Quotes From “The Coop”
People here are funny. They work so hard at living, they forget how to live.
The mind is an attribute of an individual. There is no such thing as a collective brain
He who loves and runs away, lives to love another day
In Westerns you were permitted to kiss your horse but never your girl.
I’ve had lines on my face since I was twenty. Wind and sun put them there.
The only achievement I am really proud of is the friends I have made in this community.
GAllery
Enjoy This Iconic Hollywood Legend's Photos Captured through his career and home life.
Please click on the first photo to enjoy the full view and the entire slide show.
Limited edition Books for Purchase
GARY COOPER OFF CAMERA: A DAUGHTER REMEMBERS
by Maria Janis
Introduction by Tom Hanks
Gary Cooper (1901-1961) is an American icon-an actor whose handsome features and unstudied poise made him one of the great stars of Hollywood’s Golden Era. Now, his only child gives us an extraordinary memoir - a book that reveals the Gary Cooper only she knew. Illustrated throughout with 175 photographs, including many never-before-published family pictures, Maria Cooper Janis’ heartfelt book offers an unprecedented look at her father’s private side, from his Montana boyhood and his Hollywood home life to his friendships with Ernest Hemingway, Pablo Picasso, and Jimmy Stewart, among others. Filled with anecdotes that capture the off-screen humor and warmth of this avid outdoorsman and great humanitarian, Gary Cooper Off Camera is an unforgettable portrait of a great star and a beloved father.
Purchase a copy of the book & 100% of the proceeds will be donated to The Gary Cooper Endowed Fund for Student Support for Indigenous Cultures at The University of Southern California, School of Cinematic Arts
GARY COOPER ENDURING STYLE
by G. Bruce Boyer and Maria Cooper Janis
Design by Ruth Ansel
Introduction by Ralph Lauren
“Dressed up like a million-dollar trouper Tryin’ hard to look like Gary Cooper / Super duper” – “Puttin’ on the Ritz,” Irving Berlin (revised lyrics, 1946) In 1946, when Irving Berlin revised the lyrics to his 1928 “Puttin’ on the Ritz” to include those memorable lines, Gary Cooper had been a star for over 15 years, and it would have been hard for most men to look as super duper. He conveyed a straightforwardness and an honest, American handsomeness that seemed to both ignore and rise above the contrived glamour and studied posturing that had characterized so many other film heroes of those early years. No matter what costume he put on, he looked like he owned it. The camera loved him, and so did the box office.
GARY COOPER AMERICAN HERO
by Jeffrey Meyers
The first definitive biography of Gary Cooper, national icon of the American Dream, from one of our most distinguished biographers. In classic films such as "High Noon," Gary Cooper came to symbolize American ideals of self-reliance, independence, and integrity, but his turbulent private life was often at odds with his squeaky-clean public persona. The off-screen Cooper was anything but simple -- behind Gary Cooper's American Dream facade lay a tempestuous life. As this meticulously researched book tracks his film career in fascinating detail, it tells the parallel tale of his complicated relationships with Marlene Dietrich and Patricia Neal (to name only two of many), his involvement with the House Un-American Activities Committee and the Hollywood black-list, and his long friendship with Ernest Hemingway. With the full cooperation of the actor's daughter as well as such colleagues and close friends as Arlene Dahl and Fay Wray, Meyers examines every aspect of Cooper's life, beginning with his youth in Montana where he was a real cowboy before making the leap to Hollywood. There he created some of the quintessential screen westerns in movie history -- awkward, honest men who captured America's imagination with an irresistible air of aw-shucks simplicity. Gary Cooper is a robust portrait of a great star whose contradictions only enhance the artistry with which he created some of the most unforgettable and enduring characters of Hollywood's Golden Age.
THE FILMS OF GARY COOPER
by Homer Dickens
Photographic record of the film career of Gary Cooper includes synopses, cast listings, and related material on the ninety-two films in which he appeared.
HIGH NOON – THE HOLLYWOOD BLACKLIST AND THE MAKING OF AN AMERICAN CLASSIC
by Glenn Frankel
It’s one of the most revered movies of Hollywood’s golden age. Starring screen legend Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly in her first significant movie role, High Noon achieved instant box-office and critical success. But what is often overlooked is that High Noon was made during the height of the Hollywood blacklist, a time of political inquisition and personal betrayal. In the middle of the film shoot, screenwriter Carl Foreman was called to testify about his former membership in the Communist Party, facing the painful dilemma of whether to name names or sacrifice his brilliant career. As he pondered what to do, Foreman turned his screenplay into a parable about fear, repression and the cost of courage.
FOUR HOLLYWOOD LEGENDS IN WORLD LITERATURE: REFERENCES TO BOGART, COOPER, GABLE AND TRACY
by Henryk Hoffmann
Henryk Hoffmann’s Four Hollywood Legends in World Literature: References to Bogart, Cooper, Gable and Tracy is an extraordinary resource, grounded in massive research and filled with insights about the way four iconic Hollywood figures have inspired and influenced an astonishing range of literary and creative works. In an interview, Hoffmann described the qualities that made Clark Gable, Humphrey Bogart, Gary Cooper, and Spencer Tracy uniquely influential, and the ways that their lives and their work were reflected in books by writers from Larry McMurtry to Elmore Leonard.
University of Southern California
School of CINEMATIC Arts
THE GARY COOPER ENDOWED FUND FOR STUDENT SUPPORT for Indigenous Cultures
Maria Cooper Janis continues to embrace her father’s legacy with The Gary Cooper Endowed Fund for Student Support for Indigenous Cultures at The University of Southern California, School of Cinematic Arts.
After gifting a portion of Gary Cooper Collection to the University of Southern California, School of Cinematic Arts, Television’s Library and archives where students, scholars and researchers are able to study Gary Cooper’s contributions to cinema, his daughter, Maria Cooper Janis established the Gary Cooper Endowed Fund for Student Support for Indigenous Cultures in 2005. Gary Cooper had a passionate respect Native Americans from his youth in Montana and sparked a lifelong interest in Indigenous Cultures, traveling to their native homes and learning about their specific traditions, culture and lifestyles.
This fund provides financial assistance for those students from Indigenous cultures who want to pursue a career in the entertainment industry. The Gary Cooper Endowed Fund for Student Support for Indigenous Cultures is an integral part of SCA’s efforts to recruit and educate storytellers from all walks of life to contribute to diversity of storytelling in our classrooms and on our sets.
Over the past two years, personal items including: Personal correspondence, telegrams, studio communications, original stills, notes on movies, (in Coop’s own handwriting), set props he saved and a treasure trove of archival family & Hollywood photos and film footage as well as other personal furniture and home décor items including artwork from the Cooper home in Brentwood & Holmby Hills, California & Southampton, New York were sent to USC. Some things were sent to auction, the proceeds of which provided a gift to the fund from his daughter Maria in the spring of 2021. In April of 2022, an installation of an exclusive exhibition and film screening is planned at USC, School of Cinematic Arts. The Gary Cooper Exhibition for all to visit and enjoy will remain in place until the Fall of 2022.
Whether a direct donation through the link below or the purchase of Maria’s incredible book, a rare and touching tribute to her father, all the proceeds will go directly to the fund for student support for Indigenous Cultures.
To donate please visit cinema.usc.edu/garycooper, and you will receive a tax deductible receipt for your generosity.
You may also purchase Gary Cooper Off Camera, A Daughter Remembers, written by Maria Cooper Janis with intimate & fun family photos, 100% of the Book Sales will be donated to The Gary Cooper Endowed Fund for Student Support for Indigenous Cultures.
Learn about some of the past and current recipients who have received support from this legacy fund.
FILMOGRAPHY
Click a Poster to Explore Maria Cooper Janis’ Insights and Anecdotes on the Films
NEWS
A collection of seminal articles written about "The Coop"...
LICENSING INQUIRIES
For appearances & Interviews with Maria Cooper Janis & Licensing Inquiries, please contact:
Bettina L Klinger
Email: bklinger@brandvarietal.com Phone: 917-930-8654
Jerry Digney, Digney & CO.
Email: jerry@digneypr.com Phone: 818-693-1087