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Gary Cooper (May 7, 1901 - May 13, 1961) was an American film actor who received five Academy Award nominations for Best Actor, winning twice. He also received an Honorary Award from the Academy in 1961.
Cooper was born as Frank James Cooper, and changed his name to Gary in 1925, following the advice of his agent.
Cooper was born in Helena, Montana, but lived in England with his mother and attended school there for seven years. When he was thirteen years old he was injured in an automobile accident, and had to move to his father's cattle ranch in Montana to recuperate, which is where he gained his riding skills. During this time he became friendly with 10 year old Myrna Loy, who lived near him. In 1924 he moved to Los Angeles with the intention of becoming a commercial artist, but was not very successful. After three months he became an extra in the motion picture industry. A year later he had a chance at a real part in a two reeler with Eileen Sedgewick as his leading lady. After the release of this short film he was called to Paramount Studios and offered a long-term contract, which he accepted.
He appeared in over a hundred films, including:
Children of Divorce (1927), Wings (1927), Arizona Bound (1927), Nevada (1927), Beau Sabreur (1928), The Legion of the Condemned (1928), Half a Bride (1928), The First Kiss (1928), The Shopworn Angel (1928), The Wolf Song (1929), Betrayal (1929), The Virginian (1929), Seven Days Leave (1930), Only the Brave (1930), The Texan (1930), A Farewell to Arms (1932), Alice in Wonderland (1933), The Lives of a Bengal Lancer (1935), Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936) (Nominated), Beau Geste (1939), Meet John Doe (1941), Sergeant York (1941) (Won), The Pride of the Yankees (1942) (Nominated), For Whom the Bell Tolls (1943) (Nominated), Saratoga Trunk (1945), The Fountainhead (1949), Distant Drums (1951), and High Noon (1952) (Won).
Among his last films were: Vera Cruz (1954), Friendly Persuasion (1956), Love in the Afternoon (1957), The Hanging Tree (1959), and They Came to Cordura (1959).
After high-profile love affairs with actresses Clara Bow and Lupe Velez and the American-born socialite-spy Countess Carlo Dentice di Frasso (née Dorothy Caldwell Taylor, formerly wife of British aviator Claude Grahame-White), Cooper married Veronica Balfe, a New York socialite who worked briefly as an actress under the name Sandra Shaw. They had one child, Maria. During his marriage, which lasted until his death, Cooper had affairs with several co-stars, including Grace Kelly and Patricia Neal.
After being received in to the Catholic faith, Gary Cooper died of lung cancer and was interred in the Sacred Heart Cemetery, Southampton, New York.
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