Melville Cooper
George Melville Cooper (born October 15, 1896 in Birmingham , † March 29, 1973 in Woodland Hills , Los Angeles ) was a British theater and film actor .
Life
After attending various schools, including King Edward's School, Cooper made his theater debut in Stratford-upon-Avon at the age of 18 . However, his acting career was initially interrupted by the First World War. As a lieutenant in the Scottish Seaforth Highlanders regiment , he was injured on the Western Front and imprisoned by the Germans as a prisoner of war. After the war, Cooper appeared on stage again and also made his film debut in British films in 1930 .
Four years later he moved to the United States and made his first Hollywood film in 1935 . From then on, Cooper could be seen in a number of supporting roles, whereby he was mainly set on snobbish or idiot characters. For example, he was seen as a more comical than dangerous Sheriff of Nottingham in the classic film Robin Hood, King of the Vagabonds ( The Adventures of Robin Hood , 1938) alongside Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland . His performance was praised as greasy Mr. Collins in the Jane Austen film version Pride and Prejudice ( Pride and Prejudice , 1940) with Greer Garson and Laurence Olivier . In Vincente Minnelli comedy Father of the Bride ( Father of the Bride , 1950), he played alongside Spencer Tracy and Elizabeth Taylor the role of Hochzeitspaners. During the 1950s, Cooper also appeared frequently on American television, including in three episodes of the Alfred Hitchcock Presents television series (1957). In the 1960s he returned to the stage, where he appeared in productions of My Fair Lady , Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest or Charley's Aunt ( Charley's Aunt was seen).
The actor was married three times in total. His first marriage to the English actress Rita Page, with whom he had a daughter, lasted until Page's death in 1954. He divorced his second wife Gladys Grice and was married to Elizabeth Sutherland until his death. Cooper died of cancer in 1973, aged 76, at the Motion Picture Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles. He was buried in the Pierce Brothers Valhalla Memorial Park.
Filmography (selection)
- 1934: The Private Life of Don Juan ( The Private Life of Don Juan )
- 1934: The Scarlet Flower ( The Scarlet Pimpernel )
- 1936: The Gorgeous Hussy
- 1937: The Last of Mrs. Cheyney
- 1937: Thin Ice
- 1937: The Great Garrick
- 1937: Tovarich
- 1938: Robin Hood, King of the Vagabonds ( The Adventures of Robin Hood )
- 1938: Love for four ( Four's a Crowd )
- 1938: Hard to Get
- 1938: Comet Over Broadway
- 1938: Dramatic School
- 1938: The Dawn Patrol
- 1940: A husband too much ( Too Many Husbands )
- 1940: Rebecca
- 1940: Pride and Prejudice ( Pride and Prejudice )
- 1941: The Cardsharp ( The Lady Eve )
- 1941: The Adventurer ( The Flame of New Orleans )
- 1941: You belong to me ( You Belong to Me )
- 1942: This Above All
- 1942: Years found ( Random Harvest )
- 1943: Immortal Sergeant
- 1943: Hit Parade of 1943
- 1943: Holy Matrimony
- 1946: Heartbeat
- 1947: 13 rue Madeleine
- 1947: The Imperfect Lady
- 1948: Youth Deceived ( Enchantment )
- 1949: Fate in Vienna ( The Red Danube )
- 1949: The Marx Brothers in the theater ( Love Happy )
- 1950: Father of the Bride ( Father of the Bride )
- 1950: Dance is our life ( Let's Dance )
- 1954: The Incredible Story of Gladys Glover ( It Should Happen to You )
- 1955: The Castle in the Shadow (Moonfleet)
- 1955: The King's Thief ( The King's Thief )
- 1956: Diane - Courtesan of France ( Diane )
- 1956: In 80 days around the world ( Around the World in Eighty Days )
- 1956: Well, well, Miss Mutti! ( Bundle of Joy )
Web links
- Melville Cooper in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Melville Cooper in the Internet Broadway Database (English)
- Melville Cooper in the All Movie Guide (English)
- Melville Cooper in the database of Find a Grave (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Melville Cooper, Actor, Dies at 76; Captured by Germans in War . In: The New York Times , April 1, 1973.
- ↑ Melville Cooper at Allmovie
personal data | |
---|---|
SURNAME | Cooper, Melville |
ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Cooper, George Melville |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | British actor |
DATE OF BIRTH | October 15, 1896 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | Birmingham , England |
DATE OF DEATH | March 29, 1973 |
Place of death | Woodland Hills , Los Angeles |