Merian C. Cooper

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  • 004.jpgMERIAN C. COOPER


    Information From IMDb

    Date of Birth
    24 October 1893, Jacksonville, Florida, USA


    Date of Death
    21 April 1973, San Diego, California, USA (cancer)


    Birth Name Merian Coldwell Cooper


    Nickname Frank Mosher


    Height 5' 8" (1.73 m)


    Spouse
    Dorothy Jordan (27 May 1933 - 21 April 1973) (his death) (3 children)


    Trivia
    Being the producer of King Kong (1933), he personally removed a scene in which four sailors
    after Kong shook them off a log bridge, fall into a ravine and are eaten alive by giant spiders because,
    when previewed in January 1933, audience members either fled the theater in terror
    or talked about the ghastly scene during the entire movie.


    He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. But, his name is misspelled as "Meriam C. Cooper."


    Honored by NBC Radio's "This Is Your Life" (5 April 1949).
    Guests included Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Fay Wray, and wife Dorothy Jordan.


    Entered the U.S. Naval Academy, graduating in the Class of 1915.
    He left in his senior year. In 1916, he joined the Georgia National Guard to help chase Pancho Villa in Mexico.


    He was John Ford's favorite producer with whom to work.


    Cooper had a bizarre dream about a giant ape that was destroying New York City and recorded it when he woke up.
    This was the basis for the classic King Kong (1933), which he developed and produced.


    He died only day after Robert Armstrong, with whom he worked on The Most Dangerous Game (1932), King Kong (1933), Blind Adventure (1933), The Son of Kong (1933), The Fugitive (1947) and Mighty Joe Young (1949:(
    Armstrong died on April 20, 1973 and Cooper died on April 21, 1973.


    His creation, the title character of King Kong (1933), is ranked #30 on
    Premiere Magazine's 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time.
    During his time in Belyov, Cooper used the assumed name of Frank Mosher
    and was interviewed by the famous Russian author Isaak Babel.
    Interviewed in "Earth vs. the Sci-Fi Filmmakers" by Tom Weaver (McFarland, 2005)


    Mini- Biography
    In 1920, Merian C. Cooper was a member of volunteer
    of the American Kosciuszko Squadron that supported the Polish army in the war
    with Soviet Russia, where he met best friend and producing partner Ernest B. Schoedsack. On 26 July 1920, his plane was shot down, and he spent nearly nine months in the Soviet prisoner-of-war camp.
    He escaped just before the war was over. He was decorated by Marshall Jozef Pilsudski with the highest military decorations: Virtuti Military. He had a successful career in the military and in the movie business.
    - IMDb Mini Biography By: Marcin Kozlinski


    He was a notable movie producer,
    and got his start with film as part of the 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 always took priority.


    During his film career,
    he worked for companies such as Pioneer Pictures, RKO Pictures, and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.


    He is also credited as co-inventor of the Cinerama film projection process.
    Cooper's most famous film was the 1933 movie King Kong.
    He was awarded an honorary Oscar for lifetime achievement in 1952
    and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960.


    .Personal Quotes
    [about why the spider scene in King Kong (1933) was removed] It stopped the picture cold, so the next day back at the studio, I took it out myself.


    [to Fay Wray regarding King Kong (1933)] You are going to have the tallest, darkest leading man in Hollywood.


    [Regarding Ernest B. Schoedsack] Underneath his hard-boiled exterior, he had a heart of gold and the sensitiveness of a true artist. He was easy-going to the point of weakness with regard to everything but his work. It came first, and where it was concerned, he could be exacting. His patience was inexhaustible and he never lost his temper.


    Filmography


    1963 Best of Cinerama (Documentary) (co-producer)
    1956 The Searchers (executive producer)
    1956 Seven Wonders of the World (Documentary) (producer)
    1953 The Sun Shines Bright (producer - uncredited)
    1952 This Is Cinerama (Documentary) (producer)
    1952 The Quiet Man (producer - uncredited)
    1950 Rio Grande (producer - uncredited)
    1950 Wagon Master (executive producer - uncredited)
    1949 Mighty Joe Young (producer - uncredited)
    1949 She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (executive producer - uncredited)
    1948 Three Godfathers (producer - uncredited)
    1948 Fort Apache (executive producer - uncredited)
    1947 The Fugitive (producer - uncredited)
    1940 Dr. Cyclops (producer - uncredited)
    1938 Frou Frou (producer)
    1936 Dancing Pirate (executive producer)
    1935 The Last Days of Pompeii (producer)
    1935 She (producer - uncredited)
    1934 Triple Trouble (executive producer - uncredited)
    1934 Finishing School (executive producer)
    1934 Sing and Like It (executive producer)
    1934 This Man Is Mine (executive producer)
    1934 Success at Any Price (executive producer)
    1934 Spitfire (executive producer)
    1934 Keep 'Em Rolling (executive producer)
    1934 The Lost Patrol (executive producer)
    1934 Hips, Hips, Hooray! (executive producer)
    1934 Two Alone (executive producer)
    1934 Long Lost Father (executive producer)
    1934 Man of Two Worlds (executive producer)
    1934 The Meanest Gal in Town (executive producer)
    1933 Flying Down to Rio (executive producer)
    1933 The Son of Kong (executive producer)
    1933 Behold We Live (executive producer)
    1933 The Right to Romance (executive producer)
    1933 Little Women (executive producer)
    1933 Chance at Heaven (executive producer)
    1933 Sealed Lips (executive producer)
    1933 Ace of Aces (executive producer)
    1933 Cupid in the Rough (executive producer)
    1933 Ann Vickers (executive producer)
    1933 Midshipman Jack (executive producer)
    1933 Rafter Romance (executive producer)
    1933 One Man's Journey (executive producer)
    1933 Blind Adventure (executive producer)
    1933 Morning Glory (executive producer)
    1933 No Marriage Ties (executive producer)
    1933 Before Dawn (executive producer)
    1933 Evidence in Camera (executive producer)
    1933 Double Harness (executive producer)
    1933 The Flying Circus (executive producer)
    1933 Bed of Roses (executive producer)
    1933 Melody Cruise (executive producer)
    1933 Professional Sweetheart (executive producer)
    1933 Cross Fire (executive producer)
    1933 Emergency Call (executive producer)
    1933 The Silver Cord (executive producer)
    1933 Diplomaniacs (executive producer)
    1933 King Kong (producer - uncredited)
    1933 Lucky Devils (associate producer)
    1933 The Monkey's Paw (producer)
    1932 The Phantom of Crestwood (associate producer)
    1932 Flaming Gold (executive producer)
    1932 The Most Dangerous Game (associate producer)
    1929 The Four Feathers (producer)
    1927 Chang: A Drama of the Wilderness (Documentary) (producer)
    1925 Grass: A Nation's Battle for Life (Documentary) (producer - uncredited)


    For more information, please see:
    Merian C. Cooper

    Best Wishes
    Keith
    London- England

    Edited 3 times, last by ethanedwards ().

  • Merian C. Cooper was a notable movie producer,
    involved in the production of some Duke's classics


    Cooper and his friend and frequent collaborator, noted director John Ford,
    formed Argosy Productions in 1946 and produced such notable films such as
    Wagon Master (1950), Ford's Fort Apache (1948), and She Wore a Yellow Ribbon.
    Cooper's films at Argosy reflected his patriotism and his vision of America.


    Argosy negotiated a contract with RKO in 1946 to make four pictures.
    Cooper was able to make Grass a complete picture.
    Argosy also produced Mighty Joe Young, which brought in Schoedsack as director.
    Cooper visited the set of the film every day to check on progress.[


    Cooper left Argosy Pictures to pursue the process of Cinerama.
    He became the vice president of Cinerama Productions in the 1950s.
    He was also elected a board member.


    After failing to convince other board members to finance skilled technicians,
    Cooper left Cinerama with Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney to form C.V. Whitney Productions. Cooper continued to outline movies to be shot in Cinerama.
    C.V. Whitney Productions only produced a few films.
    Cooper was the executive producer for The Searchers (1956),
    again directed by Ford


    Merian C. Cooper was the producer of 5 films for Duke
    1956 The Searchers (executive producer)
    1950 Rio Grande (producer - uncredited)
    1949 She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (executive producer - uncredited)
    1948 Three Godfathers (producer - uncredited)
    1948 Fort Apache (executive producer - uncredited)

    Best Wishes
    Keith
    London- England

    Edited 6 times, last by ethanedwards ().