elipsis; [Credit: © 1941 Warner Brothers, Inc.; photograph from a private collection]![Promotional poster for <i>High Noon</i> (1952). [Credit: Stanley Kramer Productions/United Artists Corporation; photograph from a private collection]](http://images.bookrags.com/images/eb/90731.gif)
Promotional poster for High Noon (1952). [Credit: Stanley Kramer Productions/United Artists Corporation; photograph from a private collection]Cooper often played a brave, laconic, and somewhat reticent man whose upright character compels him to perform heroic actions that he does not purposely seek. He typified the role of the unsophisticated man fighting for what he thought was right in two films directed by Frank Capra,
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936) and
Meet John Doe (1941). Among Cooper's other important films were
Sergeant York (1941),
Ball of Fire (1941),
The Pride of the Yankees (1942),
For Whom the Bell Tolls (1943), and
The Fountainhead (1949). His role as the aging town marshall in
High Noon (1952) is considered Cooper's finest performance and the film one of the greatest westerns ever made. Among his last films are
Friendly Persuasion (1956) and
Love in the Afternoon (1957).
Cooper won the Academy Award for best actor in 1941 (for Sergeant York) and 1952 (for High Noon) and in 1961 was honoured with a Special Academy Award for his career and the international reputation he won for the film industry.
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