Gary Cooper (May 7, 1901- May 13, 1961) was an American film actor known for his natural, authentic, and understated acting style and screen performances. His career spanned thirty-six years, from 1925 to 1961, and included leading roles in eighty-four feature films. He was a major movie star from the end of the silent film era through to the end of the golden age of Classical Hollywood. His screen persona appealed strongly to both men and women, and his range of performances included roles in most major movie genres. Cooper's ability to project his own personality onto the characters he played contributed to his natural and authentic appearance on screen. Throughout his career, he sustained a screen persona that represented the ideal American hero.
Academy Awards
Best Actor
Golden Globe Awards
Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama
Known For
Wings
(1927)
Cadet White
High Noon
(1952)
Marshal Will Kane
Sergeant York
(1941)
Alvin C. York
Meet John Doe
(1941)
Long John Willoughby
Friendly Persuasion
(1956)
Jess Birdwell
The Fountainhead
(1949)
Howard Roark
Alice in Wonderland
(1933)
White Knight
Beau Geste
(1939)
Beau Geste
Vera Cruz
(1954)
Benjamin Trane
The Westerner
(1940)
Cole Harden
And the Oscar Goes To...
(2014)
Self (archive footage)
Man of the West
(1958)
Link Jones
For Whom the Bell Tolls
(1943)
Robert Jordan
Alias Jesse James
(1959)
Cowboy
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town
(1936)
Longfellow Deeds
The Pride of the Yankees
(1942)
Henry Louis 'Lou' Gehrig
Full Filmography
Acting
Wild Horse Mesa
(1925)
Cowboy
Warrior Gap
(1925)
Bit part
Dick Turpin
(1925)
Crowd Extra (uncredited)
North Star
(1925)
Townsman (uncredited)
The Eagle
(1925)
Masked Cossack (uncredited)
The Trail Rider
(1925)
Rider (uncredited)
The Thundering Herd
(1925)
Buffalo Hunter (uncredited)
The Drug Store Cowboy
(1925)
Cowboy Whose Horse is Being Shod (uncredited)
The Vanishing American
(1925)
(uncredited)
Riders of the Purple Sage
(1925)
Rider (uncredited)
Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ
(1925)
Roman Guard (uncredited)
The Lucky Horseshoe
(1925)
Unknown-Doubtful (uncredited)
Tricks
(1925)
Rider (uncredited)
The Winning of Barbara Worth
(1926)
Abe Lee
Lightnin' Wins
(1926)
Tom Harding
Old Ironsides
(1926)
Seaman (uncredited)
Lightnin' Flashes
(1926)
(uncredited)
The Johnstown Flood
(1926)
Flood Survivor (uncredited)
A Six Shootin' Romance
(1926)
(uncredited)
Three Pals
(1926)
Car Driver Flirting with Betty
Wings
(1927)
Cadet White
Nevada
(1927)
Nevada
Children of Divorce
(1927)
Edward D. 'Ted' Larrabee
The Last Outlaw
(1927)
Sheriff Buddy Hale
Arizona Bound
(1927)
Dave Saulter
It
(1927)
Newspaper Reporter (uncredited)
Lilac Time
(1928)
Capt. Philip Blythe
Doomsday
(1928)
Arnold Furze
The Legion of the Condemned
(1928)
Gale Price
The Shopworn Angel
(1928)
William Tyler
Beau Sabreur
(1928)
Maj. Henri de Beaujolais
The First Kiss
(1928)
Mulligan Talbot
Half a Bride
(1928)
Capt. Edmunds
The Virginian
(1929)
The Virginian
Wolf Song
(1929)
Sam Lash
Betrayal
(1929)
Andre Frey
Morocco
(1930)
Légionnaire Tom Brown
Only the Brave
(1930)
Capt. James Braydon
Seven Days Leave
(1930)
Kenneth Dowey
The Texan
(1930)
Enrique, aka 'Quico,' The Llano Kid
A Man from Wyoming
(1930)
Jim Baker
The Spoilers
(1930)
Roy Glenister
Paramount on Parade
(1930)
Hunter (Dream Girl)
Galas de la Paramount
(1930)
Self (from original version)
City Streets
(1931)
The Kid
Fighting Caravans
(1931)
Clint Belmet
His Woman
(1931)
Captain Sam Whalan
The Stolen Jools
(1931)
Newspaper Editor
I Take This Woman
(1931)
Tom McNair
A Farewell to Arms
(1932)
Lt. Frederic Henry
The Devil and the Deep
(1932)
Lt. Sempter
If I Had a Million
(1932)
Steve Gallagher
Hollywood on Parade
(1932)
Self
Make Me a Star
(1932)
Gary Cooper (uncredited)
Alice in Wonderland
(1933)
White Knight
Design for Living
(1933)
George Curtis
Today We Live
(1933)
Richard Bogard
One Sunday Afternoon
(1933)
Biff Grimes
Hollywood on Parade No. B-5
(1933)
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Now and Forever
(1934)
Jerome 'Jerry' Day
Operator 13
(1934)
Captain Jack Gailliard
Star Night at the Cocoanut Grove
(1934)
Self
The Hollywood Gad-About
(1934)
Self (uncredited)
The Wedding Night
(1935)
Tony Barrett
The Lives of a Bengal Lancer
(1935)
Alan McGregor
Peter Ibbetson
(1935)
Peter Ibbetson
La Fiesta de Santa Barbara
(1935)
Self
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town
(1936)
Longfellow Deeds
The Plainsman
(1936)
Wild Bill Hickok
Desire
(1936)
Tom Bradley
The General Died at Dawn
(1936)
O'Hara
Hollywood Boulevard
(1936)
Gary Cooper - Actor at Trocadero Bar (uncredited)
Souls at Sea
(1937)
Michael 'Nuggin' Taylor
Bluebeard's Eighth Wife
(1938)
Michael Brandon
The Cowboy and the Lady
(1938)
Stretch Willoughby
The Adventures of Marco Polo
(1938)
Marco Polo
Beau Geste
(1939)
Beau Geste
The Real Glory
(1939)
Doctor Canavan
The Westerner
(1940)
Cole Harden
North West Mounted Police
(1940)
Dusty Rivers
Meet John Doe
(1941)
Long John Willoughby
Ball of Fire
(1941)
Professor Bertram Potts
Sergeant York
(1941)
Alvin C. York
Breakdowns of 1941
(1941)
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
The Pride of the Yankees
(1942)
Henry Louis 'Lou' Gehrig
Hedda Hopper's Hollywood No. 3
(1942)
Self
For Whom the Bell Tolls
(1943)
Robert Jordan
The Voice That Thrilled the World
(1943)
Self (segment 'Sergeant York') (archive footage)
Casanova Brown
(1944)
Casanova (Cass) Brown
The Story of Dr. Wassell
(1944)
Dr. Corydon M. Wassell
Breakdowns of 1944
(1944)
Self
Memo for Joe
(1944)
Self
Saratoga Trunk
(1945)
Colonel Clint Maroon
Along Came Jones
(1945)
Melody Jones
The Army Nurse
(1945)
Self (archive footage)
Cloak and Dagger
(1946)
Prof. Alvah Jesper
Unconquered
(1947)
Captain Christopher Holden
Variety Girl
(1947)
Gary Cooper
Good Sam
(1948)
Sam Clayton
The Fountainhead
(1949)
Howard Roark
Task Force
(1949)
Jonathan L. Scott
Snow Carnival
(1949)
Self - Narrator
Breakdowns of 1949
(1949)
Self
It's a Great Feeling
(1949)
Gary Cooper (uncredited)
Bright Leaf
(1950)
Brant Royle
Dallas
(1950)
Blayde Hollister
Distant Drums
(1951)
Capt. Quincy Wyatt
You're in the Navy Now
(1951)
Lt. John W. Harkness
It's a Big Country
(1951)
Texas
Starlift
(1951)
Gary Cooper
High Noon
(1952)
Marshal Will Kane
Springfield Rifle
(1952)
Maj. Alex 'Lex' Kearney
Blowing Wild
(1953)
Jeff Dawson
Return to Paradise
(1953)
Mr. Morgan
Vera Cruz
(1954)
Benjamin Trane
Garden of Evil
(1954)
Hooker
Boom on Paris
(1954)
Self
The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell
(1955)
Col. Billy Mitchell
Friendly Persuasion
(1956)
Jess Birdwell
Love in the Afternoon
(1957)
Frank Flannagan
Man of the West
(1958)
Link Jones
Ten North Frederick
(1958)
Joseph B. 'Joe' Chapin
The Hanging Tree
(1959)
Dr. Joseph "Doc" Frail
Alias Jesse James
(1959)
Cowboy
They Came to Cordura
(1959)
Major Thomas Thorn
The Wreck of the Mary Deare
(1959)
Gideon Patch
Hedda Hopper's Hollywood
(1960)
Self
The Real West
(1960)
The Naked Edge
(1961)
George Radcliffe
The 10 from Texas
(1961)
(archive footage)
The Love Goddesses
(1965)
(archive footage)
Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?
(1975)
Self (archive footage)
The Last Remake of Beau Geste
(1977)
Beau Geste (archive footage)
Showbiz Goes to War
(1982)
(archive footage)
Oops, Those Hollywood Bloopers!
(1982)
Self (archive footage)
Going Hollywood: The '30s
(1984)
(archive footage)
Hollywood's Funniest All-Star Bloopers
(1985)
Self (archive footage)
Grace Kelly: The American Princess
(1987)
Self (archive footage)
Happy Birthday, Bob: 50 Stars Salute Your 50 Years with NBC
(1988)
Self (archive footage)
Gary Cooper: American Life, American Legend
(1989)
Self (archive footage)
Barbara Stanwyck: Fire and Desire
(1991)
Self (archive footage)
Movie Tough Guys
(1991)
Self (archive footage)
Citizen Cohn
(1992)
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Ingrid Bergman Remembered
(1996)
Self (archive footage)
The Silver Screen: Color Me Lavender
(1997)
Self (archive footage)
Barbara Stanwyck: Straight Down The Line
(1997)
Self (archive footage)
Gary Cooper: The Face of a Hero
(1998)
Self / Various roles (archive footage)
Clara Bow: Discovering the It Girl
(1999)
Self / Various Roles (archive footage)
Goldwyn: The Man and His Movies
(2001)
Self (archive footage)
Complicated Women
(2003)
Self (archive footage)
Paris Hilton Inc.: The Selling of Celebrity
(2009)
Self (archive footage)
And the Oscar Goes To...
(2014)
Self (archive footage)
Production
Crew