Post by Kaz ~;~ on Aug 11, 2010 18:23:44 GMT -5
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Date of Birth
15 September 1922, Los Angeles, California, USA
Birth Name
John Cooper Jr.
Nickname
America's Boy
Spouse
Barbara Kraus (29 April 1954 - 2009) (her death) 3 children
Hildy Parks (18 March 1950 - 1951) (divorced)
June Horne (11 December 1944 - 1949) (divorced) 1 child
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Trivia
Born at 12:35pm-PDT.
Nephew of director Norman Taurog
Served in the United States Navy and held the rank of Captain. In the 1976 Bicentennial Special on TV was in uniform aboard the carrier USS Constellation.
Until 13-year-old Keisha Castle-Hughes was nominated for Best Actress in 2004, he was the only actor to earn a Best Actor/Actress nomination for an Academy Award before his/her 18th birthday. Seventeen other actors have earned Oscar nominations as children, but all except Keisha were in the supporting categories.
When he refused to do a crying scene on the set of Skippy (1931), director Norman Taurog, who was also his uncle, threatened to shoot his dog.
When his first son was to be signed to a long-term contract with MGM, Cooper's studio at the height of his fame as a child, he intervened and convinced his ex-wife (the boy's mother) to decline: "It's no way for a kid to grow up." Adamantly opposed to children acting to the exclusion of a normal upbringing, based on his own life experiences. None of Cooper's four children were performers.
Son John "Jack" Anthony Cooper born August 19, 1946.
Children with Barbara: Russell (born 1956), Julie (1957-1997), and Cristina "Crissy" (1959-2009).
Separated from wife Barbara when he was in his fifties, but they later reconciled.
Third wife Barbara born c. 1927.
Attended the same high school as Angelina Jolie, Michael Klesic, Nicolas Cage, Lenny Kravitz, David Schwimmer, Jonathan Silverman, Gina Gershon, Rhonda Fleming, Rob Reiner, Antonio Sabato Jr., Pauly Shore, Michael Tolkin, Betty White, Corbin Bernsen, Elizabeth Daily, Albert Brooks, and Crispin Glover.
Along with Christopher Reeve, Margot Kidder, and Marc McClure, he is one of only four actors to appear in the first four Superman films: Superman (1978), Superman II (1980), Superman III (1983), and Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987).
In 1981 wrote an autobiographical account of his traumatic years as a child star "Please Don't Shoot My Dog" by Jackie Cooper, Dick Kleiner.
As of 2010, holds two Oscar records: Youngest performer nominated in a leading role (this record has stood for 79 years); and oldest nomination (1931) in any and all Academy categories for an individual still living.
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Personal Quotes
c. 1976: "Sometimes I'll wake up in the middle of the night and I'll hear a voice that sounds familiar...my wife has fallen asleep with the tube on, and I'll finally start recognizing the dialogue, look up, and Jesus Christ, it's me at 14, or 12, or 9, or whatever. Sometimes I'll sit there and watch it and I can tell myself what's coming next...I remember the dialogue, the scene and the set very well, and then there'll be a part of the picture I never remembered at all. Because there were times as a kid, as a teenager especially, when I'd be terribly occupied with what I was doing -- with my boat, or on a circuit of rodeos and horseshoes, or with my car -- very often on some of this stuff when I'd have to go to work. I'd just give the script a cursory glance. I had no training, and I was a quick study, so nobody knew how involved or not involved I was. But I look at that stuff now and I can see I wasn't involved, and I wasn't very good."
-------------------------------
Date of Birth
15 September 1922, Los Angeles, California, USA
Birth Name
John Cooper Jr.
Nickname
America's Boy
Spouse
Barbara Kraus (29 April 1954 - 2009) (her death) 3 children
Hildy Parks (18 March 1950 - 1951) (divorced)
June Horne (11 December 1944 - 1949) (divorced) 1 child
----------------------------------
Trivia
Born at 12:35pm-PDT.
Nephew of director Norman Taurog
Served in the United States Navy and held the rank of Captain. In the 1976 Bicentennial Special on TV was in uniform aboard the carrier USS Constellation.
Until 13-year-old Keisha Castle-Hughes was nominated for Best Actress in 2004, he was the only actor to earn a Best Actor/Actress nomination for an Academy Award before his/her 18th birthday. Seventeen other actors have earned Oscar nominations as children, but all except Keisha were in the supporting categories.
When he refused to do a crying scene on the set of Skippy (1931), director Norman Taurog, who was also his uncle, threatened to shoot his dog.
When his first son was to be signed to a long-term contract with MGM, Cooper's studio at the height of his fame as a child, he intervened and convinced his ex-wife (the boy's mother) to decline: "It's no way for a kid to grow up." Adamantly opposed to children acting to the exclusion of a normal upbringing, based on his own life experiences. None of Cooper's four children were performers.
Son John "Jack" Anthony Cooper born August 19, 1946.
Children with Barbara: Russell (born 1956), Julie (1957-1997), and Cristina "Crissy" (1959-2009).
Separated from wife Barbara when he was in his fifties, but they later reconciled.
Third wife Barbara born c. 1927.
Attended the same high school as Angelina Jolie, Michael Klesic, Nicolas Cage, Lenny Kravitz, David Schwimmer, Jonathan Silverman, Gina Gershon, Rhonda Fleming, Rob Reiner, Antonio Sabato Jr., Pauly Shore, Michael Tolkin, Betty White, Corbin Bernsen, Elizabeth Daily, Albert Brooks, and Crispin Glover.
Along with Christopher Reeve, Margot Kidder, and Marc McClure, he is one of only four actors to appear in the first four Superman films: Superman (1978), Superman II (1980), Superman III (1983), and Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987).
In 1981 wrote an autobiographical account of his traumatic years as a child star "Please Don't Shoot My Dog" by Jackie Cooper, Dick Kleiner.
As of 2010, holds two Oscar records: Youngest performer nominated in a leading role (this record has stood for 79 years); and oldest nomination (1931) in any and all Academy categories for an individual still living.
--------------------------------
Personal Quotes
c. 1976: "Sometimes I'll wake up in the middle of the night and I'll hear a voice that sounds familiar...my wife has fallen asleep with the tube on, and I'll finally start recognizing the dialogue, look up, and Jesus Christ, it's me at 14, or 12, or 9, or whatever. Sometimes I'll sit there and watch it and I can tell myself what's coming next...I remember the dialogue, the scene and the set very well, and then there'll be a part of the picture I never remembered at all. Because there were times as a kid, as a teenager especially, when I'd be terribly occupied with what I was doing -- with my boat, or on a circuit of rodeos and horseshoes, or with my car -- very often on some of this stuff when I'd have to go to work. I'd just give the script a cursory glance. I had no training, and I was a quick study, so nobody knew how involved or not involved I was. But I look at that stuff now and I can see I wasn't involved, and I wasn't very good."