Gary Cooper (1901-1961) American, Autographed and Framed Photo. Signature bottom left. 

Overall Size: 18 x 14 1/2 in. 

Sight Size: 9 x 7 in. 

#32 #5367 . 

Gary Cooper was born Frank James Cooper on May 7th, 1901 in Helena, Montana. He was raised by his two English immigrant parents on a bucolic ranch, and attended Central Grade School before his mother took him and his brother back to the United Kingdom to make sure they had a British education. Cooper studied Latin, French and English history at Dunstable Grammar School until 1912, when his mother decided to return to America. When Cooper was 15 he injured his hip in a car accident and returned to the ranch to recuperate through horseback riding on doctor’s orders, a misguided therapy that left him with a stiff, off-balance walk all his life. In 1919 his father sent him to school in Bozeman, Montana, where English teacher Ida Davis encouraged him to focus on academics and participate in debating and dramatics, ultimately leading to his decision to leave cowboy life for good. He took art classes at Montana Agricultural College, inspired by the works of Charles Marion Russell and Frederic Remington. In 1922 he enrolled in Grinnell College in Iowa to pursue art further, and he was named art director for the yearbook after his drawings and watercolor paintings were exhibited throughout his dormitory. He abruptly left college in 1924, returning to Helena where he sold editorial cartoons to the local newspaper. When his father left his job as a Montana Supreme Court justice and moved to Los Angeles, Cooper and his mother joined him there, where he happened to meet two friends from Montana who were working as film extras and stunt riders in low-budget Westerns. They introduced him to a casting director, and he worked as a film extra for $5 a day in order to pay for continuing art classes. By 1925 Cooper’s natural charm and good looks began landing him leading roles, obtaining an agent and changing his name to Gary to differentiate himself from several people named Frank Cooper already working in the industry. He seamlessly transitioned from silent film to talking pictures in 1929, rapidly rising to stardom. He became known for his strong quiet persona and understated acting style that was partially responsible for the Hollywood archetype of the ideal American hero, appearing in 84 feature films over thirty-six years altogether. Although he was often cast in Westerns and more action-oriented works he wound up in nearly every major film genre of his day. He took a brief hiatus in 1931 after developing anemia and jaundice from making 10 films in two years, symptoms of a non-stop work ethic that frequently damaged his relationships and led to health issues later in life. In 1933 Cooper married debutant Veronica Balfe, whose mutual interest in athletic pastimes and connections to high society greatly improved his lifestyle. After affairs with Ingrid Bergman and Patricia Neal, he and Veronica separated in 1951, but reconciled in 1954 for the sake of their daughter. At the height of his popularity he was making films simultaneously for both Paramount Pictures and Samuel Goldwyn, becoming the highest wage earner in the entire United States in 1939. His name headlined some of the greatest movies made in the Golden Age of Cinema including A Farewell to Arms and For Whom the Bells Tolls, which he joined by being a close personal friend of Ernest Hemingway. He was nominated five times at the Academy Awards as Best Actor, winning twice (Sergeant York, High Noon) as well as earning an Honorary Award in 1961 and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960. He died on May 13th, 1961 after a long fight with cancer, and is still considered one of the greatest screen legends of all time.