It is not easy to get fame at an early age and maintaining it for your whole life. But, also, it is not impossible. Many people prove it, and one of them is the Los Angeles born prodigy Jackie Cooper.
Born on 15 September 1922, Jackie Cooper was an American Actor, television director, producer, and executive. He was a child actor who turns into an adult actor.
Starting of acting career:
Jackie’s grandmother used to take him to her auditions with the hope of getting extra work. He first appeared as an extra with his grandmother. When Jackie was three years old, he appeared in Llyod Hamilton under the name “Leonard.”
Cooper signed a three years contract after joining the series in the short Boxing Gloves in 1929. Initially, he acted as a supporting character but, in early 1930, became one of the significant characters of Our Gang. He worked as the main character in several other episodes also.
At the age of nine, Cooper received the nomination for Academy Award for the best actor. Some of his works as a child actor include The Champ(1931), The Bowrey(1933), The Choices of Andy Purcell(1933), Treasure Island(1934), and O’Shaughnessy’s Boy(1935).
Jackie Cooper- Adult years of Career:
During the second world war, Cooper served in United States Navy and was also active in the Naval Reserve for several years. He reached the rank of Captain. He starred in many television series, films, and shows in his career. Some of them include The Twilight Zone episode “Caeser and Me”, Candidate for crime, Shadow on the land. Cooper was vice president of program development at Columbia Pictures Screen Games from 1964 to 1969. Also, he was responsible for packaging some series and selling them to the network. He appeared in 1975’s ABC series Mobile one also. In the 1970’s and 1980’s Superman film series came which also features Cooper.
In 1987, he had his final film role as Ace Morgan in the film Surrender.
Personal life:
Cooper had three marriages until his death. His first wife was June Horne, whom he had married in 1944. They lived together until 1949 and had a son. In 1950, Cooper married Hildy Parks and separated in 1951. He married Barbara Rae Craus in 1954. They lived together until she died in 2009.
Interest in Automobile Racing:
Cooper has participated in several automobile racing competitions also. It shows his interest in automobiles. He participated in the record-breaking class D cars at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah. He also drove sports cars in several SCCA road racing competitions. In 1976, Cooper was named as honorary starter for Winston 500 at the Alabama International Motor Speedway, now known as Talladega Superspeedway, in Talladega, Alabama.
‘Please Don’t Shoot My Dog” is Jackie Cooper’s autobiography published in 1982.
Cooper announced his retirement in 1989 but continued directing episodes of Superboy. After retirement, he spends most of his time training and racing horses at Hollywood Parks. Cooper was honored with a Hollywood Walk of Frame star located at 1507 Vine Street for his contribution to the motion picture industry. He died on 3 May 2011 of natural causes.
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