American actor of the classical Hollywood era, two-time Academy Award winner whose career bridged silent films and the early 1960s.
Background
Born Frank James Cooper in Helena, Montana, he attended Wesleyan College in Bozeman and studied at Grinnell College in Iowa before moving to Hollywood, where he worked first as a horse-riding extra.
Career
After silent-era leads he became a major star with “A Farewell to Arms” and Frank Capra’s “Mr. Deeds Goes to Town.” His Sergeant Alvin York and Marshal Will Kane in “High Noon” won two Best Actor Oscars. He also led “The Pride of the Yankees” as Lou Gehrig and “For Whom the Bell Tolls.”
Style
Cooper’s quiet, naturalistic underplaying anchored the on-screen American Western hero for a generation, and he became closely associated with the upright loner archetype.
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