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Somewhere between sundown and blue hour
Pitt Lake is the second-largest lake in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia. About 53.5 square kilometres in area, it is about 25 km long and about 4.5 km wide at its widest. It is one of the world's relatively few tidal lakes, and among the largest. In Pitt Lake, there is on average a three foot tide range; thus Pitt Lake is separated from sea level and tidal waters during most hours of each day during the 15 foot tide cycle of the Pitt River and Strait of Georgia estuary immediately downstream.The lake's southern tip is 20 km upstream from The Pitt River confluence with the Fraser River and is 40 km east of Downtown Vancouver.
Pitt Lake is in a typical U-shaped glacial valley in the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains. The overdeepening of the lower end of the valley over the span of the Wisconsin glaciation created a trough over 140 m below current sea level. After initial glacial retreat at around 13,000 years ago a saltwater fjord occupied this basin when relative sea levels were still ca 120 to 140m above current levels in the region. Unlike neighbouring Indian Arm and Howe Sound farther west, this fjord basin became partly cut off from tidal waters by sedimentation of the lower Fraser River ca 10,500 years ago, and Pitt Lake is now considered a tidal fjord lake.
Pitt Lake is the second largest of a series of north-south oriented fjord-lakes incising the southern slopes of the Pacific Ranges, the largest being Harrison Lake located 60 km to the east. The other fjord-lakes include Coquitlam Lake, Alouette Lake, Stave Lake, and Chehalis Lake.
The Pitt River drains into the northern end of Pitt Lake. The western shore of Pitt Lake are protected within Pinecone Burke Provincial Park, while most of the eastern shore are protected within Golden Ears Provincial Park. The southern end of Pitt Lake features an extensive marshland called Pitt Polder. While most of this marshland has since been drained for agricultural use, the northernmost portion is strictly protected in order to provide critical habitat for migratory birds.
Communities
The community of Pitt Meadows and the First Nations reserve of Pitt Lake Indian Reserve 5 are located at the southern end of the lake. Just southwest of the lake is the community of Port Coquitlam, which is across the Pitt River from Pitt Meadows. At the north end of the lake is a locality named Alvin, which is a transport and shipping point for logging companies and their employees.
Wikipedia
A special thanks to all my Flickr friends and visitors, for taking the time to view and acknowledge my photography.
Season's Greetings
Stay healthy
~ Christie
** Best experienced full screen
Inspired by Alvin Lee – The Bluest Blues
www.youtube.com/watch?v=rB6OlJqV1rQ
Credits : ombrebleue.wordpress.com/2019/07/16/the-bluest-blues/
Took this picture in Livingston California at the end of the day. Always pleasantly surprised when I go to a shipper and find beautiful landscaping. Gives me something fun to do while my trailer is being loaded or unloaded.
This is where the dance begins..... the tidal Pitt River meets the mouth of Pitt Lake. Accessible by boat only, head straight towards the mountains, turn left and a whole world of nature opens up to the beauty of scenic Pitt Lake.
Beautiful British Columbia
Canada
~C
Pitt Lake is the second-largest lake in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia. About 53.5 square kilometres in area, it is about 25 km long and about 4.5 km wide at its widest. It is one of the world's relatively few tidal lakes, and among the largest. In Pitt Lake, there is on average a three foot tide range; thus Pitt Lake is separated from sea level and tidal waters during most hours of each day during the 15 foot tide cycle of the Pitt River and Strait of Georgia estuary immediately downstream.The lake's southern tip is 20 km upstream from The Pitt River confluence with the Fraser River and is 40 km east of Downtown Vancouver.
Pitt Lake is in a typical U-shaped glacial valley in the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains. The overdeepening of the lower end of the valley over the span of the Wisconsin glaciation created a trough over 140 m below current sea level. After initial glacial retreat at around 13,000 years ago a saltwater fjord occupied this basin when relative sea levels were still ca 120 to 140m above current levels in the region. Unlike neighbouring Indian Arm and Howe Sound farther west, this fjord basin became partly cut off from tidal waters by sedimentation of the lower Fraser River ca 10,500 years ago, and Pitt Lake is now considered a tidal fjord lake.
Pitt Lake is the second largest of a series of north-south oriented fjord-lakes incising the southern slopes of the Pacific Ranges, the largest being Harrison Lake located 60 km to the east. The other fjord-lakes include Coquitlam Lake, Alouette Lake, Stave Lake, and Chehalis Lake.
The Pitt River drains into the northern end of Pitt Lake. The western shore of Pitt Lake are protected within Pinecone Burke Provincial Park, while most of the eastern shore are protected within Golden Ears Provincial Park. The southern end of Pitt Lake features an extensive marshland called Pitt Polder. While most of this marshland has since been drained for agricultural use, the northernmost portion is strictly protected in order to provide critical habitat for migratory birds.
Communities
The community of Pitt Meadows and the First Nations reserve of Pitt Lake Indian Reserve 5 are located at the southern end of the lake. Just southwest of the lake is the community of Port Coquitlam, which is across the Pitt River from Pitt Meadows. At the north end of the lake is a locality named Alvin, which is a transport and shipping point for logging companies and their employees.
Wikipedia
A special thanks to all my Flickr friends and visitors, for taking the time to view and acknowledge my photography.
Happy Clicks,
~Christie (happies) by the River
** Best experienced full screen
Not the best work day, very little driving, lots of waiting. While waiting at shipper in Livermore CA, I found a lot of flowers to spend time with. I love the unopened buds, but with some of the flowers open I had a peek at what's to come.
I was sure by now
That You would have reached down
And wiped our tears away
Stepped in and saved the day
But once again, I say "Amen", and it's still raining
As the thunder rolls
I barely hear You whisper through the rain
"I'm with you"
And as Your mercy falls
I raise my hands and praise the God who gives
And takes away
Chorus:
I'll praise You in this storm
And I will lift my hands
For You are who You are
No matter where I am
Every tear I've cried
You hold in Your hand
You never left my side
And though my heart is torn
I will praise You in this storm
- Praise You in this storm - Casting Crowns
Hello Flickr Friends! Thanks for all the views, comments, faves and invites :))
... another sunrise photo... View Large On Black HBM!!!
"My soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning."
Psalm 130:6
Have a wonderful week Flickr Friends!
thanks everyone for the views, comments, faves and invites :))
explored
quote by: Aaron Rose
Hello Flickr friends!!
Thanks for the views, comments, faves and invites :))
explored :)))
Hello Flickr Friends!!
I am not that busy today so I thought i'd post something...
Thanks for all your views, notes, comments, faves and invites :))
Another early morning seascape shot...
I wasn't going to post this image as I think it's lacking some elements, but i like the colors here, not to mention the reflection of the clouds. I was feeling lazy to wake up that day but i'm glad i did!
Hope all is well Flickr Friends!
Last stop before leaving Kentucky and wanted to take something with me. Never sure I'll be back this way again.
...the 22-story A.M. Strauss designed Lincoln Bank Tower was Indiana’s tallest building for over 30 years, when its record was broken in 1962. It remained Fort Wayne’s record holder until the former Fort Wayne National Bank (now PNC) edged it out with 26 floors in 1970. It remains the third tallest building in the city and the 15th in the state. An aside note: Architect Strauss’s firm was located in the building to the right of the tower where the two top floors are blue.
Wow – can’t believe that I am able to post for 4 consecutive days this week, hahah. This photo was taken last month at around 6:30 in the morning.
3 standard exposure shots (-2, 0, +2) merged to HDR. No color/hue alterations, no sharpening - just a slight boost in vibrance done in CS4.
Thanks everyone for your visits!
If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
If I settle on the far side of the sea
Even there Your hand will guide me
Your right hand will hold me fast.
Psalm 139:9-10
Just close your eyes, the sun is going down. You’ll be alright, no one can hurt you now. Come morning light, you and I’ll be safe and sound.
This is my eighth Songspiration: Safe and Sound- Taylor Swift.
Yes. I’m playing catch-up. I have pictures/ideas for most of the ones I missed though.
Other Songpirations here.
So this was taken on April 12th. I’msoashamed. While I was taking this, I got some type of allergic reaction or attacked by bugs and I red hives ALL over along with huge scratches. Boo. It was painful.
ON THE OTHER HAND, Friday was super duper great. I went thrifting then headed over to Dee’s to help her with her photography homework. Her dad didn’t want to take us to this location we wanted to go to but luckily her brother’s girlfriend was willing to take us. So we got to this location and realized all of the flowers had been mowed and decided to just adventure down this dock. At the other side was this lovely field and kjsldhflksj just a beautiful location. Yes. We’re going back. So we took pictures and had fun and such (like trying to climb trees). Then we left. And we decided to adventure some more down a dirt road. This involved us getting the car stuck and we had to push it out, which didn’t work, and then we reversed all the way down. So. Yes. Fun. Then to not draw attention to the fact that we were dirty and wet, we jumped into the pool fully-clothed. And it was a fabulous day.
Flowers. DeeandIarematching. :3
I’m doing a tag because I haven’t done any in forever and I want to do some.
Tagged by martinak15, Leo aroucha, Makayla♬Williams, *sheridanlee, sammy .t., refeti ♪, 220495, and Maria Khiani.
10 Random facts:
1.) I’ve been mentally exhausted/sick for weeks now.
2.) I found $20 while exploring.
3.) I went thrifting the other day.
4.) I really want to enter some photography contests. Any ideas?
5.) I have new babies.
6.) School sucks.
7.) What’s with all this work?
8.) I’ve taken a ton a pictures but I haven’t had the motivation to edit.
9.) My hands are covered in dry paint.
10.) My birthday’s coming soon. Lawl. Jaykay. I wish.
Currently
Time: 3:33 pm
Doing: Watching t.v.
Eating: I wish.
Drinking: Nothing.
Wearing: Shorts and a shirt.
Listening to: The t.v….
Thinking: Nothing
Craving: Summmmmmmmmmmmmmmer.
With: No one.
Favourite colour: Blue.
Describe the background picture that’s on your phone: A baby white tiger rawring. It’ssocutes.
Last movie I watched: Alvin and the Chipmunks last night a 4 in the morning. Oh yes.
If I were an animal I would you be: A white tiger.
What is your favourite tv show? How long have you been watching it?: Hmmm. I love too many.
Are you allergic to anything?: Not that I know of.
Your Dream Vacation?: Hm. Many things but the one that comes to mind is a road trip. To South Carolina. ;D
What is your favourite photo you have taken: Probably this.
What is your favourite animal?: A WHITE TIGER. XD
What is your favourite feature about yourself?: Everything. I’m just so amazing. I keed. Probably my hair.
Dreams:
Your last dream:
That I remember? Uhm. I’m too tired to try to recall anything. NO WAIT. My teacher (one that I really hate) wouldn’t give me a bandaid. And I was bleeding like crazy and I was just like, “CAN I HAS A BAND-AID?” and he said, “No, I’m saving them for my kids.” And I was like “-___________-”… Oh wait. THAT WAS REAL LIFE.
Your strangest dream:
Harry Potter was running around inside of my brain casting spells and doing other whatnot that wizards do. And it was incredibly painful. So a little me appeared and took his wand away and the little me said, “You stupid Gryffindor, get your self together and get out.” He didn’t listen and he pulled out another wand and proceeded to jump around inside of my head for hours. I woke up with a major headache.
Your funniest dream:
My lyfe.
this is me; my friend Wendy actually took it a while back, but I just edited it. I thought the rotation fit nicely. yes?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
and I got tagged by the amazing meg, so here gooooooooooooes :D
Favourite colour: kind of a tie between light blue, yellow, purple, and brown. okay so I have to many >.> (notice that all those colors are in this photo?)
Describe the background picture that’s on your phone: I actually don't have a phone lawl
Last movie I watched: alvin and the chipmunks THREE, which is pretty embarrassing esp since I didn't even watch the first two haha.
If you were an animal I would you be:a hyena (btw I'm starting to realize I've done this tag before...?)
What is your favourite tv show? How long have you been watching it? Pardon the Interruption; been watching for a year or so
Are you allergic to anything? nope
Your Dream Vacation? any foreign country with awesome food; Denver sounds nice though
What is your favourite feature about yourself?my eyeeees
Facebook page | Old photostream
PS. check out the testimonial Kyra wrote for me. It made me smile :) thanks Kyra!
Tiny ALVIN, located on the Pitt River just north of Pitt Lake, 50 km northeast of Vancouver, in the Lower Mainland of southwestern British Columbia, Canada, was homesteaded by a group of families in the early 1900s. Trapping was evidently a source of income. More recently the isolated settlement, only reachable by boat and floatplane, has been home to a logging camp. ALVIN was formerly located at the homestead and farm of Alvin Thomas Patterson (1865–1942), a logging contractor and farmer who settled there about 1901, originally from Parrsboro, Nova Scotia.
LINK to - The History of ALVIN, British Columbia - niho.com/wp-content/uploads/Alvin-Pitt-Lake-British-Colum...
The ALVIN Post Office operated at that location from - 1 October 1915 to - 31 March 1955. It re-opened - 8 December 1959 at the confluence of Fish Hatchery Creek and the Pitt River 4 miles (6.4 km) upstream from the original site. The Post Office closed - 24 February 1986. LINK to a newspaper article - ALVIN Post Office era Closes - www.newspapers.com/article/the-maple-ridge-news-alvin-pos...
LINK to a list of the Postmasters who served at the ALVIN Post Office - recherche-collection-search.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/home/record...
Two split ring cancels are known; the first, proofed October 15, 1915, is a very rare, with only one example reported. The second split ring, proofed May 2, 1924. Mail service was sporadic: the registered cover, dated September 30, 1936, travelled east by rail but did not reach the the New Westminster transit point until December 1, 1936 (partial cds backstamp). The Montreal receiver is obscured.
- sent from - / ALVIN / SP 30 / 36 / B.C. / - split ring cancel - this split ring hammer (A1-2) was proofed - 2 May 1924 - (RF D).
- sent by registered mail - / R / ALVIN - B.C. / ORIGINAL No. / (621) / - registered boxed marking (R-1) in purple ink.
Addressed to: Textile Mills, Room 701, 209 St. Catherine East, Montreal, Quebec - LINK - www.newspapers.com/article/the-gazette-textile-mills/1234...
Vintage postcard, no. 6.
American singer-songwriter Chubby Checker (1941) popularised the dance style Twist, with his 1960 hit cover of Hank Ballard's R&B hit 'The Twist'. In September 2008, 'The Twist' topped Billboard's list of the most popular singles to have appeared in the Hot 100 since its debut in 1958.
Chubby Checker was born in 1941, in Andrews of Spring Gulley, South Carolina, as Ernest Evans. From an early age, he learned to play the piano, played the drums and imitated several singers. At South Philadelphia High School where Frankie Avalon also attended, he made up dances for school performances with his school friend Fabian Forte. Initially, Ernest worked at a poulterer's, where the owner (Henry Colt) took every opportunity to demonstrate Ernest's singing skills. After appearing on a Christmas gift record in late 1958, imitating various stars (Fats Domino, the Coasters, Elvis Presley, Cozy Cole and The Chipmunks), he was offered a contract with Cameo-Parkway in early 1959, where the record 'The Class' was immediately released on single. He got his stage name from his childhood nickname, "Chubby," and his Fats Domino imitations, which gave rise to the pun and alliteration Chubby Checker (checkers is as well as domino a game). Hank Ballard and the Midnighters recorded the original version of 'The Twist' as the B-side of 'Teardrops on your Letter' in 1958. This record was accompanied by a dance to liven up their performance at The Peacock Club in Atlanta. Although the song seemed to appeal to the audience, several attempts to do something with it came to nothing. When Chubby sang the song in June 1959, Cameo-Parkway rated it a B-side. Through Checker's persistence, he not only lost 15 kilos by performing a lot, but 'The Twist' eventually became a number 1 hit in 1960, and the record stayed listed for over 16 weeks. It sparked a dance craze that swept the nation. The song gave Checker his breakthrough and his title as the uncrowned King of Twist. In 1961, 'The Twist' rose to number one for a second time and stayed there for 18 weeks. The song has since been covered by numerous artists.
Chubby Checker's success with 'The Twist' was followed by numerous variations on the twist and similar dances. When Don Covay and John Berry released 'Pony Time' with The Goodtimers in 1960 and achieved some local success with it, it was almost immediately covered by Chubby Checker. Checker's version rose to number 1 and stayed listed for 16 weeks in 1961. Checker went on to have other hits, including 'Let's Twist Again' and 'Limbo Rock'. His success with 'The Twist' also led to several television appearances, including on American Bandstand with Dick Clark. He made his film debut as a performer in the musical Teenage Millionaire (Lawrence Doheny, 1961) with Rocky Graziano and Zasu Pitts. It was followed by Twist Around the Clock (Oscar Rudolph, 1961) with Dion and Don't Knock the Twist (Oscar Rudolph, 1962) with Mari Blanchard. After 1963, the dance hype was a bit over and Checker concentrated on Europe, which was a bit behind the US in terms of music. There he performed in the Austrian film Die ganze Welt ist himmelblau/The whole world is sky blue (Franz Antel, 1964) with Johanna Matz and Peter Weck and the British film The Comedy Man (Alvin Rakoff, 1964) with Kenneth More and Dennis Price. At the German Bierfeste, he met Dutch Catharina 'Rina' Lodders, the 1962 Miss World. En passant, following Elvis Presley with 'Muss I denn' (Wooden heart), he recorded the German children's folk song 'Good old Schwäbische Eisenbahn', better known as 'Troola, troola, troola la'. The b-side is 'Autobahn Baby'. He married Lodders in 1964 and from the marriage three children were born; the family lived in a Philadelphia suburb. Together with the Dutch pop group ZZ en de Maskers, he recorded the 1965 hits 'Baby Baby Balla Balla' and 'Stopping in Las Vegas', which ZZ and the Masks previously recorded as 'Sloppin' in Las Vegas'. He continued to perform and record throughout the 1960s and beyond. In 1970, Checker and three others were arrested near Niagara Falls when drugs were found in their car. In 1983, his illegitimate daughter Mistie Williams was born. She later made it to professional basketball player with the Houston Comets in the Women's National Basketball Association. In 1986 Chubby was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and in 1988, 'The Twist' became a hit for the third time, this time with the Fat Boys. The song reached 16th place in the charts. He incidentally appeared on the screen as himself in such films as Purple People Eater (Linda Shayne, 1988) with Ned Beatty and Calendar Girl (John Whitesell, 1993) with Jason Priestley. In 2000, he started a wholesale snack business called The Last Twist, Inc. and Chubby Checker Snacks. He also introduced the Checkerlicious Express, a driving snack roadshow with Checker himself at the wheel. In 2007, 'Knock Down The Walls' became a hit in the US. Today, Chubby Checker is still performing and is regarded as a rock and roll pioneer and a cultural icon of the 1960s.
Source: Wikipedia (Dutch and English) and IMDb.
And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.
German postcard by Ross-Verlag, no. 5138/1, 1930-1931. Photo: Paramount. Publicity still for The Last Outlaw (Arthur Rosson, 1927). Cooper was in this silent Western credited as 'Garry Cooper'.
American screen legend Gary Cooper (1901-1961) is well remembered for his stoic, understated acting style in more than one hundred Westerns, comedies and dramas. He received five Oscar nominations and won twice for his roles as Alvin York in Sergeant York (1941) and as Will Kane in High Noon (1952).
Frank James Cooper was born in Helena, Montana in 1901. His parents were English immigrants, Alice Cooper-Brazier and Charles Henry Cooper, a prominent lawyer, rancher, and eventually a state supreme court judge. Frank left school in 1918 and returned to the family ranch to help raise their five hundred head of cattle and work full-time as a cowboy. In 1919, his father arranged for his son to complete his high school education at Gallatin County High School in Bozeman, Montana. His English teacher, Ida W. Davis, played an important role in encouraging him to focus on academics, join the school's debating team, and become involved in dramatics. He was in a car accident as a teenager that caused him to walk with a limp the rest of his life. In the fall of 1924, Cooper's parents moved to Los Angeles to administer the estates of two relatives. Cooper joined them and there he met some cowboys from Montana who were working as film extras and stuntmen in low-budget Western films. Cooper decided to try his hand working as a film extra for five dollars a day, and as a stuntman for twice that amount. In early 1925, Cooper began his film career working as an extra and stuntman on Poverty Row in such silent Westerns as Riders of the Purple Sage (Lynn Reynolds, 1925) with Tom Mix, and The Trail Rider (W.S. Van Dyke, 1925) with Buck Jones. Cooper paid for a screen test and hired casting director Nan Collins to work as his agent. Collins changed his first name to ‘Gary’ after her hometown of Gary, Indiana. Cooper also worked in non-Western films. He appeared as a masked Cossack in The Eagle (Clarence Brown, 1925) with Rudolph Valentino, as a Roman guard in Ben-Hur (Fred Niblo, 1925) with Ramón Novarro, and as a flood survivor in The Johnstown Flood (Irving Cummings, 1926) with George O'Brien. Gradually he began to land credited roles that offered him more screen time, such as Tricks (Bruce M. Mitchell, 1925), in which he played the film's antagonist. As a featured player, he began to attract the attention of major film studios and in June 1926, Cooper signed a contract with Samuel Goldwyn Productions. His first important film role was in The Winning of Barbara Worth (Henry King, 1926) with Ronald Colman and Vilma Bánky. The film was a major success, and critics called Cooper a "dynamic new personality" and future star. Cooper signed a five-year contract with Jesse L. Lasky at Paramount Pictures for $175 per week. In 1927, with help from established silent film star Clara Bow, Cooper landed high-profile roles opposite her in Children of Divorce (Frank Lloyd, 1927) and Wings (William A. Wellman, 1927), the first film to win an Academy Award for Best Picture. With each new film, Cooper's acting skills improved and his popularity continued to grow, especially among female movie-goers. He received a thousand fan letters per week. The studio placed him opposite popular leading ladies in films such as Beau Sabreur (John Waters, 1928) with Evelyn Brent, Half a Bride (Gregory La Cava, 1928) with Esther Ralston, and Lilac Time (George Fitzmaurice, 1928) with Colleen Moore. The latter introduced synchronized music and sound effects, and became one of the biggest box office hits of the year.
In 1929, Gary Cooper became a major film star with his first sound picture, The Virginian, (Victor Fleming, 1929). The Virginian was one of the first sound films to define the Western code of honour and helped establish many of the conventions of the Western genre. The romantic image of the tall, handsome, and shy cowboy hero that embodied male freedom, courage, and honour was created in large part by Cooper's performance in the film. Cooper transitioned naturally to the sound medium, with his deep, clear, and pleasantly drawling voice. One of the high points of Cooper's early career was his portrayal of a sullen legionnaire in Josef von Sternberg's Morocco (1930) with Marlene Dietrich in her American debut. Cooper produced one of his finest performances to that point in his career. In the Dashiell Hammett crime drama City Streets (Rouben Mamoulian, 1931) he played a misplaced cowboy in a big city who gets involved with gangsters to save the woman (Sylvia Sidney) he loves. After making ten films in two years Cooper was exhausted and had lost thirty pounds. In May 1931, he sailed to Algiers and then Italy, where he lived for the next year. During his time abroad, Cooper stayed with the Countess Dorothy di Frasso who taught him about good food and vintage wines, how to read Italian and French menus in the finest restaurants, and how to socialize among Europe's nobility and upper classes. In 1932, a healthy Cooper returned to Hollywood and negotiated a new contract with Paramount for two films per year, a salary of $4,000 per week, and director and script approval. He appeared opposite Helen Hayes in A Farewell to Arms (Frank Borzage, 1932), the first film adaptation of an Ernest Hemingway novel. Critics praised his highly intense and at times emotional performance, and the film went on to become one of the year's most commercially successful films. The following year, Cooper appeared in the Ernst Lubitsch comedy Design for Living (1933) with Miriam Hopkins and Fredric March, and based loosely on the successful Noël Coward play. Wikipedia: “The film received mixed reviews and did not do well at the box office, but Cooper's performance was singled out for its versatility and revealed his genuine ability to do light comedy”. Then, he appeared in his first of seven films by director Henry Hathaway, Now and Forever (1934), with Carole Lombard and Shirley Temple. The film was a box-office success. His next two Henry Hathaway films were the melodrama Peter Ibbetson (1935) with Ann Harding, about a man caught up in a dream world created by his love for a childhood sweetheart, and the romantic adventure The Lives of a Bengal Lancer (1935), about a daring British officer and his men who defend their stronghold at Bengal against rebellious local tribes. The latter was nominated for six Academy Awards and became one of Cooper's most popular and successful adventure films.
Gary Cooper returned to Poverty Row for the first time since his early silent film days to make Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (Frank Capra, 1936) with Jean Arthur for Columbia Pictures. Cooper plays the character of Longfellow Deeds, an innocent, sweet-natured writer of greeting cards who inherits a fortune, leaves behind his idyllic life in Vermont, and travels to New York where he faces a world of corruption and deceit. For his performance in Mr. Deeds, Cooper received his first Oscar nomination. In the adventure film The General Died at Dawn (Lewis Milestone, 1936) with Madeleine Carroll, he plays an American soldier of fortune in China who helps the peasants defend themselves against the oppression of a cruel warlord. Written by playwright Clifford Odets, the film was a critical and commercial success. In Cecil B. DeMille's sprawling frontier epic The Plainsman (1936) with Jean Arthur—his first of four films with the director—Cooper portrays Wild Bill Hickok in a highly-fictionalized version of the opening of the American western frontier. That year, Cooper appeared for the first time on the Motion Picture Herald exhibitor's poll of top ten film personalities, where he would remain for the next twenty-two years. In Ernst Lubitsch's romantic comedy Bluebeard's Eighth Wife (1938) with Claudette Colbert, Cooper plays a wealthy American businessman in France who falls in love with an impoverished aristocrat's daughter and persuades her to become his eighth wife. In the adventure film Beau Geste (William A. Wellman, 1939) with Ray Milland, he joined the French Foreign Legion to find adventure in the Sahara fighting local tribes. Wikipedia: “Beau Geste provided Cooper with magnificent sets, exotic settings, high-spirited action, and a role tailored to his personality and screen persona.” Cooper cemented his cowboy credentials in The Westerner (William Wyler, 1940). He won his first Academy Award for Best Actor in 1942 for his performance as Alvin York, the most decorated U.S. soldier from the Great War, in Sergeant York (Howard Hawks, 1941). Cooper worked with Ingrid Bergman in For Whom the Bell Tolls (Sam Wood, 1943) which earned him his third Oscar nomination. The film was based on a novel by Ernest Hemingway, with whom Cooper developed a strong friendship. On 23 October 1947, he appeared before the House Un-American Activities Committee in Washington, not under subpoena but responding to an invitation to give testimony on the alleged infiltration of Hollywood by communists. Although he never said he regretted having been a friendly witness, as an independent producer, he hired blacklisted actors and technicians. He did say he had never wanted to see anyone lose the right to work, regardless of what he had done. Cooper won his second Oscar for his performance as Marshal Will Kane in High Noon (Fred Zinnemann, 1952), one of his finest roles and a kind of come-back after a series of flops. He continued to play the lead in films almost to the end of his life. His later box office hits included the influential Western Vera Cruz (Robert Aldrich, 1954) in which he guns down villain Burt Lancaster in a showdown, William Wyler's Friendly Persuasion (1956), in which he portrays a Quaker farmer during the American Civil War, Billy Wilder's Love in the Afternoon (1957) with Audrey Hepburn, and the hard-edged action Western Man of the West (Anthony Mann, 1958), with Lee J. Cobb. Cooper's final film was the British-American co-production The Naked Edge (Michael Anderson, 1961). In April 1960, Cooper underwent surgery for prostate cancer after it had metastasized to his colon. But by the end of the year the cancer had spread to his lungs and bones. On 13 May 1961, six days after his sixtieth birthday, Gary Cooper died. The young and handsome Cooper had affairs with Clara Bow, Lupe Velez, Marlene Dietrich and Tallulah Bankhead. In 1933, he married socialite Veronica Balfe, who, billed as Sandra Shaw, enjoyed a short-lived acting career. They had an ‘open’ marriage and Cooper also had relationships with the actresses Grace Kelly, Anita Ekberg, and Patricia Neal. Sir Cecil Beaton also claimed to have had an affair with him.
Sources: Wikipedia and IMDb.
Dutch promotion card by Bovema, Heemstede. Photo: Columbia.
American singer-songwriter Chubby Checker (1941) popularised the dance style Twist, with his 1960 hit cover of Hank Ballard's R&B hit 'The Twist'. In September 2008, 'The Twist' topped Billboard's list of the most popular singles to have appeared in the Hot 100 since its debut in 1958.
Chubby Checker was born in 1941, in Andrews of Spring Gulley, South Carolina, as Ernest Evans. From an early age, he learned to play the piano, played the drums and imitated several singers. At South Philadelphia High School where Frankie Avalon also attended, he made up dances for school performances with his school friend Fabian Forte. Initially, Ernest worked at a poulterer's, where the owner (Henry Colt) took every opportunity to demonstrate Ernest's singing skills. After appearing on a Christmas gift record in late 1958, imitating various stars (Fats Domino, the Coasters, Elvis Presley, Cozy Cole and The Chipmunks), he was offered a contract with Cameo-Parkway in early 1959, where the record 'The Class' was immediately released on single. He got his stage name from his childhood nickname, "Chubby," and his Fats Domino imitations, which gave rise to the pun and alliteration Chubby Checker (checkers is as well as domino a game). Hank Ballard and the Midnighters recorded the original version of 'The Twist' as the B-side of 'Teardrops on your Letter' in 1958. This record was accompanied by a dance to liven up their performance at The Peacock Club in Atlanta. Although the song seemed to appeal to the audience, several attempts to do something with it came to nothing. When Chubby sang the song in June 1959, Cameo-Parkway rated it a B-side. Through Checker's persistence, he not only lost 15 kilos by performing a lot, but 'The Twist' eventually became a number 1 hit in 1960, and the record stayed listed for over 16 weeks. It sparked a dance craze that swept the nation. The song gave Checker his breakthrough and his title as the uncrowned King of Twist. In 1961, 'The Twist' rose to number one for a second time and stayed there for 18 weeks. The song has since been covered by numerous artists.
Chubby Checker's success with 'The Twist' was followed by numerous variations on the twist and similar dances. When Don Covay and John Berry released 'Pony Time' with The Goodtimers in 1960 and achieved some local success with it, it was almost immediately covered by Chubby Checker. Checker's version rose to number 1 and stayed listed for 16 weeks in 1961. Checker went on to have other hits, including 'Let's Twist Again' and 'Limbo Rock'. His success with 'The Twist' also led to several television appearances, including on American Bandstand with Dick Clark. He made his film debut as a performer in the musical Teenage Millionaire (Lawrence Doheny, 1961) with Rocky Graziano and Zasu Pitts. It was followed by Twist Around the Clock (Oscar Rudolph, 1961) with Dion and Don't Knock the Twist (Oscar Rudolph, 1962) with Mari Blanchard. After 1963, the dance hype was a bit over and Checker concentrated on Europe, which was a bit behind the US in terms of music. There he performed in the Austrian film Die ganze Welt ist himmelblau/The whole world is sky blue (Franz Antel, 1964) with Johanna Matz and Peter Weck and the British film The Comedy Man (Alvin Rakoff, 1964) with Kenneth More and Dennis Price. At the German Bierfeste, he met Dutch Catharina 'Rina' Lodders, the 1962 Miss World. En passant, following Elvis Presley with 'Muss I denn' (Wooden heart), he recorded the German children's folk song 'Good old Schwäbische Eisenbahn', better known as 'Troola, troola, troola la'. The b-side is 'Autobahn Baby'. He married Lodders in 1964 and from the marriage three children were born; the family lived in a Philadelphia suburb. Together with the Dutch pop group ZZ en de Maskers, he recorded the 1965 hits 'Baby Baby Balla Balla' and 'Stopping in Las Vegas', which ZZ and the Masks previously recorded as 'Sloppin' in Las Vegas'. He continued to perform and record throughout the 1960s and beyond. In 1970, Checker and three others were arrested near Niagara Falls when drugs were found in their car. In 1983, his illegitimate daughter Mistie Williams was born. She later made it to professional basketball player with the Houston Comets in the Women's National Basketball Association. In 1986 Chubby was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and in 1988, 'The Twist' became a hit for the third time, this time with the Fat Boys. The song reached 16th place in the charts. He incidentally appeared on the screen as himself in such films as Purple People Eater (Linda Shayne, 1988) with Ned Beatty and Calendar Girl (John Whitesell, 1993) with Jason Priestley. In 2000, he started a wholesale snack business called The Last Twist, Inc. and Chubby Checker Snacks. He also introduced the Checkerlicious Express, a driving snack roadshow with Checker himself at the wheel. In 2007, 'Knock Down The Walls' became a hit in the US. Today, Chubby Checker is still performing and is regarded as a rock and roll pioneer and a cultural icon of the 1960s.
Source: Wikipedia (Dutch and English) and IMDb.
And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.
Dutch postcard by Gebr. Spanjersberg, N.V., Rotterdam, no. 269.
American singer-songwriter Chubby Checker (1941) popularised the dance style Twist, with his 1960 hit cover of Hank Ballard's R&B hit 'The Twist'. In September 2008, 'The Twist' topped Billboard's list of the most popular singles to have appeared in the Hot 100 since its debut in 1958.
Chubby Checker was born in 1941, in Andrews of Spring Gulley, South Carolina, as Ernest Evans. From an early age, he learned to play the piano, played the drums and imitated several singers. At South Philadelphia High School where Frankie Avalon also attended, he made up dances for school performances with his school friend Fabian Forte. Initially, Ernest worked at a poulterer's, where the owner (Henry Colt) took every opportunity to demonstrate Ernest's singing skills. After appearing on a Christmas gift record in late 1958, imitating various stars (Fats Domino, the Coasters, Elvis Presley, Cozy Cole and The Chipmunks), he was offered a contract with Cameo-Parkway in early 1959, where the record 'The Class' was immediately released on single. He got his stage name from his childhood nickname, "Chubby," and his Fats Domino imitations, which gave rise to the pun and alliteration Chubby Checker (checkers is as well as domino a game). Hank Ballard and the Midnighters recorded the original version of 'The Twist' as the B-side of 'Teardrops on your Letter' in 1958. This record was accompanied by a dance to liven up their performance at The Peacock Club in Atlanta. Although the song seemed to appeal to the audience, several attempts to do something with it came to nothing. When Chubby sang the song in June 1959, Cameo-Parkway rated it a B-side. Through Checker's persistence, he not only lost 15 kilos by performing a lot, but 'The Twist' eventually became a number 1 hit in 1960, and the record stayed listed for over 16 weeks. It sparked a dance craze that swept the nation. The song gave Checker his breakthrough and his title as the uncrowned King of Twist. In 1961, 'The Twist' rose to number one for a second time and stayed there for 18 weeks. The song has since been covered by numerous artists.
Chubby Checker's success with 'The Twist' was followed by numerous variations on the twist and similar dances. When Don Covay and John Berry released 'Pony Time' with The Goodtimers in 1960 and achieved some local success with it, it was almost immediately covered by Chubby Checker. Checker's version rose to number 1 and stayed listed for 16 weeks in 1961. Checker went on to have other hits, including 'Let's Twist Again' and 'Limbo Rock'. His success with 'The Twist' also led to several television appearances, including on American Bandstand with Dick Clark. He made his film debut as a performer in the musical Teenage Millionaire (Lawrence Doheny, 1961) with Rocky Graziano and Zasu Pitts. It was followed by Twist Around the Clock (Oscar Rudolph, 1961) with Dion and Don't Knock the Twist (Oscar Rudolph, 1962) with Mari Blanchard. After 1963, the dance hype was a bit over and Checker concentrated on Europe, which was a bit behind the US in terms of music. There he performed in the Austrian film Die ganze Welt ist himmelblau/The whole world is sky blue (Franz Antel, 1964) with Johanna Matz and Peter Weck and the British film The Comedy Man (Alvin Rakoff, 1964) with Kenneth More and Dennis Price. At the German Bierfeste, he met Dutch Catharina 'Rina' Lodders, the 1962 Miss World. En passant, following Elvis Presley with 'Muss I denn' (Wooden heart), he recorded the German children's folk song 'Good old Schwäbische Eisenbahn', better known as 'Troola, troola, troola la'. The b-side is 'Autobahn Baby'. He married Lodders in 1964 and from the marriage three children were born; the family lived in a Philadelphia suburb. Together with the Dutch pop group ZZ en de Maskers, he recorded the 1965 hits 'Baby Baby Balla Balla' and 'Stopping in Las Vegas', which ZZ and the Masks previously recorded as 'Sloppin' in Las Vegas'. He continued to perform and record throughout the 1960s and beyond. In 1970, Checker and three others were arrested near Niagara Falls when drugs were found in their car. In 1983, his illegitimate daughter Mistie Williams was born. She later made it to professional basketball player with the Houston Comets in the Women's National Basketball Association. In 1986 Chubby was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and in 1988, 'The Twist' became a hit for the third time, this time with the Fat Boys. The song reached 16th place in the charts. He incidentally appeared on the screen as himself in such films as Purple People Eater (Linda Shayne, 1988) with Ned Beatty and Calendar Girl (John Whitesell, 1993) with Jason Priestley. In 2000, he started a wholesale snack business called The Last Twist, Inc. and Chubby Checker Snacks. He also introduced the Checkerlicious Express, a driving snack roadshow with Checker himself at the wheel. In 2007, 'Knock Down The Walls' became a hit in the US. Today, Chubby Checker is still performing and is regarded as a rock and roll pioneer and a cultural icon of the 1960s.
Source: Wikipedia (Dutch and English) and IMDb.
And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 5751/1, 1930-1931. Photo: Paramount. Gary Cooper in Morocco (Josef von Sternberg, 1930). Caption: Garry Cooper (sic).
American screen legend Gary Cooper (1901-1961) is well remembered for his stoic, understated acting style in more than one hundred Westerns, comedies and dramas. He received five Oscar nominations and won twice for his roles as Alvin York in Sergeant York (1941) and as Will Kane in High Noon (1952).
Frank James Cooper was born in Helena, Montana in 1901. His parents were English immigrants, Alice Cooper-Brazier and Charles Henry Cooper, a prominent lawyer, rancher, and eventually a state supreme court judge. Frank left school in 1918 and returned to the family ranch to help raise their five hundred head of cattle and work full-time as a cowboy. In 1919, his father arranged for his son to complete his high school education at Gallatin County High School in Bozeman, Montana. His English teacher, Ida W. Davis, played an important role in encouraging him to focus on academics, join the school's debating team, and become involved in dramatics. He was in a car accident as a teenager that caused him to walk with a limp for the rest of his life. In the fall of 1924, Cooper's parents moved to Los Angeles to administer the estates of two relatives. Cooper joined them and there he met some cowboys from Montana who were working as film extras and stuntmen in low-budget Western films. Cooper decided to try his hand working as a film extra for five dollars a day, and as a stuntman for twice that amount. In early 1925, Cooper began his film career working as an extra and stuntman on Poverty Row in such silent Westerns as Riders of the Purple Sage (Lynn Reynolds, 1925) with Tom Mix, and The Trail Rider (W.S. Van Dyke, 1925) with Buck Jones. Cooper paid for a screen test and hired casting director Nan Collins to work as his agent. Collins changed his first name to ‘Gary’ after her hometown of Gary, Indiana. Cooper also worked in non-Western films. He appeared as a masked Cossack in The Eagle (Clarence Brown, 1925) with Rudolph Valentino, as a Roman guard in Ben-Hur (Fred Niblo, 1925) with Ramón Novarro, and as a flood survivor in The Johnstown Flood (Irving Cummings, 1926) with George O'Brien. Gradually he began to land credited roles that offered him more screen time, such as Tricks (Bruce M. Mitchell, 1925), in which he played the film's antagonist. As a featured player, he began to attract the attention of major film studios and in June 1926, Cooper signed a contract with Samuel Goldwyn Productions. His first important film role was in The Winning of Barbara Worth (Henry King, 1926) with Ronald Colman and Vilma Bánky. The film was a major success, and critics called Cooper a "dynamic new personality" and future star. Cooper signed a five-year contract with Jesse L. Lasky at Paramount Pictures for $175 per week. In 1927, with help from established silent film star Clara Bow, Cooper landed high-profile roles opposite her in Children of Divorce (Frank Lloyd, 1927) and Wings (William A. Wellman, 1927), the first film to win an Academy Award for Best Picture. With each new film, Cooper's acting skills improved and his popularity continued to grow, especially among female movie-goers. He received a thousand fan letters per week. The studio placed him opposite popular leading ladies in films such as Beau Sabreur (John Waters, 1928) with Evelyn Brent, Half a Bride (Gregory La Cava, 1928) with Esther Ralston, and Lilac Time (George Fitzmaurice, 1928) with Colleen Moore. The latter introduced synchronized music and sound effects and became one of the biggest box office hits of the year.
In 1929, Gary Cooper became a major film star with his first sound picture, The Virginian, (Victor Fleming, 1929). The Virginian was one of the first sound films to define the Western code of honour and helped establish many of the conventions of the Western genre. The romantic image of the tall, handsome, and shy cowboy hero that embodied male freedom, courage, and honour was created in large part by Cooper's performance in the film. Cooper transitioned naturally to the sound medium, with his deep, clear, and pleasantly drawling voice. One of the high points of Cooper's early career was his portrayal of a sullen legionnaire in Josef von Sternberg's Morocco (1930) with Marlene Dietrich in her American debut. Cooper produced one of his finest performances to that point in his career. In the Dashiell Hammett crime drama City Streets (Rouben Mamoulian, 1931) he played a misplaced cowboy in a big city who gets involved with gangsters to save the woman (Sylvia Sidney) he loves. After making ten films in two years Cooper was exhausted and had lost thirty pounds. In May 1931, he sailed to Algiers and then Italy, where he lived for the next year. During his time abroad, Cooper stayed with the Countess Dorothy di Frasso who taught him about good food and vintage wines, how to read Italian and French menus in the finest restaurants, and how to socialize among Europe's nobility and upper classes. In 1932, a healthy Cooper returned to Hollywood and negotiated a new contract with Paramount for two films per year, a salary of $4,000 per week, and director and script approval. He appeared opposite Helen Hayes in A Farewell to Arms (Frank Borzage, 1932), the first film adaptation of an Ernest Hemingway novel. Critics praised his highly intense and at times emotional performance, and the film went on to become one of the year's most commercially successful films. The following year, Cooper appeared in the Ernst Lubitsch comedy Design for Living (1933) with Miriam Hopkins and Fredric March and based loosely on the successful Noël Coward play. Wikipedia: “The film received mixed reviews and did not do well at the box office, but Cooper's performance was singled out for its versatility and revealed his genuine ability to do light comedy”. Then, he appeared in his first of seven films by director Henry Hathaway, Now and Forever (1934), with Carole Lombard and Shirley Temple. The film was a box-office success. His next two Henry Hathaway films were the melodrama Peter Ibbetson (1935) with Ann Harding, about a man caught up in a dream world created by his love for a childhood sweetheart, and the romantic adventure The Lives of a Bengal Lancer (1935), about a daring British officer and his men who defend their stronghold at Bengal against rebellious local tribes. The latter was nominated for six Academy Awards and became one of Cooper's most popular and successful adventure films.
Gary Cooper returned to Poverty Row for the first time since his early silent film days to make Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (Frank Capra, 1936) with Jean Arthur for Columbia Pictures. Cooper plays the character of Longfellow Deeds, an innocent, sweet-natured writer of greeting cards who inherits a fortune, leaves behind his idyllic life in Vermont and travels to New York where he faces a world of corruption and deceit. For his performance in Mr. Deeds, Cooper received his first Oscar nomination. In the adventure film The General Died at Dawn (Lewis Milestone, 1936) with Madeleine Carroll, he plays an American soldier of fortune in China who helps the peasants defend themselves against the oppression of a cruel warlord. Written by playwright Clifford Odets, the film was a critical and commercial success. In Cecil B. DeMille's sprawling frontier epic The Plainsman (1936) with Jean Arthur—his first of four films with the director—Cooper portrays Wild Bill Hickok in a highly-fictionalized version of the opening of the American western frontier. That year, Cooper appeared for the first time on the Motion Picture Herald exhibitor's poll of top ten film personalities, where he would remain for the next twenty-two years. In Ernst Lubitsch's romantic comedy Bluebeard's Eighth Wife (1938) with Claudette Colbert, Cooper plays a wealthy American businessman in France who falls in love with an impoverished aristocrat's daughter and persuades her to become his eighth wife. In the adventure film Beau Geste (William A. Wellman, 1939) with Ray Milland, he joined the French Foreign Legion to find adventure in the Sahara fighting local tribes. Wikipedia: “Beau Geste provided Cooper with magnificent sets, exotic settings, high-spirited action, and a role tailored to his personality and screen persona.” Cooper cemented his cowboy credentials in The Westerner (William Wyler, 1940). He won his first Academy Award for Best Actor in 1942 for his performance as Alvin York, the most decorated U.S. soldier from the Great War, in Sergeant York (Howard Hawks, 1941). Cooper worked with Ingrid Bergman in For Whom the Bell Tolls (Sam Wood, 1943) which earned him his third Oscar nomination. The film was based on a novel by Ernest Hemingway, with whom Cooper developed a strong friendship. On 23 October 1947, he appeared before the House Un-American Activities Committee in Washington, not under subpoena but responding to an invitation to give testimony on the alleged infiltration of Hollywood by communists. Although he never said he regretted having been a friendly witness, as an independent producer, he hired blacklisted actors and technicians. He did say he had never wanted to see anyone lose the right to work, regardless of what he had done. Cooper won his second Oscar for his performance as Marshal Will Kane in High Noon (Fred Zinnemann, 1952), one of his finest roles and a kind of come-back after a series of flops. He continued to play the lead in films almost to the end of his life. His later box office hits included the influential Western Vera Cruz (Robert Aldrich, 1954) in which he guns down villain Burt Lancaster in a showdown, William Wyler's Friendly Persuasion (1956), in which he portrays a Quaker farmer during the American Civil War, Billy Wilder's Love in the Afternoon (1957) with Audrey Hepburn, and the hard-edged action Western Man of the West (Anthony Mann, 1958), with Lee J. Cobb. Cooper's final film was the British-American co-production The Naked Edge (Michael Anderson, 1961). In April 1960, Cooper underwent surgery for prostate cancer after it had metastasized to his colon. But by the end of the year cancer had spread to his lungs and bones. On 13 May 1961, six days after his sixtieth birthday, Gary Cooper died. The young and handsome Cooper had affairs with Clara Bow, Lupe Velez, Marlene Dietrich and Tallulah Bankhead. In 1933, he married socialite Veronica Balfe, who, billed as Sandra Shaw, enjoyed a short-lived acting career. They had an ‘open’ marriage and Cooper also had relationships with the actresses Grace Kelly, Anita Ekberg, and Patricia Neal. Sir Cecil Beaton also claimed to have had an affair with him.
Sources: Wikipedia and IMDb.
And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.
Good thing it's self-adhesive.
I was concerned it might have microdot on the back if it was lick-and-stick.
Wait... that sounds kinda' porno-ish.
What the Hell.
It's a damn postage stamp.
"Purple haze was in my brain... lately things don't seem the same."
***
U.S. Postal Service Honors Legendary Guitarist, Jimi Hendrix, with Limited-Edition Forever Stamp on the SXSW Outdoor Stage at Butler Park
Rocking the Music Icons Stamp Series With a Tribute Concert
March 13, 2014
AUSTIN, TX — The U.S. Postal Service will take center stage on the SXSW Outdoor Stage at Butler Park with the dedication of the Jimi Hendrix Forever Stamp.
Widely recognized as one of the most creative and influential musicians of the 20th century, Hendrix displayed an innovative style that embraced the influences of rock, R&B, modern jazz and the blues, inspiring musical artists of his era and beyond.
The Jimi Hendrix Forever Stamp goes on sale today at Post Offices nationwide, online at usps.com/stamps, at the Postal Store on eBay at ebay.com/stamps, and through 800-STAMP24
(800-782-6724).
“Combining influences from rock, modern jazz, soul and the blues with his own innovations, Jimi Hendrix helped found three new genres of music — heavy metal, jazz fusion and funk — and in doing so, left behind an indelible mark on pop music and popular culture generally,” said Joseph Corbett, chief financial officer and executive vice president, U.S. Postal Service.
“I’m especially pleased that we continue celebrating our Music Icons stamp series with the issuance of the Jimi Hendrix Forever Stamp,” Corbett said. Janie Hendrix, sister to the late Jimi Hendrix, joined Corbett to dedicate the stamp.
“I am deeply touched and so are other members of the Hendrix family by the issuance of this stamp, and I wish to thank the United States Postal Service for bestowing one of our nation’s highest honors on my brother Jimi,” said Janie Hendrix. “While my brother has been cited many times as being among the most influential musicians of all time, the recognition implicit in his being portrayed on a U.S. postage stamp ranks as an unparalleled honor.”
The stamp dedication will take place prior to a Jimi Hendrix Celebration concert at the SXSW Outdoor Stage at Butler Park. Scheduled perform to are guitar luminaries, Wayne Kramer, guitarist for Motor City 5; Slash, former lead guitarist for Guns N’ Roses; Rusty Anderson, lead guitarist for Paul McCartney’s tours; and Perry Farrell, lead singer for Jane’s Addiction. Also, the concert will feature Robby Krieger, guitarist for the Doors; Mary Bridget Davies, star of Broadway’s “A Night with Janis Joplin”; Jesse Malin, guitarist/musician; Dave and Phil Alvin, former guitarists for The Blasters; and Etty Farrell, wife of Perry Farrell and former star of E! reality series, “Married to Rock.”
The Postal Service has released numerous stamps to celebrate and honor music icons who had a big impact on American culture and the music industry. The Jimi Hendrix Forever Stamp kicks off the 2014 Music Icons series, which will include Janis Joplin later this year. The 2013 Music Icons series honored Johnny Cash, Ray Charles and Lydia Mendoza.
The new limited-edition Jimi Hendrix stamp, designed by artist Rudy Gutierrez, features a vibrant, colorful design fashioned to evoke the movement and rhythm of the late singer and pay homage to the psychedelic rock era of the 1960s.
The stamp pane, designed to resemble a vintage 45 rpm record sleeve, features a painting of Hendrix’s face surrounded by colorful swirls and small icons that reference song lyrics or aspects of Hendrix’s life. The various icons include flowers, a guitar, a mermaid and a butterfly. The stamp art shows Hendrix in performance, wearing one of his trademark vintage military jackets and playing one of his beloved white Fender Stratocaster guitars.
About Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix was born in Seattle, WA, Nov. 27, 1942. Originally named Johnny Allen Hendrix, his name was later changed by his father to James Marshall Hendrix. Entirely self-taught, he had to adjust his first right-handed guitar to his left-handed playing; he restrung it upside down and turned the instrument around to play it. The teenager soon began playing with bands in the Seattle area.
Hendrix pushed the boundaries of what a guitar could do, using a basic setup that at times included a wah-wah pedal to control the output from the amplifier to produce voice-like tones; a fuzz-box to create distortion of the sound; and a Univibe, a phaser that created regular, pulsating changes of pitch, all channeled through a set of Marshall amplifiers at top volume. He was able to manipulate the various devices to produce sounds that could be loud — the quintessential psychedelic music — or melodic and gentle. A master at the controlled use of distortion and feedback, he expanded the instrument’s vocabulary in a way that had never been heard before — or since.
The Jimi Hendrix Experience was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992 and the U.K. Music Hall of Fame in 2005. Rolling Stone ranked Hendrix No. 1 on its list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time, and No. 6 on its list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.
In 1991, Hendrix received his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and in 1993, he was awarded a posthumous Grammy for lifetime achievement.
The Jimi Hendrix stamp is being issued as a Forever Stamp, which is equal in value to the current First-Class Mail 1-ounce price.
Customers may view the Jimi Hendrix Forever Stamp, as well as a preview of many of this year’s other stamps, on Facebook at facebook.com/USPSStamps, on Twitter@USPSstamps or on USPSstamps.com.
Ordering First-Day-of-Issue Postmark for Jimi Hendrix Forever Stamp
Customers have 60 days to obtain the first-day-of-issue postmark by mail. They may purchase the new stamps at local Post Offices, at usps.com/stamps or by calling 800-STAMP-24. They should apply the stamps to envelopes of their choice, address the envelopes to themselves or others and place them in larger envelopes addressed to:
Jimi Hendrix Station
Postmaster
8225 Cross Park Drive
Austin, TX 78710-9998
After applying the first-day-of-issue postmark, the Postal Service will return the envelopes through the mail. There is no charge for the postmark for fewer than 50 requests. For more than 50, the price is 5 cents each. All orders must be postmarked by May 12, 2014.
Ordering First-Day Covers
The Postal Service also offers first-day covers for new stamp issues and Postal Service stationery items postmarked with the official first-day-of-issue cancellation. Each item has an individual catalog number and is offered in the quarterly USA Philatelic catalog, online at usps.com/stamps or by calling 800-782-6724. Customers may request a free catalog by calling 800-782-6724 or writing to:
U.S. Postal Service
Catalog Request
PO Box 219014
Kansas City, MO 64121-9014
Philatelic products for the Jimi Hendrix Forever Stamp
There are 16 philatelic products available for this stamp issuance:
588006, Press sheet with die cuts, $70.56 (print quantity of 2,500)
588008, Press Sheet without die cuts, $70.56 (print quantity of 2,500)
588010, Keepsake (Pane of 16, 1 Digital Color Postmark), $9.95
588016, First-Day Cover, $0.93
588018, Full Pane First Day Cover, $10.34
588019, Cancelled Full Pane, $10.34
588021, Digital Color Postmark, $1.64
588024, Framed Art, $39.95
588025, Poster with First Day Cover, $14.95
588026, T-shirt (med) with First Day Cover, $17.95
588027, T-shirt (large) with First Day Cover, $17.95
588028, T-shirt (XL) with First Day Cover, $17.95
588029, T-shirt (XXL) with First Day Cover, $17.95
588030, Ceremony Program, $6.95
588031, Stamp Deck Card, $0.95.
585032, Stamp Deck Card with Digital Color Postmark, $1.99
A special promotional page has been created to display all of the Jimi Hendrix philatelic products.
The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses, and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.
... in your light, we see light.
from the Book of Psalms
Canon dslr rebel xsi a.k.a. 450d
lens: ef100mm f/2.8 macro
1/80 sec.....f/4.5.....iso 200.....100mm
Thanks everyone for the views, comments, faves and invites !!
French postcard in the Entr'acte series by Éditions Asphodèle, Mâcon, no. 004/3. Collection: B. Courtel / D.R. Gary Cooper, Walter Brennan, and Frank Capra on the set of Meet John Doe (Frank Capra, 1940). Caption: Conference between Gary Cooper, Water Brennan and director Frank Capra.
American screen legend Gary Cooper (1901-1961) is well remembered for his stoic, understated acting style in more than one hundred Westerns, comedies and dramas. He received five Oscar nominations and won twice for his roles as Alvin York in Sergeant York (1941) and as Will Kane in High Noon (1952).
Frank James Cooper was born in Helena, Montana in 1901. His parents were English immigrants, Alice Cooper-Brazier and Charles Henry Cooper, a prominent lawyer, rancher, and eventually a state supreme court judge. Frank left school in 1918 and returned to the family ranch to help raise their five hundred head of cattle and work full-time as a cowboy. In 1919, his father arranged for his son to complete his high school education at Gallatin County High School in Bozeman, Montana. His English teacher, Ida W. Davis, played an important role in encouraging him to focus on academics, join the school's debating team, and become involved in dramatics. He was in a car accident as a teenager that caused him to walk with a limp for the rest of his life. In the fall of 1924, Cooper's parents moved to Los Angeles to administer the estates of two relatives. Cooper joined them and there he met some cowboys from Montana who were working as film extras and stuntmen in low-budget Western films. Cooper decided to try his hand working as a film extra for five dollars a day, and as a stuntman for twice that amount. In early 1925, Cooper began his film career working as an extra and stuntman on Poverty Row in such silent Westerns as Riders of the Purple Sage (Lynn Reynolds, 1925) with Tom Mix, and The Trail Rider (W.S. Van Dyke, 1925) with Buck Jones. Cooper paid for a screen test and hired casting director Nan Collins to work as his agent. Collins changed his first name to ‘Gary’ after her hometown of Gary, Indiana. Cooper also worked in non-Western films. He appeared as a masked Cossack in The Eagle (Clarence Brown, 1925) with Rudolph Valentino, as a Roman guard in Ben-Hur (Fred Niblo, 1925) with Ramón Novarro, and as a flood survivor in The Johnstown Flood (Irving Cummings, 1926) with George O'Brien. Gradually he began to land credited roles that offered him more screen time, such as Tricks (Bruce M. Mitchell, 1925), in which he played the film's antagonist. As a featured player, he began to attract the attention of major film studios and in June 1926, Cooper signed a contract with Samuel Goldwyn Productions. His first important film role was in The Winning of Barbara Worth (Henry King, 1926) with Ronald Colman and Vilma Bánky. The film was a major success, and critics called Cooper a "dynamic new personality" and future star. Cooper signed a five-year contract with Jesse L. Lasky at Paramount Pictures for $175 per week. In 1927, with help from established silent film star Clara Bow, Cooper landed high-profile roles opposite her in Children of Divorce (Frank Lloyd, 1927) and Wings (William A. Wellman, 1927), the first film to win an Academy Award for Best Picture. With each new film, Cooper's acting skills improved and his popularity continued to grow, especially among female movie-goers. He received a thousand fan letters per week. The studio placed him opposite popular leading ladies in films such as Beau Sabreur (John Waters, 1928) with Evelyn Brent, Half a Bride (Gregory La Cava, 1928) with Esther Ralston, and Lilac Time (George Fitzmaurice, 1928) with Colleen Moore. The latter introduced synchronized music and sound effects and became one of the biggest box office hits of the year.
In 1929, Gary Cooper became a major film star with his first sound picture, The Virginian, (Victor Fleming, 1929). The Virginian was one of the first sound films to define the Western code of honour and helped establish many of the conventions of the Western genre. The romantic image of the tall, handsome, and shy cowboy hero that embodied male freedom, courage, and honour was created in large part by Cooper's performance in the film. Cooper transitioned naturally to the sound medium, with his deep, clear, and pleasantly drawling voice. One of the high points of Cooper's early career was his portrayal of a sullen legionnaire in Josef von Sternberg's Morocco (1930) with Marlene Dietrich in her American debut. Cooper produced one of his finest performances to that point in his career. In the Dashiell Hammett crime drama City Streets (Rouben Mamoulian, 1931) he played a misplaced cowboy in a big city who gets involved with gangsters to save the woman (Sylvia Sidney) he loves. After making ten films in two years Cooper was exhausted and had lost thirty pounds. In May 1931, he sailed to Algiers and then Italy, where he lived for the next year. During his time abroad, Cooper stayed with the Countess Dorothy di Frasso who taught him about good food and vintage wines, how to read Italian and French menus in the finest restaurants, and how to socialize among Europe's nobility and upper classes. In 1932, a healthy Cooper returned to Hollywood and negotiated a new contract with Paramount for two films per year, a salary of $4,000 per week, and director and script approval. He appeared opposite Helen Hayes in A Farewell to Arms (Frank Borzage, 1932), the first film adaptation of an Ernest Hemingway novel. Critics praised his highly intense and at times emotional performance, and the film went on to become one of the year's most commercially successful films. The following year, Cooper appeared in the Ernst Lubitsch comedy Design for Living (1933) with Miriam Hopkins and Fredric March and based loosely on the successful Noël Coward play. Wikipedia: “The film received mixed reviews and did not do well at the box office, but Cooper's performance was singled out for its versatility and revealed his genuine ability to do light comedy”. Then, he appeared in his first of seven films by director Henry Hathaway, Now and Forever (1934), with Carole Lombard and Shirley Temple. The film was a box-office success. His next two Henry Hathaway films were the melodrama Peter Ibbetson (1935) with Ann Harding, about a man caught up in a dream world created by his love for a childhood sweetheart, and the romantic adventure The Lives of a Bengal Lancer (1935), about a daring British officer and his men who defend their stronghold at Bengal against rebellious local tribes. The latter was nominated for six Academy Awards and became one of Cooper's most popular and successful adventure films.
Gary Cooper returned to Poverty Row for the first time since his early silent film days to make Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (Frank Capra, 1936) with Jean Arthur for Columbia Pictures. Cooper plays the character of Longfellow Deeds, an innocent, sweet-natured writer of greeting cards who inherits a fortune, leaves behind his idyllic life in Vermont and travels to New York where he faces a world of corruption and deceit. For his performance in Mr. Deeds, Cooper received his first Oscar nomination. In the adventure film The General Died at Dawn (Lewis Milestone, 1936) with Madeleine Carroll, he plays an American soldier of fortune in China who helps the peasants defend themselves against the oppression of a cruel warlord. Written by playwright Clifford Odets, the film was a critical and commercial success. In Cecil B. DeMille's sprawling frontier epic The Plainsman (1936) with Jean Arthur—his first of four films with the director—Cooper portrays Wild Bill Hickok in a highly-fictionalized version of the opening of the American western frontier. That year, Cooper appeared for the first time on the Motion Picture Herald exhibitor's poll of top ten film personalities, where he would remain for the next twenty-two years. In Ernst Lubitsch's romantic comedy Bluebeard's Eighth Wife (1938) with Claudette Colbert, Cooper plays a wealthy American businessman in France who falls in love with an impoverished aristocrat's daughter and persuades her to become his eighth wife. In the adventure film Beau Geste (William A. Wellman, 1939) with Ray Milland, he joined the French Foreign Legion to find adventure in the Sahara fighting local tribes. Wikipedia: “Beau Geste provided Cooper with magnificent sets, exotic settings, high-spirited action, and a role tailored to his personality and screen persona.” Cooper cemented his cowboy credentials in The Westerner (William Wyler, 1940). He won his first Academy Award for Best Actor in 1942 for his performance as Alvin York, the most decorated U.S. soldier from the Great War, in Sergeant York (Howard Hawks, 1941). Cooper worked with Ingrid Bergman in For Whom the Bell Tolls (Sam Wood, 1943) which earned him his third Oscar nomination. The film was based on a novel by Ernest Hemingway, with whom Cooper developed a strong friendship. On 23 October 1947, he appeared before the House Un-American Activities Committee in Washington, not under subpoena but responding to an invitation to give testimony on the alleged infiltration of Hollywood by communists. Although he never said he regretted having been a friendly witness, as an independent producer, he hired blacklisted actors and technicians. He did say he had never wanted to see anyone lose the right to work, regardless of what he had done. Cooper won his second Oscar for his performance as Marshal Will Kane in High Noon (Fred Zinnemann, 1952), one of his finest roles and a kind of come-back after a series of flops. He continued to play the lead in films almost to the end of his life. His later box office hits included the influential Western Vera Cruz (Robert Aldrich, 1954) in which he guns down villain Burt Lancaster in a showdown, William Wyler's Friendly Persuasion (1956), in which he portrays a Quaker farmer during the American Civil War, Billy Wilder's Love in the Afternoon (1957) with Audrey Hepburn, and the hard-edged action Western Man of the West (Anthony Mann, 1958), with Lee J. Cobb. Cooper's final film was the British-American co-production The Naked Edge (Michael Anderson, 1961). In April 1960, Cooper underwent surgery for prostate cancer after it had metastasized to his colon. But by the end of the year cancer had spread to his lungs and bones. On 13 May 1961, six days after his sixtieth birthday, Gary Cooper died. The young and handsome Cooper had affairs with Clara Bow, Lupe Velez, Marlene Dietrich and Tallulah Bankhead. In 1933, he married socialite Veronica Balfe, who, billed as Sandra Shaw, enjoyed a short-lived acting career. They had an ‘open’ marriage and Cooper also had relationships with the actresses Grace Kelly, Anita Ekberg, and Patricia Neal. Sir Cecil Beaton also claimed to have had an affair with him.
Sources: Wikipedia and IMDb.
And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.
Big German collectors card by Ross Verlag. Photo: Paramount.
American screen legend Gary Cooper (1901-1961) is well remembered for his stoic, understated acting style in more than one hundred Westerns, comedies and dramas. He received five Oscar nominations and won twice for his roles as Alvin York in Sergeant York (1941) and as Will Kane in High Noon (1952).
Frank James Cooper was born in Helena, Montana in 1901. His parents were English immigrants, Alice Cooper-Brazier and Charles Henry Cooper, a prominent lawyer, rancher, and eventually a state supreme court judge. Frank left school in 1918 and returned to the family ranch to help raise their five hundred head of cattle and work full-time as a cowboy. In 1919, his father arranged for his son to complete his high school education at Gallatin County High School in Bozeman, Montana. His English teacher, Ida W. Davis, played an important role in encouraging him to focus on academics, join the school's debating team, and become involved in dramatics. He was in a car accident as a teenager that caused him to walk with a limp for the rest of his life. In the fall of 1924, Cooper's parents moved to Los Angeles to administer the estates of two relatives. Cooper joined them and there he met some cowboys from Montana who were working as film extras and stuntmen in low-budget Western films. Cooper decided to try his hand working as a film extra for five dollars a day, and as a stuntman for twice that amount. In early 1925, Cooper began his film career working as an extra and stuntman on Poverty Row in such silent Westerns as Riders of the Purple Sage (Lynn Reynolds, 1925) with Tom Mix, and The Trail Rider (W.S. Van Dyke, 1925) with Buck Jones. Cooper paid for a screen test and hired casting director Nan Collins to work as his agent. Collins changed his first name to ‘Gary’ after her hometown of Gary, Indiana. Cooper also worked in non-Western films. He appeared as a masked Cossack in The Eagle (Clarence Brown, 1925) with Rudolph Valentino, as a Roman guard in Ben-Hur (Fred Niblo, 1925) with Ramón Novarro, and as a flood survivor in The Johnstown Flood (Irving Cummings, 1926) with George O'Brien. Gradually he began to land credited roles that offered him more screen time, such as Tricks (Bruce M. Mitchell, 1925), in which he played the film's antagonist. As a featured player, he began to attract the attention of major film studios and in June 1926, Cooper signed a contract with Samuel Goldwyn Productions. His first important film role was in The Winning of Barbara Worth (Henry King, 1926) with Ronald Colman and Vilma Bánky. The film was a major success, and critics called Cooper a "dynamic new personality" and future star. Cooper signed a five-year contract with Jesse L. Lasky at Paramount Pictures for $175 per week. In 1927, with help from established silent film star Clara Bow, Cooper landed high-profile roles opposite her in Children of Divorce (Frank Lloyd, 1927) and Wings (William A. Wellman, 1927), the first film to win an Academy Award for Best Picture. With each new film, Cooper's acting skills improved and his popularity continued to grow, especially among female movie-goers. He received a thousand fan letters per week. The studio placed him opposite popular leading ladies in films such as Beau Sabreur (John Waters, 1928) with Evelyn Brent, Half a Bride (Gregory La Cava, 1928) with Esther Ralston, and Lilac Time (George Fitzmaurice, 1928) with Colleen Moore. The latter introduced synchronized music and sound effects and became one of the biggest box office hits of the year.
In 1929, Gary Cooper became a major film star with his first sound picture, The Virginian, (Victor Fleming, 1929). The Virginian was one of the first sound films to define the Western code of honour and helped establish many of the conventions of the Western genre. The romantic image of the tall, handsome, and shy cowboy hero that embodied male freedom, courage, and honour was created in large part by Cooper's performance in the film. Cooper transitioned naturally to the sound medium, with his deep, clear, and pleasantly drawling voice. One of the high points of Cooper's early career was his portrayal of a sullen legionnaire in Josef von Sternberg's Morocco (1930) with Marlene Dietrich in her American debut. Cooper produced one of his finest performances to that point in his career. In the Dashiell Hammett crime drama City Streets (Rouben Mamoulian, 1931) he played a misplaced cowboy in a big city who gets involved with gangsters to save the woman (Sylvia Sidney) he loves. After making ten films in two years Cooper was exhausted and had lost thirty pounds. In May 1931, he sailed to Algiers and then Italy, where he lived for the next year. During his time abroad, Cooper stayed with the Countess Dorothy di Frasso who taught him about good food and vintage wines, how to read Italian and French menus in the finest restaurants, and how to socialize among Europe's nobility and upper classes. In 1932, a healthy Cooper returned to Hollywood and negotiated a new contract with Paramount for two films per year, a salary of $4,000 per week, and director and script approval. He appeared opposite Helen Hayes in A Farewell to Arms (Frank Borzage, 1932), the first film adaptation of an Ernest Hemingway novel. Critics praised his highly intense and at times emotional performance, and the film went on to become one of the year's most commercially successful films. The following year, Cooper appeared in the Ernst Lubitsch comedy Design for Living (1933) with Miriam Hopkins and Fredric March and based loosely on the successful Noël Coward play. Wikipedia: “The film received mixed reviews and did not do well at the box office, but Cooper's performance was singled out for its versatility and revealed his genuine ability to do light comedy”. Then, he appeared in his first of seven films by director Henry Hathaway, Now and Forever (1934), with Carole Lombard and Shirley Temple. The film was a box-office success. His next two Henry Hathaway films were the melodrama Peter Ibbetson (1935) with Ann Harding, about a man caught up in a dream world created by his love for a childhood sweetheart, and the romantic adventure The Lives of a Bengal Lancer (1935), about a daring British officer and his men who defend their stronghold at Bengal against rebellious local tribes. The latter was nominated for six Academy Awards and became one of Cooper's most popular and successful adventure films.
Gary Cooper returned to Poverty Row for the first time since his early silent film days to make Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (Frank Capra, 1936) with Jean Arthur for Columbia Pictures. Cooper plays the character of Longfellow Deeds, an innocent, sweet-natured writer of greeting cards who inherits a fortune, leaves behind his idyllic life in Vermont and travels to New York where he faces a world of corruption and deceit. For his performance in Mr. Deeds, Cooper received his first Oscar nomination. In the adventure film The General Died at Dawn (Lewis Milestone, 1936) with Madeleine Carroll, he plays an American soldier of fortune in China who helps the peasants defend themselves against the oppression of a cruel warlord. Written by playwright Clifford Odets, the film was a critical and commercial success. In Cecil B. DeMille's sprawling frontier epic The Plainsman (1936) with Jean Arthur—his first of four films with the director—Cooper portrays Wild Bill Hickok in a highly-fictionalized version of the opening of the American western frontier. That year, Cooper appeared for the first time on the Motion Picture Herald exhibitor's poll of top ten film personalities, where he would remain for the next twenty-two years. In Ernst Lubitsch's romantic comedy Bluebeard's Eighth Wife (1938) with Claudette Colbert, Cooper plays a wealthy American businessman in France who falls in love with an impoverished aristocrat's daughter and persuades her to become his eighth wife. In the adventure film Beau Geste (William A. Wellman, 1939) with Ray Milland, he joined the French Foreign Legion to find adventure in the Sahara fighting local tribes. Wikipedia: “Beau Geste provided Cooper with magnificent sets, exotic settings, high-spirited action, and a role tailored to his personality and screen persona.” Cooper cemented his cowboy credentials in The Westerner (William Wyler, 1940). He won his first Academy Award for Best Actor in 1942 for his performance as Alvin York, the most decorated U.S. soldier from the Great War, in Sergeant York (Howard Hawks, 1941). Cooper worked with Ingrid Bergman in For Whom the Bell Tolls (Sam Wood, 1943) which earned him his third Oscar nomination. The film was based on a novel by Ernest Hemingway, with whom Cooper developed a strong friendship. On 23 October 1947, he appeared before the House Un-American Activities Committee in Washington, not under subpoena but responding to an invitation to give testimony on the alleged infiltration of Hollywood by communists. Although he never said he regretted having been a friendly witness, as an independent producer, he hired blacklisted actors and technicians. He did say he had never wanted to see anyone lose the right to work, regardless of what he had done. Cooper won his second Oscar for his performance as Marshal Will Kane in High Noon (Fred Zinnemann, 1952), one of his finest roles and a kind of come-back after a series of flops. He continued to play the lead in films almost to the end of his life. His later box office hits included the influential Western Vera Cruz (Robert Aldrich, 1954) in which he guns down villain Burt Lancaster in a showdown, William Wyler's Friendly Persuasion (1956), in which he portrays a Quaker farmer during the American Civil War, Billy Wilder's Love in the Afternoon (1957) with Audrey Hepburn, and the hard-edged action Western Man of the West (Anthony Mann, 1958), with Lee J. Cobb. Cooper's final film was the British-American co-production The Naked Edge (Michael Anderson, 1961). In April 1960, Cooper underwent surgery for prostate cancer after it had metastasized to his colon. But by the end of the year cancer had spread to his lungs and bones. On 13 May 1961, six days after his sixtieth birthday, Gary Cooper died. The young and handsome Cooper had affairs with Clara Bow, Lupe Velez, Marlene Dietrich and Tallulah Bankhead. In 1933, he married socialite Veronica Balfe, who, billed as Sandra Shaw, enjoyed a short-lived acting career. They had an ‘open’ marriage and Cooper also had relationships with the actresses Grace Kelly, Anita Ekberg, and Patricia Neal. Sir Cecil Beaton also claimed to have had an affair with him.
Sources: Wikipedia and IMDb.
And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.
Dutch postcard by Hercules, Haarlem, no. 262. Photo: Columbia.
American singer-songwriter Chubby Checker (1941) popularised the dance style Twist, with his 1960 hit cover of Hank Ballard's R&B hit 'The Twist'. In September 2008, 'The Twist' topped Billboard's list of the most popular singles to have appeared in the Hot 100 since its debut in 1958.
Chubby Checker was born in 1941, in Andrews of Spring Gulley, South Carolina, as Ernest Evans. From an early age, he learned to play the piano, played the drums and imitated several singers. At South Philadelphia High School where Frankie Avalon also attended, he made up dances for school performances with his school friend Fabian Forte. Initially, Ernest worked at a poulterer's, where the owner (Henry Colt) took every opportunity to demonstrate Ernest's singing skills. After appearing on a Christmas gift record in late 1958, imitating various stars (Fats Domino, the Coasters, Elvis Presley, Cozy Cole and The Chipmunks), he was offered a contract with Cameo-Parkway in early 1959, where the record 'The Class' was immediately released on single. He got his stage name from his childhood nickname, "Chubby," and his Fats Domino imitations, which gave rise to the pun and alliteration Chubby Checker (checkers is as well as domino a game). Hank Ballard and the Midnighters recorded the original version of 'The Twist' as the B-side of 'Teardrops on your Letter' in 1958. This record was accompanied by a dance to liven up their performance at The Peacock Club in Atlanta. Although the song seemed to appeal to the audience, several attempts to do something with it came to nothing. When Chubby sang the song in June 1959, Cameo-Parkway rated it a B-side. Through Checker's persistence, he not only lost 15 kilos by performing a lot, but 'The Twist' eventually became a number 1 hit in 1960, and the record stayed listed for over 16 weeks. It sparked a dance craze that swept the nation. The song gave Checker his breakthrough and his title as the uncrowned King of Twist. In 1961, 'The Twist' rose to number one for a second time and stayed there for 18 weeks. The song has since been covered by numerous artists.
Chubby Checker's success with 'The Twist' was followed by numerous variations on the twist and similar dances. When Don Covay and John Berry released 'Pony Time' with The Goodtimers in 1960 and achieved some local success with it, it was almost immediately covered by Chubby Checker. Checker's version rose to number 1 and stayed listed for 16 weeks in 1961. Checker went on to have other hits, including 'Let's Twist Again' and 'Limbo Rock'. His success with 'The Twist' also led to several television appearances, including on American Bandstand with Dick Clark. He made his film debut as a performer in the musical Teenage Millionaire (Lawrence Doheny, 1961) with Rocky Graziano and Zasu Pitts. It was followed by Twist Around the Clock (Oscar Rudolph, 1961) with Dion and Don't Knock the Twist (Oscar Rudolph, 1962) with Mari Blanchard. After 1963, the dance hype was a bit over and Checker concentrated on Europe, which was a bit behind the US in terms of music. There he performed in the Austrian film Die ganze Welt ist himmelblau/The whole world is sky blue (Franz Antel, 1964) with Johanna Matz and Peter Weck and the British film The Comedy Man (Alvin Rakoff, 1964) with Kenneth More and Dennis Price. At the German Bierfeste, he met Dutch Catharina 'Rina' Lodders, the 1962 Miss World. En passant, following Elvis Presley with 'Muss I denn' (Wooden heart), he recorded the German children's folk song 'Good old Schwäbische Eisenbahn', better known as 'Troola, troola, troola la'. The b-side is 'Autobahn Baby'. He married Lodders in 1964 and from the marriage three children were born; the family lived in a Philadelphia suburb. Together with the Dutch pop group ZZ en de Maskers, he recorded the 1965 hits 'Baby Baby Balla Balla' and 'Stopping in Las Vegas', which ZZ and the Masks previously recorded as 'Sloppin' in Las Vegas'. He continued to perform and record throughout the 1960s and beyond. In 1970, Checker and three others were arrested near Niagara Falls when drugs were found in their car. In 1983, his illegitimate daughter Mistie Williams was born. She later made it to professional basketball player with the Houston Comets in the Women's National Basketball Association. In 1986 Chubby was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and in 1988, 'The Twist' became a hit for the third time, this time with the Fat Boys. The song reached 16th place in the charts. He incidentally appeared on the screen as himself in such films as Purple People Eater (Linda Shayne, 1988) with Ned Beatty and Calendar Girl (John Whitesell, 1993) with Jason Priestley. In 2000, he started a wholesale snack business called The Last Twist, Inc. and Chubby Checker Snacks. He also introduced the Checkerlicious Express, a driving snack roadshow with Checker himself at the wheel. In 2007, 'Knock Down The Walls' became a hit in the US. Today, Chubby Checker is still performing and is regarded as a rock and roll pioneer and a cultural icon of the 1960s.
Source: Wikipedia (Dutch and English) and IMDb.
And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.
Italian postcard by B.F.F. Edit., no. 2947. Collection: Marlene Pilaete.
American screen legend Gary Cooper (1901-1961) is well remembered for his stoic, understated acting style in more than one hundred Westerns, comedies and dramas. He received five Oscar nominations and won twice for his roles as Alvin York in Sergeant York (1941) and as Will Kane in High Noon (1952).
Frank James Cooper was born in Helena, Montana in 1901. His parents were English immigrants, Alice Cooper-Brazier and Charles Henry Cooper, a prominent lawyer, rancher, and eventually a state supreme court judge. Frank left school in 1918 and returned to the family ranch to help raise their five hundred head of cattle and work full-time as a cowboy. In 1919, his father arranged for his son to complete his high school education at Gallatin County High School in Bozeman, Montana. His English teacher, Ida W. Davis, played an important role in encouraging him to focus on academics, join the school's debating team, and become involved in dramatics. He was in a car accident as a teenager that caused him to walk with a limp the rest of his life. In the fall of 1924, Cooper's parents moved to Los Angeles to administer the estates of two relatives. Cooper joined them and there he met some cowboys from Montana who were working as film extras and stuntmen in low-budget Western films. Cooper decided to try his hand working as a film extra for five dollars a day, and as a stuntman for twice that amount. In early 1925, Cooper began his film career working as an extra and stuntman on Poverty Row in such silent Westerns as Riders of the Purple Sage (Lynn Reynolds, 1925) with Tom Mix, and The Trail Rider (W.S. Van Dyke, 1925) with Buck Jones. Cooper paid for a screen test and hired casting director Nan Collins to work as his agent. Collins changed his first name to ‘Gary’ after her hometown of Gary, Indiana. Cooper also worked in non-Western films. He appeared as a masked Cossack in The Eagle (Clarence Brown, 1925) with Rudolph Valentino, as a Roman guard in Ben-Hur (Fred Niblo, 1925) with Ramón Novarro, and as a flood survivor in The Johnstown Flood (Irving Cummings, 1926) with George O'Brien. Gradually he began to land credited roles that offered him more screen time, such as Tricks (Bruce M. Mitchell, 1925), in which he played the film's antagonist. As a featured player, he began to attract the attention of major film studios and in June 1926, Cooper signed a contract with Samuel Goldwyn Productions. His first important film role was in The Winning of Barbara Worth (Henry King, 1926) with Ronald Colman and Vilma Bánky. The film was a major success, and critics called Cooper a "dynamic new personality" and future star. Cooper signed a five-year contract with Jesse L. Lasky at Paramount Pictures for $175 per week. In 1927, with help from established silent film star Clara Bow, Cooper landed high-profile roles opposite her in Children of Divorce (Frank Lloyd, 1927) and Wings (William A. Wellman, 1927), the first film to win an Academy Award for Best Picture. With each new film, Cooper's acting skills improved and his popularity continued to grow, especially among female movie-goers. He received a thousand fan letters per week. The studio placed him opposite popular leading ladies in films such as Beau Sabreur (John Waters, 1928) with Evelyn Brent, Half a Bride (Gregory La Cava, 1928) with Esther Ralston, and Lilac Time (George Fitzmaurice, 1928) with Colleen Moore. The latter introduced synchronized music and sound effects, and became one of the biggest box office hits of the year.
In 1929, Gary Cooper became a major film star with his first sound picture, The Virginian, (Victor Fleming, 1929). The Virginian was one of the first sound films to define the Western code of honour and helped establish many of the conventions of the Western genre. The romantic image of the tall, handsome, and shy cowboy hero that embodied male freedom, courage, and honour was created in large part by Cooper's performance in the film. Cooper transitioned naturally to the sound medium, with his deep, clear, and pleasantly drawling voice. One of the high points of Cooper's early career was his portrayal of a sullen legionnaire in Josef von Sternberg's Morocco (1930) with Marlene Dietrich in her American debut. Cooper produced one of his finest performances to that point in his career. In the Dashiell Hammett crime drama City Streets (Rouben Mamoulian, 1931) he played a misplaced cowboy in a big city who gets involved with gangsters to save the woman (Sylvia Sidney) he loves. After making ten films in two years Cooper was exhausted and had lost thirty pounds. In May 1931, he sailed to Algiers and then Italy, where he lived for the next year. During his time abroad, Cooper stayed with the Countess Dorothy di Frasso who taught him about good food and vintage wines, how to read Italian and French menus in the finest restaurants, and how to socialize among Europe's nobility and upper classes. In 1932, a healthy Cooper returned to Hollywood and negotiated a new contract with Paramount for two films per year, a salary of $4,000 per week, and director and script approval. He appeared opposite Helen Hayes in A Farewell to Arms (Frank Borzage, 1932), the first film adaptation of an Ernest Hemingway novel. Critics praised his highly intense and at times emotional performance, and the film went on to become one of the year's most commercially successful films. The following year, Cooper appeared in the Ernst Lubitsch comedy Design for Living (1933) with Miriam Hopkins and Fredric March, and based loosely on the successful Noël Coward play. Wikipedia: “The film received mixed reviews and did not do well at the box office, but Cooper's performance was singled out for its versatility and revealed his genuine ability to do light comedy”. Then, he appeared in his first of seven films by director Henry Hathaway, Now and Forever (1934), with Carole Lombard and Shirley Temple. The film was a box-office success. His next two Henry Hathaway films were the melodrama Peter Ibbetson (1935) with Ann Harding, about a man caught up in a dream world created by his love for a childhood sweetheart, and the romantic adventure The Lives of a Bengal Lancer (1935), about a daring British officer and his men who defend their stronghold at Bengal against rebellious local tribes. The latter was nominated for six Academy Awards and became one of Cooper's most popular and successful adventure films.
Gary Cooper returned to Poverty Row for the first time since his early silent film days to make Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (Frank Capra, 1936) with Jean Arthur for Columbia Pictures. Cooper plays the character of Longfellow Deeds, an innocent, sweet-natured writer of greeting cards who inherits a fortune, leaves behind his idyllic life in Vermont, and travels to New York where he faces a world of corruption and deceit. For his performance in Mr. Deeds, Cooper received his first Oscar nomination. In the adventure film The General Died at Dawn (Lewis Milestone, 1936) with Madeleine Carroll, he plays an American soldier of fortune in China who helps the peasants defend themselves against the oppression of a cruel warlord. Written by playwright Clifford Odets, the film was a critical and commercial success. In Cecil B. DeMille's sprawling frontier epic The Plainsman (1936) with Jean Arthur—his first of four films with the director—Cooper portrays Wild Bill Hickok in a highly-fictionalized version of the opening of the American western frontier. That year, Cooper appeared for the first time on the Motion Picture Herald exhibitor's poll of top ten film personalities, where he would remain for the next twenty-two years. In Ernst Lubitsch's romantic comedy Bluebeard's Eighth Wife (1938) with Claudette Colbert, Cooper plays a wealthy American businessman in France who falls in love with an impoverished aristocrat's daughter and persuades her to become his eighth wife. In the adventure film Beau Geste (William A. Wellman, 1939) with Ray Milland, he joined the French Foreign Legion to find adventure in the Sahara fighting local tribes. Wikipedia: “Beau Geste provided Cooper with magnificent sets, exotic settings, high-spirited action, and a role tailored to his personality and screen persona.” Cooper cemented his cowboy credentials in The Westerner (William Wyler, 1940). He won his first Academy Award for Best Actor in 1942 for his performance as Alvin York, the most decorated U.S. soldier from the Great War, in Sergeant York (Howard Hawks, 1941). Cooper worked with Ingrid Bergman in For Whom the Bell Tolls (Sam Wood, 1943) which earned him his third Oscar nomination. The film was based on a novel by Ernest Hemingway, with whom Cooper developed a strong friendship. On 23 October 1947, he appeared before the House Un-American Activities Committee in Washington, not under subpoena but responding to an invitation to give testimony on the alleged infiltration of Hollywood by communists. Although he never said he regretted having been a friendly witness, as an independent producer, he hired blacklisted actors and technicians. He did say he had never wanted to see anyone lose the right to work, regardless of what he had done. Cooper won his second Oscar for his performance as Marshal Will Kane in High Noon (Fred Zinnemann, 1952), one of his finest roles and a kind of come-back after a series of flops. He continued to play the lead in films almost to the end of his life. His later box office hits included the influential Western Vera Cruz (Robert Aldrich, 1954) in which he guns down villain Burt Lancaster in a showdown, William Wyler's Friendly Persuasion (1956), in which he portrays a Quaker farmer during the American Civil War, Billy Wilder's Love in the Afternoon (1957) with Audrey Hepburn, and the hard-edged action Western Man of the West (Anthony Mann, 1958), with Lee J. Cobb. Cooper's final film was the British-American co-production The Naked Edge (Michael Anderson, 1961). In April 1960, Cooper underwent surgery for prostate cancer after it had metastasized to his colon. But by the end of the year the cancer had spread to his lungs and bones. On 13 May 1961, six days after his sixtieth birthday, Gary Cooper died. The young and handsome Cooper had affairs with Clara Bow, Lupe Velez, Marlene Dietrich and Tallulah Bankhead. In 1933, he married socialite Veronica Balfe, who, billed as Sandra Shaw, enjoyed a short-lived acting career. They had an ‘open’ marriage and Cooper also had relationships with the actresses Grace Kelly, Anita Ekberg, and Patricia Neal. Sir Cecil Beaton also claimed to have had an affair with him.
Sources: Wikipedia and IMDb.
And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.
French postcard in the Entr'acte series by Éditions Asphodèle, Mâcon, no. 003/7. Collection: B. Courtel / D.R. Gary Cooper on the set of Fighting Caravans (Otto Brower, 1931). Caption: Gary Cooper poses for a publicity photo, guns in hand, in front of the Paramount Studios where he is the star.
American screen legend Gary Cooper (1901-1961) is well remembered for his stoic, understated acting style in more than one hundred Westerns, comedies and dramas. He received five Oscar nominations and won twice for his roles as Alvin York in Sergeant York (1941) and as Will Kane in High Noon (1952).
Frank James Cooper was born in Helena, Montana in 1901. His parents were English immigrants, Alice Cooper-Brazier and Charles Henry Cooper, a prominent lawyer, rancher, and eventually a state supreme court judge. Frank left school in 1918 and returned to the family ranch to help raise their five hundred head of cattle and work full-time as a cowboy. In 1919, his father arranged for his son to complete his high school education at Gallatin County High School in Bozeman, Montana. His English teacher, Ida W. Davis, played an important role in encouraging him to focus on academics, join the school's debating team, and become involved in dramatics. He was in a car accident as a teenager that caused him to walk with a limp for the rest of his life. In the fall of 1924, Cooper's parents moved to Los Angeles to administer the estates of two relatives. Cooper joined them and there he met some cowboys from Montana who were working as film extras and stuntmen in low-budget Western films. Cooper decided to try his hand working as a film extra for five dollars a day, and as a stuntman for twice that amount. In early 1925, Cooper began his film career working as an extra and stuntman on Poverty Row in such silent Westerns as Riders of the Purple Sage (Lynn Reynolds, 1925) with Tom Mix, and The Trail Rider (W.S. Van Dyke, 1925) with Buck Jones. Cooper paid for a screen test and hired casting director Nan Collins to work as his agent. Collins changed his first name to ‘Gary’ after her hometown of Gary, Indiana. Cooper also worked in non-Western films. He appeared as a masked Cossack in The Eagle (Clarence Brown, 1925) with Rudolph Valentino, as a Roman guard in Ben-Hur (Fred Niblo, 1925) with Ramón Novarro, and as a flood survivor in The Johnstown Flood (Irving Cummings, 1926) with George O'Brien. Gradually he began to land credited roles that offered him more screen time, such as Tricks (Bruce M. Mitchell, 1925), in which he played the film's antagonist. As a featured player, he began to attract the attention of major film studios and in June 1926, Cooper signed a contract with Samuel Goldwyn Productions. His first important film role was in The Winning of Barbara Worth (Henry King, 1926) with Ronald Colman and Vilma Bánky. The film was a major success, and critics called Cooper a "dynamic new personality" and future star. Cooper signed a five-year contract with Jesse L. Lasky at Paramount Pictures for $175 per week. In 1927, with help from established silent film star Clara Bow, Cooper landed high-profile roles opposite her in Children of Divorce (Frank Lloyd, 1927) and Wings (William A. Wellman, 1927), the first film to win an Academy Award for Best Picture. With each new film, Cooper's acting skills improved and his popularity continued to grow, especially among female movie-goers. He received a thousand fan letters per week. The studio placed him opposite popular leading ladies in films such as Beau Sabreur (John Waters, 1928) with Evelyn Brent, Half a Bride (Gregory La Cava, 1928) with Esther Ralston, and Lilac Time (George Fitzmaurice, 1928) with Colleen Moore. The latter introduced synchronized music and sound effects and became one of the biggest box office hits of the year.
In 1929, Gary Cooper became a major film star with his first sound picture, The Virginian, (Victor Fleming, 1929). The Virginian was one of the first sound films to define the Western code of honour and helped establish many of the conventions of the Western genre. The romantic image of the tall, handsome, and shy cowboy hero that embodied male freedom, courage, and honour was created in large part by Cooper's performance in the film. Cooper transitioned naturally to the sound medium, with his deep, clear, and pleasantly drawling voice. One of the high points of Cooper's early career was his portrayal of a sullen legionnaire in Josef von Sternberg's Morocco (1930) with Marlene Dietrich in her American debut. Cooper produced one of his finest performances to that point in his career. In the Dashiell Hammett crime drama City Streets (Rouben Mamoulian, 1931) he played a misplaced cowboy in a big city who gets involved with gangsters to save the woman (Sylvia Sidney) he loves. After making ten films in two years Cooper was exhausted and had lost thirty pounds. In May 1931, he sailed to Algiers and then Italy, where he lived for the next year. During his time abroad, Cooper stayed with the Countess Dorothy di Frasso who taught him about good food and vintage wines, how to read Italian and French menus in the finest restaurants, and how to socialize among Europe's nobility and upper classes. In 1932, a healthy Cooper returned to Hollywood and negotiated a new contract with Paramount for two films per year, a salary of $4,000 per week, and director and script approval. He appeared opposite Helen Hayes in A Farewell to Arms (Frank Borzage, 1932), the first film adaptation of an Ernest Hemingway novel. Critics praised his highly intense and at times emotional performance, and the film went on to become one of the year's most commercially successful films. The following year, Cooper appeared in the Ernst Lubitsch comedy Design for Living (1933) with Miriam Hopkins and Fredric March and based loosely on the successful Noël Coward play. Wikipedia: “The film received mixed reviews and did not do well at the box office, but Cooper's performance was singled out for its versatility and revealed his genuine ability to do light comedy”. Then, he appeared in his first of seven films by director Henry Hathaway, Now and Forever (1934), with Carole Lombard and Shirley Temple. The film was a box-office success. His next two Henry Hathaway films were the melodrama Peter Ibbetson (1935) with Ann Harding, about a man caught up in a dream world created by his love for a childhood sweetheart, and the romantic adventure The Lives of a Bengal Lancer (1935), about a daring British officer and his men who defend their stronghold at Bengal against rebellious local tribes. The latter was nominated for six Academy Awards and became one of Cooper's most popular and successful adventure films.
Gary Cooper returned to Poverty Row for the first time since his early silent film days to make Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (Frank Capra, 1936) with Jean Arthur for Columbia Pictures. Cooper plays the character of Longfellow Deeds, an innocent, sweet-natured writer of greeting cards who inherits a fortune, leaves behind his idyllic life in Vermont and travels to New York where he faces a world of corruption and deceit. For his performance in Mr. Deeds, Cooper received his first Oscar nomination. In the adventure film The General Died at Dawn (Lewis Milestone, 1936) with Madeleine Carroll, he plays an American soldier of fortune in China who helps the peasants defend themselves against the oppression of a cruel warlord. Written by playwright Clifford Odets, the film was a critical and commercial success. In Cecil B. DeMille's sprawling frontier epic The Plainsman (1936) with Jean Arthur—his first of four films with the director—Cooper portrays Wild Bill Hickok in a highly-fictionalized version of the opening of the American western frontier. That year, Cooper appeared for the first time on the Motion Picture Herald exhibitor's poll of top ten film personalities, where he would remain for the next twenty-two years. In Ernst Lubitsch's romantic comedy Bluebeard's Eighth Wife (1938) with Claudette Colbert, Cooper plays a wealthy American businessman in France who falls in love with an impoverished aristocrat's daughter and persuades her to become his eighth wife. In the adventure film Beau Geste (William A. Wellman, 1939) with Ray Milland, he joined the French Foreign Legion to find adventure in the Sahara fighting local tribes. Wikipedia: “Beau Geste provided Cooper with magnificent sets, exotic settings, high-spirited action, and a role tailored to his personality and screen persona.” Cooper cemented his cowboy credentials in The Westerner (William Wyler, 1940). He won his first Academy Award for Best Actor in 1942 for his performance as Alvin York, the most decorated U.S. soldier from the Great War, in Sergeant York (Howard Hawks, 1941). Cooper worked with Ingrid Bergman in For Whom the Bell Tolls (Sam Wood, 1943) which earned him his third Oscar nomination. The film was based on a novel by Ernest Hemingway, with whom Cooper developed a strong friendship. On 23 October 1947, he appeared before the House Un-American Activities Committee in Washington, not under subpoena but responding to an invitation to give testimony on the alleged infiltration of Hollywood by communists. Although he never said he regretted having been a friendly witness, as an independent producer, he hired blacklisted actors and technicians. He did say he had never wanted to see anyone lose the right to work, regardless of what he had done. Cooper won his second Oscar for his performance as Marshal Will Kane in High Noon (Fred Zinnemann, 1952), one of his finest roles and a kind of come-back after a series of flops. He continued to play the lead in films almost to the end of his life. His later box office hits included the influential Western Vera Cruz (Robert Aldrich, 1954) in which he guns down villain Burt Lancaster in a showdown, William Wyler's Friendly Persuasion (1956), in which he portrays a Quaker farmer during the American Civil War, Billy Wilder's Love in the Afternoon (1957) with Audrey Hepburn, and the hard-edged action Western Man of the West (Anthony Mann, 1958), with Lee J. Cobb. Cooper's final film was the British-American co-production The Naked Edge (Michael Anderson, 1961). In April 1960, Cooper underwent surgery for prostate cancer after it had metastasized to his colon. But by the end of the year cancer had spread to his lungs and bones. On 13 May 1961, six days after his sixtieth birthday, Gary Cooper died. The young and handsome Cooper had affairs with Clara Bow, Lupe Velez, Marlene Dietrich and Tallulah Bankhead. In 1933, he married socialite Veronica Balfe, who, billed as Sandra Shaw, enjoyed a short-lived acting career. They had an ‘open’ marriage and Cooper also had relationships with the actresses Grace Kelly, Anita Ekberg, and Patricia Neal. Sir Cecil Beaton also claimed to have had an affair with him.
Sources: Wikipedia and IMDb.
And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.
French postcard by PSG, offered by Corvisart, Epinal, no. 49.
American screen legend Gary Cooper (1901-1961) is well remembered for his stoic, understated acting style in more than one hundred Westerns, comedies and dramas. He received five Oscar nominations and won twice for his roles as Alvin York in Sergeant York (1941) and as Will Kane in High Noon (1952).
Frank James Cooper was born in Helena, Montana in 1901. His parents were English immigrants, Alice Cooper-Brazier and Charles Henry Cooper, a prominent lawyer, rancher, and eventually a state supreme court judge. Frank left school in 1918 and returned to the family ranch to help raise their five hundred head of cattle and work full-time as a cowboy. In 1919, his father arranged for his son to complete his high school education at Gallatin County High School in Bozeman, Montana. His English teacher, Ida W. Davis, played an important role in encouraging him to focus on academics, join the school's debating team, and become involved in dramatics. He was in a car accident as a teenager that caused him to walk with a limp the rest of his life. In the fall of 1924, Cooper's parents moved to Los Angeles to administer the estates of two relatives. Cooper joined them and there he met some cowboys from Montana who were working as film extras and stuntmen in low-budget Western films. Cooper decided to try his hand working as a film extra for five dollars a day, and as a stuntman for twice that amount. In early 1925, Cooper began his film career working as an extra and stuntman on Poverty Row in such silent Westerns as Riders of the Purple Sage (Lynn Reynolds, 1925) with Tom Mix, and The Trail Rider (W.S. Van Dyke, 1925) with Buck Jones. Cooper paid for a screen test and hired casting director Nan Collins to work as his agent. Collins changed his first name to ‘Gary’ after her hometown of Gary, Indiana. Cooper also worked in non-Western films. He appeared as a masked Cossack in The Eagle (Clarence Brown, 1925) with Rudolph Valentino, as a Roman guard in Ben-Hur (Fred Niblo, 1925) with Ramón Novarro, and as a flood survivor in The Johnstown Flood (Irving Cummings, 1926) with George O'Brien. Gradually he began to land credited roles that offered him more screen time, such as Tricks (Bruce M. Mitchell, 1925), in which he played the film's antagonist. As a featured player, he began to attract the attention of major film studios and in June 1926, Cooper signed a contract with Samuel Goldwyn Productions. His first important film role was in The Winning of Barbara Worth (Henry King, 1926) with Ronald Colman and Vilma Bánky. The film was a major success, and critics called Cooper a "dynamic new personality" and future star. Cooper signed a five-year contract with Jesse L. Lasky at Paramount Pictures for $175 per week. In 1927, with help from established silent film star Clara Bow, Cooper landed high-profile roles opposite her in Children of Divorce (Frank Lloyd, 1927) and Wings (William A. Wellman, 1927), the first film to win an Academy Award for Best Picture. With each new film, Cooper's acting skills improved and his popularity continued to grow, especially among female movie-goers. He received a thousand fan letters per week. The studio placed him opposite popular leading ladies in films such as Beau Sabreur (John Waters, 1928) with Evelyn Brent, Half a Bride (Gregory La Cava, 1928) with Esther Ralston, and Lilac Time (George Fitzmaurice, 1928) with Colleen Moore. The latter introduced synchronized music and sound effects, and became one of the biggest box office hits of the year.
In 1929, Gary Cooper became a major film star with his first sound picture, The Virginian, (Victor Fleming, 1929). The Virginian was one of the first sound films to define the Western code of honour and helped establish many of the conventions of the Western genre. The romantic image of the tall, handsome, and shy cowboy hero that embodied male freedom, courage, and honour was created in large part by Cooper's performance in the film. Cooper transitioned naturally to the sound medium, with his deep, clear, and pleasantly drawling voice. One of the high points of Cooper's early career was his portrayal of a sullen legionnaire in Josef von Sternberg's Morocco (1930) with Marlene Dietrich in her American debut. Cooper produced one of his finest performances to that point in his career. In the Dashiell Hammett crime drama City Streets (Rouben Mamoulian, 1931) he played a misplaced cowboy in a big city who gets involved with gangsters to save the woman (Sylvia Sidney) he loves. After making ten films in two years Cooper was exhausted and had lost thirty pounds. In May 1931, he sailed to Algiers and then Italy, where he lived for the next year. During his time abroad, Cooper stayed with the Countess Dorothy di Frasso who taught him about good food and vintage wines, how to read Italian and French menus in the finest restaurants, and how to socialize among Europe's nobility and upper classes. In 1932, a healthy Cooper returned to Hollywood and negotiated a new contract with Paramount for two films per year, a salary of $4,000 per week, and director and script approval. He appeared opposite Helen Hayes in A Farewell to Arms (Frank Borzage, 1932), the first film adaptation of an Ernest Hemingway novel. Critics praised his highly intense and at times emotional performance, and the film went on to become one of the year's most commercially successful films. The following year, Cooper appeared in the Ernst Lubitsch comedy Design for Living (1933) with Miriam Hopkins and Fredric March, and based loosely on the successful Noël Coward play. Wikipedia: “The film received mixed reviews and did not do well at the box office, but Cooper's performance was singled out for its versatility and revealed his genuine ability to do light comedy”. Then, he appeared in his first of seven films by director Henry Hathaway, Now and Forever (1934), with Carole Lombard and Shirley Temple. The film was a box-office success. His next two Henry Hathaway films were the melodrama Peter Ibbetson (1935) with Ann Harding, about a man caught up in a dream world created by his love for a childhood sweetheart, and the romantic adventure The Lives of a Bengal Lancer (1935), about a daring British officer and his men who defend their stronghold at Bengal against rebellious local tribes. The latter was nominated for six Academy Awards and became one of Cooper's most popular and successful adventure films.
Gary Cooper returned to Poverty Row for the first time since his early silent film days to make Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (Frank Capra, 1936) with Jean Arthur for Columbia Pictures. Cooper plays the character of Longfellow Deeds, an innocent, sweet-natured writer of greeting cards who inherits a fortune, leaves behind his idyllic life in Vermont, and travels to New York where he faces a world of corruption and deceit. For his performance in Mr. Deeds, Cooper received his first Oscar nomination. In the adventure film The General Died at Dawn (Lewis Milestone, 1936) with Madeleine Carroll, he plays an American soldier of fortune in China who helps the peasants defend themselves against the oppression of a cruel warlord. Written by playwright Clifford Odets, the film was a critical and commercial success. In Cecil B. DeMille's sprawling frontier epic The Plainsman (1936) with Jean Arthur—his first of four films with the director—Cooper portrays Wild Bill Hickok in a highly-fictionalized version of the opening of the American western frontier. That year, Cooper appeared for the first time on the Motion Picture Herald exhibitor's poll of top ten film personalities, where he would remain for the next twenty-two years. In Ernst Lubitsch's romantic comedy Bluebeard's Eighth Wife (1938) with Claudette Colbert, Cooper plays a wealthy American businessman in France who falls in love with an impoverished aristocrat's daughter and persuades her to become his eighth wife. In the adventure film Beau Geste (William A. Wellman, 1939) with Ray Milland, he joined the French Foreign Legion to find adventure in the Sahara fighting local tribes. Wikipedia: “Beau Geste provided Cooper with magnificent sets, exotic settings, high-spirited action, and a role tailored to his personality and screen persona.” Cooper cemented his cowboy credentials in The Westerner (William Wyler, 1940). He won his first Academy Award for Best Actor in 1942 for his performance as Alvin York, the most decorated U.S. soldier from the Great War, in Sergeant York (Howard Hawks, 1941). Cooper worked with Ingrid Bergman in For Whom the Bell Tolls (Sam Wood, 1943) which earned him his third Oscar nomination. The film was based on a novel by Ernest Hemingway, with whom Cooper developed a strong friendship. On 23 October 1947, he appeared before the House Un-American Activities Committee in Washington, not under subpoena but responding to an invitation to give testimony on the alleged infiltration of Hollywood by communists. Although he never said he regretted having been a friendly witness, as an independent producer, he hired blacklisted actors and technicians. He did say he had never wanted to see anyone lose the right to work, regardless of what he had done. Cooper won his second Oscar for his performance as Marshal Will Kane in High Noon (Fred Zinnemann, 1952), one of his finest roles and a kind of come-back after a series of flops. He continued to play the lead in films almost to the end of his life. His later box office hits included the influential Western Vera Cruz (Robert Aldrich, 1954) in which he guns down villain Burt Lancaster in a showdown, William Wyler's Friendly Persuasion (1956), in which he portrays a Quaker farmer during the American Civil War, Billy Wilder's Love in the Afternoon (1957) with Audrey Hepburn, and the hard-edged action Western Man of the West (Anthony Mann, 1958), with Lee J. Cobb. Cooper's final film was the British-American co-production The Naked Edge (Michael Anderson, 1961). In April 1960, Cooper underwent surgery for prostate cancer after it had metastasized to his colon. But by the end of the year the cancer had spread to his lungs and bones. On 13 May 1961, six days after his sixtieth birthday, Gary Cooper died. The young and handsome Cooper had affairs with Clara Bow, Lupe Velez, Marlene Dietrich and Tallulah Bankhead. In 1933, he married socialite Veronica Balfe, who, billed as Sandra Shaw, enjoyed a short-lived acting career. They had an ‘open’ marriage and Cooper also had relationships with the actresses Grace Kelly, Anita Ekberg, and Patricia Neal. Sir Cecil Beaton also claimed to have had an affair with him.
Sources: Wikipedia and IMDb.
The United States Border Patrol is a federal law enforcement agency within U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), a component of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Its 20,200 Agents[1] are primarily responsible for immigration and border law enforcement as codified in the Immigration and Nationality Act. Their duty is to prevent terrorists and terrorist weapons from entering the United States and to deter, detect, and apprehend illegal aliens and individuals involved in the illegal drug trade who enter the United States other than through designated ports of entry.
Additionally, the CBP enforces federal controlled substances laws (as codified in the Controlled Substances Act) when violations occur or are found during the enforcement of federal immigration laws, via delegated authority from the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Note that there are two personnel segments of U.S. Customs and Border Protection that people often confuse with each other, the CBP Officer [1], who wears a blue uniform and the Border Patrol Agent [2] who wears a green uniform.
Contents [hide]
1 History
2 Strategy
2.1 1986: Employer sanctions and interior enforcement
2.2 Inspection stations
2.2.1 El Paso Sector's Operation Hold the Line
2.2.2 San Diego Sector's Operation Gatekeeper
2.2.3 Tucson Sector's Operation Safeguard
2.3 Northern border
2.4 Border Patrol moves away from interior enforcement
2.5 The new strategy
3 Capabilities
4 Expansion
5 Special Operations Group
5.1 Other specialized programs
6 Border Patrol organization
6.1 Border Patrol Sectors
7 Training
7.1 Uniforms
7.2 Border Patrol (OBP) Ranks and Insignia
7.2.1 Border Patrol Shoulder Ornaments
8 Awards
8.1 Newton-Azrak Award for Heroism
9 Border Patrol Uniform Devices
10 Equipment
10.1 Weapons
10.2 Transportation
11 Line of duty deaths
12 Armed incursions
13 Ramos and Compean
14 Criticisms
14.1 Ineffective
14.2 Allegations of abuse
14.3 Corruption
15 National Border Patrol Council
16 National Border Patrol Museum
17 In popular culture
17.1 Books
17.2 Film
17.2.1 Documentaries
18 See also
19 References
20 External links
21 External Video
21.1 GAO and OIG Reports
[edit] History
Immigration inspectors, circa 1924Mounted watchmen of the United States Immigration Service patrolled the border in an effort to prevent illegal crossings as early as 1904, but their efforts were irregular and undertaken only when resources permitted. The inspectors, usually called "mounted guards", operated out of El Paso, Texas. Though they never totaled more than 75, they patrolled as far west as California trying to restrict the flow of illegal Chinese immigration.
In March 1915, Congress authorized a separate group of mounted guards, often referred to as "mounted inspectors". Most rode on horseback, but a few operated automobiles, motorcycles and boats. Although these inspectors had broader arrest authority, they still largely pursued Chinese immigrants trying to avoid the National Origins Act and Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. These patrolmen were Immigrant Inspectors, assigned to inspection stations, and could not watch the border at all times. U.S. Army troops along the southwest border performed intermittent border patrolling, but this was secondary to "the more serious work of military training." Non-nationals encountered illegally in the U.S. by the army were directed to the immigration inspection stations. Texas Rangers were also sporadically assigned to patrol duties by the state, and their efforts were noted as "singularly effective".
The Border Patrol was founded on May 28, 1924 as an agency of the United States Department of Labor to prevent illegal entries along the Mexico–United States border and the United States-Canada border. The first two border patrol stations were in El Paso, Texas and Detroit, Michigan.[2] Additional operations were established along the Gulf Coast in 1927 to perform crewman control to insure that non-American crewmen departed on the same ship on which they arrived. Additional stations were temporarily added along the Gulf Coast, Florida and the Eastern Seaboard during the sixties when in Cuba triumphed the Cuban Revolution and emerged the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Prior to 2003, the Border Patrol was part of the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), an agency that was within the U.S. Department of Justice. INS was disbanded in March 2003 when its operations were divided between CBP, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The priority mission of the Border Patrol, as a result of the 9/11 attacks and its merging into the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is to prevent terrorists and terrorist weapons from entering the United States of America. However, the Border Patrol's traditional mission remains as the deterrence, detection and apprehension of illegal immigrants and individuals involved in the illegal drug trade who generally enter the United States other than through designated ports of entry. The Border Patrol also operates 33 permanent interior checkpoints along the southern border of the United States.
Currently, the U.S. Border Patrol employs over 20,200 agents (as of the end of fiscal year 2009),[3] who are specifically responsible for patrolling the 6,000 miles of Mexican and Canadian international land borders and 2,000 miles of coastal waters surrounding the Florida Peninsula and the island of Puerto Rico. Agents are assigned primarily to the Mexico–United States border, where they are assigned to control drug trafficking and illegal immigration.[4] Patrols on horseback have made a comeback since smugglers have been pushed into the more remote mountainous regions, which are hard to cover with modern tracking strategies.[5]
[edit] Strategy
[edit] 1986: Employer sanctions and interior enforcement
Border Patrol Agents with a Hummer and Astar patrol for illegal entry into U.S.The Border Patrol's priorities have changed over the years. In 1986, the Immigration Reform and Control Act placed renewed emphasis on controlling illegal immigration by going after the employers that hire illegal immigrants. The belief was that jobs were the magnet that attracted most illegal immigrants to come to the United States. The Border Patrol increased interior enforcement and Form I-9 audits of businesses through an inspection program known as "employer sanctions". Several agents were assigned to interior stations, such as within the Livermore Sector in Northern California.
Employer sanctions never became the effective tool it was expected to be by Congress. Illegal immigration continued to swell after the 1986 amnesty despite employer sanctions. By 1993, Californians passed Proposition 187, denying benefits to illegal immigrants and criminalizing illegal immigrants in possession of forged green cards, I.D. cards and Social Security Numbers. It also authorized police officers to question non-nationals as to their immigration status and required police and sheriff departments to cooperate and report illegal immigrants to the INS. Proposition 187 drew nationwide attention to illegal immigration.
[edit] Inspection stations
United States Border Patrol Interior Checkpoints are inspection stations operated by the USBP within 100 miles of a national border (with Mexico or Canada) or in the Florida Keys. As federal inspection stations are also operated by the Mexican government within 50 km of its borders where they are officially known as a "Garita de Revisión." or Garitas, they are known also by that name to Latinos.
[edit] El Paso Sector's Operation Hold the Line
El Paso Sector Chief Patrol Agent (and future U.S. congressman) Silvestre Reyes started a program called "Operation Hold the Line". In this program, Border Patrol agents would no longer react to illegal entries resulting in apprehensions, but would instead be forward deployed to the border, immediately detecting any attempted entries or deterring crossing at a more remote location. The idea was that it would be easier to capture illegal entrants in the wide open deserts than through the urban alleyways. Chief Reyes deployed his agents along the Rio Grande River, within eyesight of other agents. The program significantly reduced illegal entries in the urban part of El Paso, however, the operation merely shifted the illegal entries to other areas.
[edit] San Diego Sector's Operation Gatekeeper
A Border Patrol Jeep stands watch over the U.S.-Mexico border at San Ysidro, California.San Diego Sector tried Silvestre Reyes' approach of forward deploying agents to deter illegal entries into the country. Congress authorized the hiring of thousands of new agents, and many were sent to San Diego Sector.[citation needed] In addition, Congressman Duncan Hunter obtained surplus military landing mats to use as a border fence.[citation needed] Stadium lighting, ground sensors and infra-red cameras were also placed in the area.[citation needed] Apprehensions decreased dramatically in that area as people crossed in different regions.
[edit] Tucson Sector's Operation Safeguard
California was no longer the hotbed of illegal entry and the traffic shifted to Arizona, primarily in Nogales and Douglas.[citation needed] The Border Patrol instituted the same deterrent strategy it used in San Diego to Arizona.
[edit] Northern border
In 2001, the Border Patrol had approximately 340 agents assigned along the Canada – United States border border. Northern border staffing had been increased to 1,128 agents to 1,470 agents by the end of fiscal year 2008, and is projected to expand to 1,845 by the end of fiscal year 2009, a sixfold increase. Resources that support Border Patrol agents include the use of new technology and a more focused application of air and marine assets.
The northern border sectors are Blaine (Washington), Buffalo (New York), Detroit (Selfridge ANGB, Michigan), Grand Forks (North Dakota), Havre (Montana), Houlton (Maine), Spokane (Washington), and Swanton (Vermont).
[edit] Border Patrol moves away from interior enforcement
In the 1990s, Congress mandated that the Border Patrol shift agents away from the interior and focus them on the borders.
After the September 11, 2001 attacks, the Department of Homeland Security created two immigration enforcement agencies out of the defunct Immigration and Naturalization Service: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). ICE was tasked with investigations, detention and removal of illegal immigrants, and interior enforcement. CBP was tasked with inspections at U.S. ports of entry and with preventing illegal entries between the port of entry, transportation check, and entries on U.S. coastal borders. DHS management decided to align the Border Patrol with CBP. CBP itself is solely responsible for the nation's ports of entry, while Border Patrol maintains jurisdiction over all locations between ports of entry, giving Border Patrol agents federal authority absolutely[dubious – discuss] nationwide[dubious – discuss].
In July 2004, the Livermore Sector of the United States Border Patrol was closed. Livermore Sector served Northern California and included stations at Dublin (Parks Reserve Forces Training Area), Sacramento, Stockton, Fresno and Bakersfield. The Border Patrol also closed other stations in the interior of the United States including Roseburg, Oregon and Little Rock, Arkansas. The Border Patrol functions in these areas consisted largely of local jail and transportation terminal checks for illegal immigrants. These functions were turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
[edit] The new strategy
Cameras add "Smart Border" surveillance.In November 2005, the U.S. Border Patrol published an updated national strategy.[6] The goal of this updated strategy is operational control of the United States border. The strategy has five main objectives:
Apprehend terrorists and terrorist weapons illegally entering the United States;
Deter illegal entries through improved enforcement;
Detect, apprehend, and deter smugglers of humans, drugs, and other contraband;
Use "smart border" technology; and
Reduce crime in border communities, improving quality of life.
[edit] Capabilities
The border is a barely discernible line in uninhabited deserts, canyons, or mountains. The Border Patrol utilizes a variety of equipment and methods, such as electronic sensors placed at strategic locations along the border, to detect people or vehicles entering the country illegally. Video monitors and night vision scopes are also used to detect illegal entries. Agents patrol the border in vehicles, boats, aircraft, and afoot. In some areas, the Border Patrol employs horses, all-terrain motorcycles, bicycles, and snowmobiles. Air surveillance capabilities are provided by unmanned aerial vehicles.[3]
The primary activity of a Border Patrol Agent is "Line Watch". Line Watch involves the detection, prevention, and apprehension of terrorists, undocumented aliens and smugglers of aliens at or near the land border by maintaining surveillance from a covert position; following up on leads; responding to electronic sensor television systems and aircraft sightings; and interpreting and following tracks, marks, and other physical evidence. Major activities include traffic check, traffic observation, city patrol, transportation check, administrative, intelligence, and anti-smuggling activities.[4]
Traffic checks are conducted on major highways leading away from the border to detect and apprehend illegal aliens attempting to travel further into the interior of the United States after evading detection at the border, and to detect illegal narcotics.[3]
Transportation checks are inspections of interior-bound conveyances, which include buses, commercial aircraft, passenger and freight trains, and marine craft.[3]
Marine Patrols are conducted along the coastal waterways of the United States, primarily along the Pacific coast, the Caribbean, the tip of Florida, and Puerto Rico and interior waterways common to the United States and Canada. Border Patrol conducts border control activities from 130 marine craft of various sizes. The Border Patrol maintains watercraft ranging from blue-water craft to inflatable-hull craft, in 16 sectors, in addition to headquarters special operations components.[3]
Horse and bike patrols are used to augment regular vehicle and foot patrols. Horse units patrol remote areas along the international boundary that are inaccessible to standard all-terrain vehicles. Bike patrol aids city patrol and is used over rough terrain to support linewatch.[3] Snowmobiles are used to patrol remote areas along the northern border in the winter.
[edit] Expansion
Attrition in the Border Patrol was normally at 5%. From 1995-2001 attrition spiked to above 10%, which was a period when the Border Patrol was undergoing massive hiring. In 2002 the attrition rate climbed to 18%. The 18% attrition was largely attributed to agents transferring to the Federal Air Marshals after 9/11. Since that time the attrition problem has decreased significantly and Congress has increased journeyman Border Patrol Agent pay from GS-9 to GS-11 in 2002. The Border Patrol Marine Position was created in 2009 (BPA-M). This position will be updated to a GS-12 position sometime in 2010 or 2011. Border Patrol Field Training Officers may possibly be updated in 2010 to a temporary GS-12 pay rate. In 2005, Border Patrol attrition dropped to 4% and remains in the area of 4% to 6% as of 2009.[7]
The Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 (signed by President Bush on December 17, 2004) authorized hiring an additional 10,000 agents, "subject to appropriation". This authorization, if fully implemented, would nearly double the Border Patrol manpower from 11,000 to 21,000 agents by 2010.
In July 2005, Congress signed the Emergency Supplemental Spending Act for military operations in Iraq/Afghanistan and other operations. The act also appropriated funding to increase Border Patrol manpower by 500 Agents. In October 2005, President Bush also signed the DHS FY06 Appropriation bill, funding an additional 1,000 Agents.
In November 2005, President George W. Bush made a trip to southern Arizona to discuss more options that would decrease illegal crossings at the U.S. and Mexican border. In his proposed fiscal year 2007 budget he has requested an additional 1,500 Border Patrol agents.
The Secure Fence Act, signed by President George W. Bush on October 26, 2006, has met with much opposition. In October 2007, environmental groups and concerned citizens filed a restraining order hoping to halt the construction of the fence, set to be built between the United States and Mexico. The act mandates that the fence be built by December 2008. Ultimately, the United States seeks to put fencing around the 1,945-mile (3,130 km) border, but the act requires only 700 miles (1,100 km) of fencing. DHS secretary Michael Chertoff has bypassed environmental and other oppositions with a waiver that was granted to him by Congress in Section 102 of the act, which allows DHS to avoid any conflicts that would prevent a speedy assembly of the fence.[8][9]
This action has led many environment groups and landowners to speak out against the impending construction of the fence.[10] Environment and wildlife groups fear that the plans to clear brush, construct fences, install bright lights, motion sensors, and cameras will scare wildlife and endanger the indigenous species of the area.[11] Environmentalists claim that the ecosystem could be affected due to the fact that a border fence would restrict movement of all animal species, which in turn would keep them from water and food sources on one side or another. Desert plants would also feel the impact, as they would be uprooted in many areas where the fence is set to occupy.[12]
Property owners in these areas fear a loss of land. Landowners would have to give some of their land over to the government for the fence. Citizens also fear that communities will be split. Many students travel over the border every day to attend classes at the University of Texas at Brownsville. Brownsville mayor Pat Ahumada favors alternative options to a border fence. He suggests that the Rio Grande River be widened and deepened to provide for a natural barrier to hinder illegal immigrants and drug smugglers.[13]
The United States Border Patrol Academy is located in Artesia, New Mexico.
[edit] Special Operations Group
A Border Patrol Special Response Team searches room-by-room a hotel in New Orleans in response to Hurricane Katrina.
CBP BORSTAR canine team conducting rappeling trainingIn 2007, the Border Patrol created the Special Operations Group (SOG) headquartered in El Paso, TX to coordinate the specialized units of the agency.[14]
Border Patrol Tactical Unit (BORTAC)
National Special Response Team (NSRT)
Border Patrol, Search, Trauma and Rescue (BORSTAR)
Air Mobile Unit (AMU)
[edit] Other specialized programs
The Border Patrol has a number of other specialized programs and details.
Air and Marine Operations
K9 Units
Mounted Patrol
Bike patrol
Sign-cutting (tracking)
Snowmobile unit
Infrared scope unit
Intelligence
Anti-smuggling investigations
Border Criminal Alien Program
Multi-agency Anti-Gang Task Forces (regional & local units)
Honor Guard
Pipes and Drums
Chaplain
Peer Support
[edit] Border Patrol organization
David V. Aguilar, Acting Commissioner of Customs and Border ProtectionThe current Acting Chief of the Border Patrol is Michael J. Fisher who succeeded in 2010 David V. Aguilar, who is now the Acting Commissioner of Customs and Border Protection.
[edit] Border Patrol Sectors
There are 20 Border Patrol sectors, each headed by a Sector Chief Patrol Agent.
Northern Border (West to East):
Blaine Sector (Western Washington State, Idaho, and Western Montana.) - stations; Bellingham, Blaine, Port Angeles, Sumas.
Spokane Sector (Eastern Washington State)
Havre Sector (Montana)
Grand Forks Sector (North Dakota)
Detroit Sector (Selfridge Air National Guard Base, Michigan) - stations; Downtown Detroit, Marysville, Gibralter, Sault Sainte Marie, Sandusky Bay.
Buffalo Sector (New York) - stations; Buffalo, Erie, Niagura Falls, Oswego, Rochester, Wellesley Island.
Swanton Sector (Vermont)
Houlton Sector (Maine)
Southern Border (West to East):
San Diego Sector (San Diego, California)
El Centro Sector (Imperial County, California)
Yuma Sector (Western Arizona)- stations; Wellton, Yuma, Blythe
Tucson Sector (Eastern Arizona)
El Paso Sector (El Paso, Texas and New Mexico) - stations; Alamogordo, Albuquerque, Deming, El Paso, Fabens, Fort Hancock, Las Cruces, Lordsburg, Santa Teresa, Truth or Consequences, Ysleta
Marfa Sector (Big Bend Area of West Texas) - stations; Alpine, Amarillo, Big Bend, Fort Stockton, Lubbock, Marfa, Midland, Pecos, Presidio, Sanderson, Sierra Blanca, Van Horn
Del Rio Sector (Del Rio, Texas) - stations; Abilene, Brackettville, Carrizo Springs, Comstock, Del Rio, Eagle Pass North, Eagle Pass South, Rocksprings, San Angelo, Uvalde
Rio Grande Valley Sector (South Texas) - stations; Brownsville, Corpus Christi, Falfurrias, Fort Brown, Harlingen, Kingsville, McAllen, Rio Grande City, Weslaco
Laredo Sector (South Texas) - stations; Cotulla, Dallas, Freer, Hebbronville, Laredo North, Laredo South, Laredo West, San Antonio, Zapata
New Orleans Sector (Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and West Florida)
Miami Sector (Florida East and South)
Caribbean
Ramey Sector (Aguadilla, Puerto Rico) and the Virgin Islands, it is the only Border Patrol Sector located outside the continental United States
[edit] Training
All Border Patrol Agents spend 15 weeks in training at the Border Patrol Academy (if they are fluent in Spanish) in Artesia, New Mexico, which is a component of the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC).Those who are not fluent in Spanish spend an additional eight weeks at the Academy. Recruits are instructed in Border Patrol and federal law enforcement subjects.
Border Patrol courses include: Immigration and Nationality Law, Criminal Law and Statutory Authority, Spanish, Border Patrol Operations, Care and Use of Firearms, Physical Training, Driver Training, and Anti-Terrorism.
FLETC courses include: Communications, Ethics and Conduct, Report Writing, Introduction to Computers, Fingerprinting, and Constitutional Law.[15]
The physical aspects of the Border Patrol Training Program are extremely demanding. At the end of 55 days, trainees must be able to complete a one and a half mile run in 13 minutes or less, a confidence course in two and a half minutes or less, and a 220 yard dash in 46 seconds or less. This final test is much easier than the day to day physical training during the program.[15]
[edit] Uniforms
The Border Patrol currently wears the following types of uniforms:
CBP officers at a ceremony in 2007Dress uniform – The dress uniform consists of olive-green trousers with a blue stripe, and an olive-green shirt, which may or may not have blue shoulder straps. The campaign hat is worn with uniform.
Ceremonial uniform – When required, the following items are added to the dress uniform to complete the ceremonial uniform: olive-green Ike jacket or tunic with blue accents (shoulder straps and cuffs, blue tie, brass tie tack, white gloves, and olive-green felt campaign hat with leather hat band. The campaign hat is worn with uniform.
Rough duty uniform – The rough duty uniform consists of green cargo trousers and work shirt (in short or long sleeves). Usually worn with green baseball cap or tan stetson.
Accessories, footwear, and outerwear – Additional items are worn in matching blue or black colors as appropriate.
Organization patches – The Border Patrol wears two:
The CBP patch is worn on the right sleeves of the uniform. It contains the DHS seal against a black background with a "keystone" shape. A "keystone" is the central, wedge-shaped stone in an arch, which holds all the other stones in place.
Border Patrol agents retain the circular legacy Border Patrol patch, which is worn on the left sleeve.
The Border Patrol uniform is getting its first makeover since the 1950s to appear more like military fatigues and less like a police officer's duty garb.[16] Leather belts with brass buckles are being replaced by nylon belts with quick-release plastic buckles, slacks are being replaced by lightweight cargo pants, and shiny badges and nameplates are being replaced by cloth patches.
[edit] Border Patrol (OBP) Ranks and Insignia
Location Title Collar insignia Shoulder ornament Pay grade
Border Patrol Headquarters Chief of the Border Patrol Gold-plated Senior Executive Service (SES)
Deputy Chief of the Border Patrol Gold-plated SES
Division Chief Gold-plated SES
Deputy Division Chief Gold-plated GS-15, General Schedule
Associate Chief Gold-plated GS-15
Assistant Chief Silver-plated GS-14
Operations Officer Oxidized GS-13
Border Patrol Sectors Chief Patrol Agent (CPA) Gold-plated SES or GS-15
Deputy Chief Patrol Agent (DCPA) Gold-plated SES/GS-15 or GS-14
Division Chief Gold-plated GS-15
Assistant Chief Patrol Agent (ACPA) Silver-plated GS-15 or GS-14
Patrol Agent in Charge (PAIC) Silver-plated GS-14 or GS-13
Assistant Patrol Agent in Charge (APAIC) Oxidized GS-13
Special Operations Supervisor (SOS) Oxidized GS-13
Field Operations Supervisor (FOS) Oxidized GS-13
Supervisory Border Patrol Agent (SBPA) Oxidized GS-12
Senior Patrol Agent (SPA) (Note: Being phased out through attrition) No insignia Currently GS-11 (Will be upgraded to full performance level GS-12 sometime during the 1st quarter of 2011)
Border Patrol Agent (BPA) No insignia GS-5, 7, 9, 11 (Upgrade to GS-12 pending)
Border Patrol Academy Chief Patrol Agent (CPA) Gold-plated GS-15
Deputy Chief Patrol Agent (DCPA) Gold-plated GS-15
Assistant Chief Patrol Agent (ACPA) Silver-plated GS-14
Training Operations Supervisor (TOS) Oxidized GS-14
Supervisory Border Patrol Agent (Senior Instructor) Oxidized GS-13
Supervisory Border Patrol Agent (Instructor) Oxidized GS-13
[edit] Border Patrol Shoulder Ornaments
[edit] Awards
Newton-Azrak Award for Heroism Commissioners Distinguished Career Service Award Commissioners Exceptional Service Medal Commissioners Meritorious Service Award Commissioners Special Commendation Award Chiefs Commendation Medal
No Image Available No Image Available No Image Available
Commissioners Excellence in Group Achievement Award Purple Cross Wound Medal Academy Honor Award Winner Border Patrol Long Service Medal 75th Anniversary of the Border Patrol Commemorative Medal
No Image Available No Image Available
[edit] Newton-Azrak Award for Heroism
The Border Patrol's highest honor is the Newton-Azrak Award for Heroism. This Award is bestowed to Border Patrol Agents for extraordinary actions, service; accomplishments reflecting unusual courage or bravery in the line of duty; or an extraordinarily heroic or humane act committed during times of extreme stress or in an emergency.
This award is named for Border Patrol Inspectors Theodore Newton[17] and George Azrak,[18] who were murdered by two drug smugglers in San Diego County in 1967.
[edit] Border Patrol Uniform Devices
Border Patrol Tactical Unit (BORTAC) Border Patrol Search, Trauma and Rescue Unit (BORSTAR) Special Response Team (NSRT) Honor Guard Border Patrol Pipes and Drums Cap Badge
No Image Available
K-9 Handler Chaplain Field Training Officer Peer Support
[edit] Equipment
[edit] Weapons
A Border Patrol Agent carrying an M14 rifle.Border Patrol Agents are issued the H&K P2000 double action pistol in .40 S&W. It can contain as many as 13 rounds of ammunition (12 in the magazine and one in the chamber).
Like other law enforcement agencies, the Remington 870 is the standard shotgun.
Border Patrol Agents also commonly carry the M4 Carbine and the H&K UMP 40 caliber submachine gun. The M14 rifle is used for mostly ceremonial purposes.
As a less than lethal option, the Border Patrol also uses the FN303.
[edit] Transportation
Unlike in many other law enforcement agencies in the United States, the Border Patrol operates several thousand SUVs and pickup trucks, which are known for their capabilities to move around in any sort of terrain. This vehicles may have individual revolving lights (strobes or LEDs) and/or light bars and sirens. An extensive modernization drive has ensured that these vehicles are equipped with wireless sets in communication with a central control room. Border Patrol vehicles may also have equipment such as speed radar, breathalyzers, and emergency first aid kits. Some sectors make use of sedans like the Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor or the Dodge Charger as patrol cars or high speed "interceptors" on highways. The Border Patrol also operates ATVs, motorcycles, snowmobiles, and small boats in the riverine environment. In 2005, all Border Patrol and ICE aircraft operations were combined under CBP's Office of Air and Marine. All CBP vessel operation in Customs Waters are conducted by Office of Air and Marine.
Color schemes of Border Patrol vehicles are either a long green stripe running the length of the vehicle or a broad green diagonal stripe on the door. Most Border Patrol vehicles are painted predominantly white.
The Border Patrol also extensively uses horses for remote area patrols. The U.S. Border Patrol has 205 horses As of 2005[update]. Most are employed along the Mexico–United States border. In Arizona, these animals are fed special processed feed pellets so that their wastes do not spread non-native plants in the national parks and wildlife areas they patrol.[19]
[edit] Line of duty deaths
Total line of duty deaths (since 1904): 105[20]
Aircraft accident: 14
Assault: 2
Automobile accident: 28
Drowned: 4
Fall: 4
Gunfire: 30
Gunfire (Accidental): 3
Heart attack: 6
Heat exhaustion: 1
Motorcycle accident: 2
Stabbed: 2
Struck by train: 3
Struck by vehicle: 3
Vehicle pursuit: 2
Vehicular assault: 3
[edit] Armed incursions
On August 7, 2008, Mexican troops crossed the border into Arizona and held a U.S. Border Patrol Agent at gunpoint. Agents stationed at Ajo, Arizona said that the Mexican soldiers crossed the border into an isolated area southwest of Tucson and pointed rifles at the agent, who has not been identified. The Mexicans withdrew after other American agents arrived on the scene.[21]
[edit] Ramos and Compean
In February 2005, Border Patrol Agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean were involved in an incident while pursuing a van in Fabens, Texas. The driver, later identified as Aldrete Davila, was shot by Agent Ramos during a scuffle. Davila escaped back into Mexico, and the agents discovered that the van contained a million dollars worth of marijuana (about 750 pounds). None of the agents at the scene orally reported the shooting, including two supervisors. The Department of Homeland Security opened up an internal affairs investigation into the incident.[22] See also [23][24][25]
[edit] Criticisms
[edit] Ineffective
In 2006, a documentary called The Illegal Immigration Invasion[26] linked the scale of illegal immigration into the United States chiefly to the ineffectiveness of the Border Patrol. The film claimed that this is due to the lack of judicial powers of the Border Patrol and the effective hamstringing of the agency by the federal government. The film interviews people that deal with illegal immigration on a daily basis, as well as local citizens living in the border areas.
[edit] Allegations of abuse
There are allegations of abuse by the United States Border Patrol such as the ones reported by Jesus A. Trevino, that concludes in an article published in the Houston Journal of International Law (2006) with a request to create an independent review commission to oversee the actions of the Border Patrol, and that creating such review board will make the American public aware of the "serious problem of abuse that exists at the border by making this review process public" and that "illegal immigrants deserve the same constitutionally-mandated humane treatment of citizens and legal residents".[27]
In 1998, Amnesty International investigated allegations of ill-treatment and brutality by officers of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, and particularly the Border Patrol. Their report said they found indications of human rights violations during 1996, 1997 and early 1998.[28]
An article in Social Justice by Michael Huspek, Leticia Jimenez, Roberto Martinez (1998) cites that in December 1997, John Case, head of the INS Office of Internal Audit, announced at a press conference that public complaints to the INS had risen 29% from 1996, with the "vast majority" of complaints emanating from the southwest border region, but that of the 2,300 cases, the 243 cases of serious allegations of abuse were down in 1997. These serious cases are considered to be distinct from less serious complaints, such as "verbal abuse, discrimination, extended detention without cause."[29]
[edit] Corruption
Incidences of corruption in the U.S. Border Patrol include:
Pablo Sergio Barry, an agent charged with one count of harboring an illegal immigrant, three counts of false statements, and two counts of making a false document.[30] He plead guilty.[31]
Christopher E. Bernis, an agent indicted on a charge of harboring an illegal immigrant for nine months while employed as a U.S. Border Patrol agent.[32]
Jose De Jesus Ruiz, an agent whose girlfriend was an illegal immigrant, he was put on administrative leave pending an investigation.[32]
Oscar Antonio Ortiz, an illegal immigrant[33] who used a fake birth certificate to get into the Border Patrol admitted to smuggling more than 100 illegal immigrants into the U.S., some of them in his government truck,[34] and was helping to smuggle illegal immigrants and charged with conspiring with another agent to smuggle immigrants.
An unidentified patrol agent who was recorded on a wire tap stating that he helped to smuggle 30 to 50 immigrants at a time.[33]
[edit] National Border Patrol Council
National Border Patrol Council (NBPC) is the labor union which represents over 14,000 Border Patrol Agents and support staff. The NBPC was founded in 1968, and its parent organization is the American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO. The NBPC's executive committee is staffed by current and retired Border Patrol Agents and, along with its constituent locals, employs a staff of a dozen attorneys and field representatives. The NBPC is associated with the Peace Officer Research Association of California’s Legal Defense Fund.[35]
[edit] National Border Patrol Museum
The National Border Patrol Museum is located in El Paso, Texas. The museum exhibits uniforms, equipment, photographs, guns, vehicles, airplanes, boats, and documents which depict the historical and current sector operations throughout the United States.
[edit] In popular culture
[edit] Books
Border Patrol by Alvin Edward Moore
The Border Patrol by Deborah Wells Salter
EWI: Entry Without Inspection (Title 8 U.S.C. § 1325 Improper entry by alien) by Fortuna Testarona Valiente
Tracks in the Sand: A Tale of the Border Patrol by Kent E Lundgren,
On The Line: Inside the U.S. Border Patrol by Alex Pacheco and Erich Krauss
Patrolling Chaos: The U.S. Border Patrol in Deep South Texas by Robert Lee Maril
The U.S. Border Patrol: Guarding the Nation (Blazers) by Connie Collwell Miller
My Border Patrol Diary: Laredo, Texas by Dale Squint
Holding the Line: War Stories of the U.S. Border Patrol by Gerald Schumacher
The Border Patrol Ate My Dust by Alicia Alarcon, Ethriam Cash Brammer, and Ethriam Cash Brammer de Gonzales
The Border: Exploring the U.S.-Mexican Divide by David J. Danelo
Beat The Border: An Insider's Guide To How The U.S. Border Works And How To Beat It by Ned Beaumont
West of the Moon: A Border Patrol Agent's Tale by D. B. Prehoda
The Journey: U.S. Border Patrol & the Solution to the Illegal Alien Problem by Donald R. Coppock
Border patrol: With the U.S. Immigration Service on the Mexican boundary, 1910-54 by Clifford Alan Perkins
Border Patrol: How U.S. Agents Protect Our Borders from Illegal Entry by Carroll B. Colby
In Mortal Danger: The Battle for America's Border and Security by Tom Tancredo
[edit] Film
Border Patrolman, a 1936 film in which a Border Patrolman Bob Wallace, played by George O'Brien, resigns in protest after being humiliated by the spoiled granddaughter of a millionaire.
Border Patrol, a 1943 film starring William C. Boyd, Andy Clyde, George Reeves, and Robert Mitchum
Borderline, a 1950 film noir starring Fred MacMurray about drug smuggling across the U.S./Mexico border
Border Patrol, a 1959 syndicated television series, starring Richard Webb as the fictitious deputy chief of the U.S. Border Patrol
Borderline, a 1980 movie starring Charles Bronson about a Border Patrol Agent on the U.S./Mexico border
The Border, a 1982 film starring Jack Nicholson
El Norte, a 1983 film portraying Central American Indian peasants traveling to the United States.
Flashpoint, a 1984 film starring Kris Kristofferson
Last Man Standing, a 1996 film starring Bruce Willis and Ken Jenkins as Texas Ranger Captain Tom Pickett who is investing the killing of an unnamed Immigration Inspector (played by Larry Holt) across the border in Mexico.
Men in Black, a 1997 science fiction comedy action film starring Tommy Lee Jones, Will Smith and Vincent D'Onofrio. The Border Patrol was portrayed as Immigration Inspectors
The Gatekeeper, a 2002 film by John Carlos Frey about the struggles of migrants at the Mexican/US border.
The Shepherd: Border Patrol, a 2007 film starring Jean-Claude Van Damme
Linewatch, a 2008 film starring Cuba Gooding, Jr., as a Border Patrol agent defending his family from a group of Los Angeles gang members involved in the illegal trade of importing narcotics into the United States.
[edit] Documentaries
Border Patrol: American's Gatekeepers A&E with former United States Attorney General Janet Reno
Investigative Reports: Border Patrol: America's Gatekeepers A&E Investigates
History the Enforcers : Border Patrol History Channel
[edit] See also
Border Protection Personnel
United States portal
Law enforcement/Law enforcement topics portal
List of United States federal law enforcement agencies
Immigration and Customs Enforcement
Border control
Ignacio Ramos
Illegal immigration
H.R. 4437
Minuteman Project
MQ-9 Reaper
No More Deaths
Office of CBP Air
United States Mexico barrier
United States-Canadian Border
la migra
[edit] References
^ "Reinstatements to the northern border". CPB.gov. US Customs and Border Protection. 2008-05-19. www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/border_security/border_patrol/reinsta.... Retrieved 2009-06-01.
^ www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/border_security/border_patrol/border_...
^ a b c d e f "Boarder Patrol overview". CPB.gov. US Customs and Boarder Protection. 2008-08-22. www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/border_security/border_patrol/border_.... Retrieved 2009-06-01.
^ a b "Who we are and what we do". CPB.gov. US Customs and Boarder Protection. 2008-09-03. www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/border_security/border_patrol/who_we_.... Retrieved 2009-06-01.
^ Gaynor, Tim (2008-01-23). "U.S. turns to horses to secure borders". Reuters. www.reuters.com/article/inDepthNews/idUSN2323280820080124.... Retrieved 2008-01-24.
^ www.cbp.gov/linkhandler/cgov/border_security/border_patro...[dead link]
^ Nuñez-Neto, Blas (2006-010-25) (PDF). Border security: The role of the U.S. Border Patrol. Congressional Research Service. p. 35. digital.library.unt.edu/govdocs/crs//data/2006/upl-meta-c.... Retrieved 2009-06-01.
^ Coyle, Marcia (2008-03-03). "Waivers for border fence challenged: Environmental groups take their complaints to Supreme Court". The Recorder.
^ Archibold, Randal C. (2008-04-02). "Government issues waiver for fencing along border". New York Times. www.nytimes.com/2008/04/02/us/02fence.html. Retrieved 2008-04-02.
^ "Conservation groups call for an immediate halt to construction of border fence in San Pedro National Conservation Area". US Newswire. 2007-10-05.
^ Gordon, David George (May 2000). "A 'grande' dispute". National Geographic World: p. 4.
^ Cohn, Jeffrey P. (2007). "The environmental impacts of a border fence". BioScience 57 (1): 96. doi:10.1641/B570116. www.bioone.org/doi/full/10.1641/B570116. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
^ "Expansive border fence stirs fights over land". Tell Me More. NPR. 2008-03-03.
^ 2007 State of the Border Patrol video[dead link]
^ a b "FAQs: Working for the Border Patrol-basic training". CPB.gov. US Customs and Boarder Protection. 2008-05-29. www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/careers/customs_careers/border_career.... Retrieved 2009-06-01.
^ Spagat, Elliot (2007-08-16). "Border Patrol uniform gets first makeover since the 1950s". North County Times. www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/08/17/news/sandiego/18_64_3.... Retrieved 2009-06-01.
^ "Border Patrol Inspector Theodore L. Newton Jr.". The Officer Down Memorial Page. www.odmp.org/officer.php?oid=9933. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
^ "Border Patrol Inspector George F. Azrak". The Officer Down Memorial Page. www.odmp.org/officer.php?oid=1368. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
^ Rostien, Arthur H. (2005-06-09). "Border Patrol horses get special feed that helps protect desert ecosystem". Environmental News Network. www.enn.com/top_stories/article/1731. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
^ "United States Department of Homeland Security - Customs and Border Protection - Border Patrol". The Officer Down Memorial Page. www.odmp.org/agency/4830-united-states-department-of-home.... Retrieved 2009-06-01.
^ Meyers, Jim (2008-08-06). "Mexican troops cross border, hold border agent". Newsmax.com. newsmax.com/insidecover/mexican_troops_border/2008/08/06/.... Retrieved 2009-06-01.
^ "Glenn Beck: Ramos & Compean - the whole story". The Glenn Beck Program. Premiere Radio Networks. 2008-07-29. www.glennbeck.com/content/articles/article/196/13098/. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
^ "Error: no |title= specified when using {{Cite web}}". Ramos-Compean. ramos-compean.blogspot.com/. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
^ "2 Border Patrol agents face 20 years in prison". WorldDailyNet. 2006-08-07. www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=51417. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
^ "Ramos and Campean - court appeal". www.scribd.com/doc/219384/Ramos-and-Campean-Court-Appeal. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
^ (Google video) The illegal immigration invasion. October Sun Films. 2006-04-06. video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1451035544403625746. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
^ Jesus A. Trevino (1998). "Border violence against illegal immigrants and the need to change the border patrol's current complaint review process" (PDF). Houston Journal of International Law 21 (1): 85–114. ISSN 0194-1879. www.hjil.org/ArticleFiles/21_1_10.pdf. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
^ United States of America: Human rights concerns in the border region with Mexico. Amnesty International. 1998-05-19. web.amnesty.org/library/Index/engAMR510031998. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
^ Huspek, Michael; Roberto Martinez, and Leticia Jimenez (1998). "Violations of human and civil rights on the U.S.-Mexico border, 1995 to 1997: a report" (Reprint). Social Justice 25 (2). ISSN 1043-1578. findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb3427/is_n2_v25/ai_n28711.... Retrieved 2009-06-01.
The data compiled in this report suggest that law enforcement in the southwest region of the United States may be verging on lawlessness. This statement receives fuller support from announcements emanating from the INS. In December 1997, John Chase, head of the INS Office of Internal Audit, announced at a press conference that public complaints to the INS had risen 29% from 1996, with the "vast majority" of complaints emanating from the southwest border region. Over 2,300 complaints were filed in 1997 as opposed to the 1,813 complaints filed in 1996. Another 400 reports of "minor misconduct" were placed in a new category. Chase was quick to emphasize, however, that the 243 "serious" allegations of abuse and use of excessive force that could warrant criminal prosecution were down in 1997, as compared with the 328 in 1996. These "serious" cases are considered to be distinct from less serious complaints, such as "verbal abuse, discrimination, extended detention without cause.
^ June 23, 2005 "Border agent accused of hiding an illegal entrant". Arizona Daily Star. 2005-06-23. www.azstarnet.com/sn/border/81082.php June 23, 2005. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
^ "Border agent pleads guilty to harboring illegal entrant". Arizona Daily Star. 2005-09-22. www.azstarnet.com/sn/border/94491.php. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
^ a b "U.S. border agent indicted". Arizona Daily Star. 2005-03-11. www.azstarnet.com/sn/border/65117.php. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
^ a b "Boarder agent said to also be smuggler". SignOnSanDiego.com. Union-Tribune Publishing. 2005-08-05. www.signonsandiego.com/news/mexico/tijuana/20050805-9999-.... Retrieved 2009-06-01.
^ Spagat, Elliot (2006-07-28). "Border agent gets 5 years for smuggling". The Washington Post. www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/28/.... Retrieved 2009-06-01.
^ "About NBPC". National Border Patrol Council. 2008-08-14. www.nbpc.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&a.... Retrieved 2009-06-01.
[edit] External links
Official US Border Patrol website
US Border Patrol history
National Border Patrol Strategy(PDF)
Border Patrol official recruiting page
Border Patrol Supervisor's Association (BPSA)
Border Patrol agents killed in the line of duty
Large Border Patrol site
Border Patrol Museum official site
National Border Patrol Council official site
National Association of Former Border Patrol Officers
Friends of the Border Patrol
Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports regarding the U.S. Border Patrol
Civilian Border Patrol Organizations: An Overview and History of the Phenomenon by the Congressional Research Service.
Border Patrol hiring forums and information for potential agents
National Border Patrol Museum
Pictures of Border Patrol vehicles
Crossing Guards in Training LA Times report on Border Patrol training.
The Coalition Against Illegal Immigration
Border Patrol unofficial Auxiliary NOT a Government Agency and not affiliated with the federal Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
[edit] External Video
Border Stories
[edit] GAO and OIG Reports
GAO Report: Border Patrol - Southwest Border Enforcement Affected by Mission Expansion and Budget August 1992
GAO Report: Border Control - Revised Strategy is Showing Some Positive Results December 1994
g96065.pdf GAO Report: Border Patrol - Staffing and Enforcement Activities March 1996
GAO Report: ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION - Southwest Border Strategy Results Inconclusive; More Evaluation Needed December 1997
USDOJ OIG Report: Operation Gatekeeper July 1998
GAO Report: ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION - Status of Southwest Border Strategy Implementation 1999
GAO Report: Border Patrol Hiring December 1999
GAO Report: Southwest Border Strategy - Resource and Impact Issues Remain After Seven Years August 2001
National Border Patrol Strategy March 2005
GAO Report: Effectiveness of Border Patrol Checkpoints July 2005
DHS OIG Report: An Assessment of the Proposal to Merge Customs and Border Protection with Immigration and Customs Enforcement November 2005
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Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Border_Patrol"
Categories: Federal law enforcement agencies of the United States | Border guards | Specialist law enforcement agencies of the United States | History of immigration to the United States | United States Department of Homeland Security | Borders of the United States
Hidden categories: All articles with dead external links | Articles with dead external links from June 2009 | Articles with broken citations | Articles needing cleanup from December 2009 | All pages needing cleanup | All articles with unsourced statements | Articles with unsourced statements from February 2007 | All accuracy disputes | Articles with disputed statements from December 2009 | Articles containing potentially dated statements from 2005 | All articles containing potentially dated statements
Vintage postcard, no. 362.
American singer-songwriter Chubby Checker (1941) popularised the dance style Twist, with his 1960 hit cover of Hank Ballard's R&B hit 'The Twist'. In September 2008, 'The Twist' topped Billboard's list of the most popular singles to have appeared in the Hot 100 since its debut in 1958.
Chubby Checker was born in 1941, in Andrews of Spring Gulley, South Carolina, as Ernest Evans. From an early age, he learned to play the piano, played the drums and imitated several singers. At South Philadelphia High School where Frankie Avalon also attended, he made up dances for school performances with his school friend Fabian Forte. Initially, Ernest worked at a poulterer's, where the owner (Henry Colt) took every opportunity to demonstrate Ernest's singing skills. After appearing on a Christmas gift record in late 1958, imitating various stars (Fats Domino, the Coasters, Elvis Presley, Cozy Cole and The Chipmunks), he was offered a contract with Cameo-Parkway in early 1959, where the record 'The Class' was immediately released on single. He got his stage name from his childhood nickname, "Chubby," and his Fats Domino imitations, which gave rise to the pun and alliteration Chubby Checker (checkers is as well as domino a game). Hank Ballard and the Midnighters recorded the original version of 'The Twist' as the B-side of 'Teardrops on your Letter' in 1958. This record was accompanied by a dance to liven up their performance at The Peacock Club in Atlanta. Although the song seemed to appeal to the audience, several attempts to do something with it came to nothing. When Chubby sang the song in June 1959, Cameo-Parkway rated it a B-side. Through Checker's persistence, he not only lost 15 kilos by performing a lot, but 'The Twist' eventually became a number 1 hit in 1960, and the record stayed listed for over 16 weeks. It sparked a dance craze that swept the nation. The song gave Checker his breakthrough and his title as the uncrowned King of Twist. In 1961, 'The Twist' rose to number one for a second time and stayed there for 18 weeks. The song has since been covered by numerous artists.
Chubby Checker's success with 'The Twist' was followed by numerous variations on the twist and similar dances. When Don Covay and John Berry released 'Pony Time' with The Goodtimers in 1960 and achieved some local success with it, it was almost immediately covered by Chubby Checker. Checker's version rose to number 1 and stayed listed for 16 weeks in 1961. Checker went on to have other hits, including 'Let's Twist Again' and 'Limbo Rock'. His success with 'The Twist' also led to several television appearances, including on American Bandstand with Dick Clark. He made his film debut as a performer in the musical Teenage Millionaire (Lawrence Doheny, 1961) with Rocky Graziano and Zasu Pitts. It was followed by Twist Around the Clock (Oscar Rudolph, 1961) with Dion and Don't Knock the Twist (Oscar Rudolph, 1962) with Mari Blanchard. After 1963, the dance hype was a bit over and Checker concentrated on Europe, which was a bit behind the US in terms of music. There he performed in the Austrian film Die ganze Welt ist himmelblau/The whole world is sky blue (Franz Antel, 1964) with Johanna Matz and Peter Weck and the British film The Comedy Man (Alvin Rakoff, 1964) with Kenneth More and Dennis Price. At the German Bierfeste, he met Dutch Catharina 'Rina' Lodders, the 1962 Miss World. En passant, following Elvis Presley with 'Muss I denn' (Wooden heart), he recorded the German children's folk song 'Good old Schwäbische Eisenbahn', better known as 'Troola, troola, troola la'. The b-side is 'Autobahn Baby'. He married Lodders in 1964 and from the marriage three children were born; the family lived in a Philadelphia suburb. Together with the Dutch pop group ZZ en de Maskers, he recorded the 1965 hits 'Baby Baby Balla Balla' and 'Stopping in Las Vegas', which ZZ and the Masks previously recorded as 'Sloppin' in Las Vegas'. He continued to perform and record throughout the 1960s and beyond. In 1970, Checker and three others were arrested near Niagara Falls when drugs were found in their car. In 1983, his illegitimate daughter Mistie Williams was born. She later made it to professional basketball player with the Houston Comets in the Women's National Basketball Association. In 1986 Chubby was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and in 1988, 'The Twist' became a hit for the third time, this time with the Fat Boys. The song reached 16th place in the charts. He incidentally appeared on the screen as himself in such films as Purple People Eater (Linda Shayne, 1988) with Ned Beatty and Calendar Girl (John Whitesell, 1993) with Jason Priestley. In 2000, he started a wholesale snack business called The Last Twist, Inc. and Chubby Checker Snacks. He also introduced the Checkerlicious Express, a driving snack roadshow with Checker himself at the wheel. In 2007, 'Knock Down The Walls' became a hit in the US. Today, Chubby Checker is still performing and is regarded as a rock and roll pioneer and a cultural icon of the 1960s.
Source: Wikipedia (Dutch and English) and IMDb.
And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.
The KOM League
Flash Report
To end 2020
and
Kickoff 2021
If interested, this report is accessible at: www.flickr.com/photos/60428361@N07/50766767243/
Even if you are not interested, it is still there. It is the reader’s choice to either partake or reject. Sure hope a few do the former.
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Annual Christmas call
Each year, approximately two or three days prior to Christmas, a cheerful voice announces that he is calling to tell his old friend Merry Christmas. The caller is Billy Bagwell of Homer, Louisiana and each time he relates that God is blessing him and that he loves my wife and I. This year a little more was elicited from him in the conversation. He is undergoing treatment for cancer and all is not as well as he would like. His parting comment was “John, I hope that I will be here next year to wish you a Merry Christmas.” I too, hope that is the case realizing that can go both ways.
Bagwell and his wife Joyce attended every KOM league reunion and was always the hit of the event when his did his pantomime of the man whose suit didn’t fit. It was such a humorous act that even those with hearing loss would laugh without being able to hear his words.
Bagwell has been mentioned numerous times in these reports. Since this report is far too voluminous I’m sharing this link to indicate is extensive minor league career after he had served in WW II. digital.la84.org/digital/collection/p17103coll3/id/12518/...
Another Christmas call used to come each afternoon on the 25th of December. It originated in Springfield, Missouri and was from the all-time home run hitter in KOM league history, Don Ervin. He was a native of Kansas City and did his heavy clouting for the 1952 Miami, Oklahoma Eagles. In recent years correspondence has been established with his daughter. This was a recent e-mail from her. “Merry Christmas. It’s been almost 3 years since my dad passed. Thank you for the pictures you send out. They are uplifting in times of sadness.”
There were many family members, of deceased KOM leaguers, who sent along Christmas greetings and a few former members of the league who sent greetings on their own behalf.
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One game shortstop.
In the final week of the 1946 season the St. Louis Cardinals sent a World War II veteran to Carthage, Missouri John James Meyer played in one game. It was the 114th contest of the season and he went 0-4 at the plate. The next spring he reported to the Cardinal training camp at Albany, Georgia but wasn’t on the bus to Carthage when the team headed north. That concluded his professional baseball days.
However, Meyer left a lasting memory of his very short time with Carthage. On the last day of the season he signed a baseball and that, along with one box score, are the only remaining pieces of evidence that he played professional baseball. Thanks to the late Oscar “Pappy” Walterman that baseball remains in my possession in a place that will not be revealed due to security reasons. Well, a little exaggeration isn’t all that bad, is it?
John James Meyer.https://www.tributearchive.com/obituaries/18444007/ John-James-Meyer/Jeromesville/Ohio/Fickes-Funeral-Home
John J. Meyer went to be with his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on September 24, 2020 surrounded by his devoted family. Born May 25, 1925 in Stryker, Ohio, he was the only child of Carl and Miriam (Koehl) Meyer. In 1937, the family moved to England Station in rural Ashland County where they had purchased a farm. John attended a one-room schoolhouse until the eighth grade and graduated from Ashland High School in 1943. Upon graduation, he enlisted in the US Navy where he received his commission in 1944 after attending Oberlin College and Illinois State University in Normal, Illinois. On November 24, 1945, John married Nona Harriet Powers in San Francisco, CA where he was stationed during World War II. Upon his discharge in 1946, John and Nona returned to the family farm in England Station where they raised their family of six sons and two daughters. John and Nona also opened their home to several foster children throughout the years.
John made a life and a living primarily on the family farm. During his lifetime he sold seed corn and was a dairy and grain farmer. John learned to fix anything and always had a spare part or tool and some words of wisdom when anyone needed them. He farmed in some capacity into his nineties. He also was a Broker/Realtor at his son’s real estate company, JC Meyer Realtors. He earned many awards as a Realtor including Salesman of the Year and the coveted Realtor of the Year from the Ashland Board of Realtors.
Having a strong sense of community, he served as a 4-H advisor for 25 years, a Montgomery Township Trustee for 20 years, an Ashland County Fair Board Director for over 30 years, and held many positions, including Board President, with the Ashland Board of Realtors. He was a long-time member of the Ashland Dickey Church of the Brethren and was a proud World War II Veteran.
John was preceded in death by his son John (JC) in 2002 and his wife Nona in 2009. He is survived by his children and their spouses: Chris and Sharon Meyer (Ashland), Rex Meyer (Ashland), Paul and Kris Meyer (Gold Hill, Oregon), Mary and Rolly Cox (Ashland), Dewey and Karen Meyer (Polk), Ann Davis (Olivesburg), Dan and Terri Meyer (Ashland) and daughter-in-law Sue Meyer (Jeromesville). He will also be deeply missed by 17 grandchildren, 27 great-grandchildren and 5 great great-grandchildren. A loving dad and grandpa, he enjoyed keeping up with the goings-on of his large family and his kitchen table became the family meeting place.
A Celebration of Life memorial service will be held on Sunday, October 11, 2020 at 1 PM at the Ashland Dickey Church of the Brethren with Pastor Jeff Messner officiating. The family will greet guests at the church one hour prior to the service and again after the service at the family farm. At the church, the sanctuary will be reserved for the family, but guests can watch the service in the downstairs hall or can listen to the service in their vehicles in the church parking lot. Burial will immediately follow the service in the Dickey Church Cemetery and then all are welcome to return to the family farm for a meal and further visitation with the family. Memorial contributions, if one wishes to do so, can be made to the Ashland Dickey Church of the Brethren 1509 Township Road 655 Ashland, OH 44805.
Ed comment:
With the passing of John Meyer only three members of the 1946 Carthage Cardinals remain, to my knowledge. They are former big league hurler Cloyd Victor Boyer, long-term Pennsylvania State Representative William Eckensberger Jr. and Thomas Wardner Crossley from Hilliards, Ohio who now resides in Florida. For those who fact check these reports be aware that Crossley’s Sporting News player card had his middle name as Warden, as did I, until some further research was undertaken. Crossley was released by the Cardinals at the end of 1946 and he signed with the St. Louis Browns and was with their Pittsburg, Kansas KOM league affiliate in 1947.
One player from the 1946 Carthage club was never located. That was Louis Robert Cloutier from Windsor, Ontario who also lived in Hull, Quebec, Canada.
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Robert Mack Ehrlich
www.legacy.com/obituaries/spokesman/obituary.aspx?n=rober... Photo is included in this link.
EHRLICH, Robert M. (Age 94) On August 31, Heaven's gates opened to welcome Robert Mack Ehrlich. Bob was born September 19, 1925 In Topeka, Kansas to parents, John Henry Ehrlich and Idamac Warner Ehrlich. He joined brother, John and sister, Mary.
Bob's early years were full of baseball from the time he could lift a bat until June of 1943 when he joined the Marine Corps. He served in the Pacific and was in the battles of Pelelieu and Okinawa and the Army of Occupation in Japan. He was discharged in February 1946 and that was when he met his wife-to-be Eleanor Griswold --- they met at Washburn University, Topeka, Kansas. Bob and "El" were married on November 8, 1947 (missed 73 years by two months). In 1948 they moved to Idaho where Bob attended Farragut College and Technical Institute which was located in the former Navy Base. In 1950 Bob went back into the Marine Corps and served in Korea where he was a member of the "Frozen Chosin" and received two Purple Hearts. He was discharged in 1951.
They lived in Topeka where Bob served on the Police Department for five years. Their daughter, Vickie, was born in 1951, followed by Bob in 1953 and John in 1957. In 1958, back to the Northwest and Coeur d' Alene where Bob was in the Panhandle Health Dept. stationed in Grangeville and Coeur d'Alene. Son, Bill joined the family in 1966 and in 1972, they moved to Whatcom County, Washington where Bob had the dream job of his life farming. They had a red raspberry ranch and he also had a woodworking shop where he built beautiful furniture and did inlay work with exotic woods. Then back to Coeur d' Alene in 2008 to be closer to family. In addition to his parents, Bob was preceded in death by brother, John and daughter, Vickie. He is survived by wife, Eleanor; children, Bob (Karen), John (Dana), and Bill (Joyce); six grandchildren; seven great-grandchildren; and one great-great-grandchild. Due to declining health, Bob lived at Legends Assisted Living for the past five years and was loved and cared for there. Hospice of North Idaho was involved in his care for the last months and his family can never thank both Hospice and Legends enough for the loving care he received. In lieu of flowers, any contribution in Bob's memory can be made to Christ the King Lutheran Church Roof Fund or Hospice of North Idaho. A celebration of Bob's life will be held at 11:00 AM on Saturday, September 19, 2020 at Christ the King Lutheran Church, 1700 E. Pennsylvania Ave., Coeur d' Alene, ID 83814. The service will be streamed on ctkcda.com Yates Funeral Home is entrusted with final arrangements. Please visit Bob's online memorial and sign his guestbook at www.yatesfuneralhomes.com.
Ed comments:
Ehrlich pitched for the 1947 Independence, Kansas Yankees. His Sporting News player card shows his activity from 1947 to 1950 at which time he was back in the United States Marine Corps and was unfortunate to have been at the Battle of the Chosin Reservoir. digital.la84.org/digital/collection/p17103coll3/id/52252/... The Sporting News card provides a great hint as to how he wound up spending the bulk of his life in Spokane, Washington.
In 1947 Ehrlich filled out the Baseball Questionnaire which is found at this link. It requires a subscription to Ancestry.com to access it. www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/61599/images/480... When his middle name was being transcribed for the Ancestry site someone interpreted “Mack” as “Nock.”
Ehrlich played American Legion baseball, in Topeka, with Lee and Stokes Dodson. All three of those guys went into the Marine Corps during WWII. Lee Dodson was in the KOM League, in 1946 and the next year the trio of the Dodson boys and Ehrlich were playing professional baseball in the New York Yankee chain. Lee was with the Kansas City Blues of the American Association and Stokes and Ehrlich were hurling for the Independence, Kansas Yankees of the KOM league.
This link is the obituary for Ehrlich that appeared in the Lynden, Washington Times. It is included as it has a photo of him during his Marine Corps days as well as how he appeared in his senior years. www.lyndentribune.com/community/obituaries/robert-ehrlich...
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James Laverne Qualls==1950 Independence, Kansas Yankees
www.wilsonsfuneralhome.net/obituary/james-qualls?lud=9610...
On Friday morning, December the 18th the following note was received from Sparta, Illinois.
“Hi John a note to let you know Jim passed away on Tuesday. He was 89 and would be 90 Jan. 31. We were married 68 years. Thanks for everything .....Marge.”
Ed comments:
Over the years a lot of correspondence went back and forth from the Qualls family and Yours truly. James was a teammate of Bill Virdon in 1950 at Independence, Kansas. They were both Yankee minor league property at the time. However, Virdon wound up with the St. Louis Cardinals and was a Rookie of the Year a hand full of years later. Over the years Qualls became a Cardinal fan due to his proximity to St. Louis and their far-flung radio and television outreach.
Knowing that the Virdons had long been in touch with this source, Marge asked for the Virdons e-mail address so she could send them e-mails. However, at about that time Shirley Virdon ceased e-mailing, as she had in the past, and thus the Qualls/Virdon connection wasn’t reestablished.
James L. Qualls of Sparta, Illinois
January 31, 1931 - December 15, 2020
SPARTA – James L. Qualls, 89, of Sparta, passed away at 3:05 pm, Tuesday, December 15, 2020, at Sparta Community Hospital, Sparta, Illinois.
James was born in Jacob, Illinois, on January 31, 1931, the son of Robert F. and Dara (Moschenrose) Qualls. He married Margie “Marge” Eaton on January 16, 1953, in Piggott, AR. James was a retired Prudential Insurance Agent. He was a member of Trinity Presbyterian Church in Sparta, IL. He was a 50-year member of Hope Lodge #162 A.F. & F.M., Sparta, and an Ainad Shriner, East St. Louis, IL. James was the Chartered President of the Trico Lions Club. He was an avid golfer and achieved 5 holes-in-one! James loved flying and was a licensed pilot, loved the St. Louis Cardinals and spent some time in the Yankee’s Minor League.
James is survived by his wife, Margie Qualls of Sparta, IL, brother, Jerry (Lois) Qualls of Goreville, IL, and lots of loving nieces and nephews.
James was preceded in death by his Parents and one Sister, Pat Arbeiter.
James’s wishes are to be cremated and a Graveside Service at Caledonia Cemetery, Sparta, IL, will be held at a later date. Memorials may be given to Sparta Food Pantry and can be mailed to Wilson’s Funeral Home, PO Box 217, Steeleville, IL 62288. To sign the guestbook visit www.wilsonsfuneralhome.net.
The following link shows the Sporting News players card that was maintained for Qualls.
digital.la84.org/digital/collection/p17103coll3/id/92250/...
Two years ago an article featuring Qualls appeared on the Internet. Most liked it was shared at that time since the person writing this report was mentioned in it. The writer of that newspaper story got one detail incorrect but it wasn’t enough to prevent me from sharing that link, one more time. countyjournal.org/james-qualls-reflects-on-his-days-in-pr...
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Robert James Rose--- Leamington, Ontario
Bob Rose played for the 1949 Pittsburg, Kansas Browns. I was never able to verify much about him until Dec. 3. 2020. The following is an interview with him on a legacy site for Korean War veterans. There are four links like this one.
koreanwarlegacy.org/interviews/robert-j-rose/
If anyone who is interested can’t pull up that entire interview, in narrative format, let me know and an attempt at a miracle will be undertaken to get it to you.
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A long search comes to a conclusion.
Back in the days when KOM league reunions were an annual event there was always a name or two that was bandied about by former teammates of a player that hadn’t been located. One name always came up when speaking with Brandy Davis who played not only for the Bartlesville Pirates but also the Pirates whose home was Forbes Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania during that era.
Each year Davis would ask if there was any trace of Bill Phillips who caught for the 1951 team of which Davis was a member. The years passed swiftly and in June of 2005 Davis departed this realm not knowing of his former teammate’s fate.
Over the next 15 years the search didn’t cease in locating Phillips or to learn of his fate. For all the years of searching the name of William Eugene Phillips born July 7, 1931 in Terre Haute, Indiana nothing appeared.
In looking at his Sporting News player card it showed that he had filled it out as Bill Eugene Phillips. digital.la84.org/digital/collection/p17103coll3/id/105253... That name was not found in Terre Haute but there was a reference to an obituary of a lady by the name of Jeanine Phillips. Following the “bouncing ball” quick fingers took me to her grave marker and there was the name of her husband. The first reaction was “Oh, no.” Then, looking closer the name “Bill Eugene Phillips” was on the marker, along with his birthdate but no death date. In reading her obituary I found Jeanine had been married to a Bill Eugene Phillips on February 27, 1954 and she passed away on May 2, 2008 and her husband survived her
images.findagrave.com/photos/2014/20/123850477_1390333718...
At this juncture it was pretty obvious Mr. Phillips is alive. A few clicks of the Internet searching for Bill Eugene Phillips turned up an address for him in Florida. That would be great news to share with his former 1951 Bartlesville teammate but there aren’t that many remaining who would recall the name. Brandy Davis and Ronnie Kline would have remembered him but they are no longer around. Phillips caught Kline, the future big leaguer, a number of times in 1951.
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Glen Gorbous’s amazing throw
John that is an unbelievable baseball throw. My brain cannot comprehend it. I thought I had a decent arm, but evidently not. I hope you had a good funeral for butterball and all who attended enjoyed. Wishing you and Noel a very blessed Christmas. Look forward to your great stories next year. Take care. Don Papst—Chanute, Kansas
Ed comment:
Well butterball was the theme of a note shared with a few people prior to Thanksgiving. If you missed it here it is. “Thanksgiving. We've been told that only six people are allowed to meet for Thanksgiving Day, but 30 people for a funeral. With this, I announce that we will be holding a funeral for our pet turkey named "Butterball" who will pass away on November 26, 2020. Refreshments provided. In lieu of flowers, please bring a side dish.”
On the subject of the throw by Glen Gorbous the Guinness Book of World Records at the time listed it at 445’ 10”.
From Portland Univ. Hall of Fame baseball coach regarding Gorbous
This note is relative to Glen Gorbous and his GREAT throwing arm. We were teammates in 1950 in The Arizona-Texas League. I coached Dale Murphy and I always compared his arm to Glen’s...both arms were unbelievable!. Howie Haak, Dodger scout, signed me in 1948...keep up the Great job! Kindest regards. Jack Dunn
A link to the Gorbous throw. albertadugoutstories.com/2017/08/02/alberta-kid-with-an-a... The throw was on August 1, 1957 when Gorbous was playing with the Omaha, Nebraska Cardinals.
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Recalling youthful days.
Enjoyed your news on the KOM players. Like many Carthage kids I still remember some of the 18 year old kids who played back in those days!! Have a great Christmas and stay safe. Merle Southern—Antarctic geologist among other things
Ed reply:
Thanks for the note. Those guys gave us a lot of lasting memories. Back then we thought they were older than they were.
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ACKKKKKK
An e-mail was received from a Kansas reader who had this reaction regarding a statement made in Nick Stefano’s about his love of two items of food. Although, I think he never ate them on the same plate that is the image the writer of the note had in mind when he wrote “Black licorice and ravioli ?!? ACKKKKKK !!!!!! Jeff Simpson
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Reaction to not having regular doses of FR
John, I know for sure I will be in the hospital within two weeks, all because of this new mysterious disease named appropriately, FR LOST-----so please do not cease completely, my old ticker can’t handle the shock. Casey--Always remember Once a Gorilla, Always a Gorilla------------1966 here!!!!
Ed comment:
Each time it is mentioned these Flash Reports have about run their course there are two, maybe three people who stir from their slumber and urge its continuance. Thus, I guess Casey, the Gorilla, is responsible for this attempt at informing and entertaining. The Gorilla is the mascot of the Pittsburg, Kansas State University. Usually, Casey spends the autumn of each year following the football team but in this past football season the Gorillas lost every game to the Chinese Covids.
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Former Dodger moves.
(We) just wanted to let you know that we have moved into a Senior apartment. Not much fun during this time of Covid. Mailing address is: 13801 East Yale Ave. apt 131, Aurora, Co
80014. Haven't lived in an apartment for over 50 years. The house is being sold to pay rent. Unbelievable how much it costs in Colorado. Have a wonderful Christmas season. Thank you for all you have done over the years. Take care. Pat Crandall—Wife of Harry Crandall 1950 Ponca City Dodgers
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News received on Christmas eve
John, it's with a heavy heart that I write to tell you that Dad passed away peacefully on Monday. His grandson Josh did a great job of taking care of Dad, although I have to admit Dad got a little combative at the end because frankly, he was ready to go and didn't want to be messed with.
One of my attempts to change his shirt ended with me being called a "Chicken Batter." Well, Mom and Dad only had me as a back-up scorekeeper, I'm sure. I was with him at the end, and for all the rude baseball catcalls, he went very peacefully. He was cremated in his best overalls with his Red Man and his harmonica in his pocket. No services, but he and Mom will be placed in the columbarium at Leavenworth National Cemetery in the spring. John, thanks for all your friendship with him and your hard work on the KOM league remembrance, that was a big part of Mom and Dad's later years. Here is the link to his obituary in The Star today, and please forgive me if I stated a few things not quite right:
www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/kansascity/name/warren-listo...
Warren T. Liston
October 31, 1926 - December 21, 2020
Kansas City, Kansas - Warren Thomas Liston, 94, of Kansas City, Kansas, died Monday, December 21, 2020, at the home. He was born in Kansas City, Kansas, on October 31, 1926, to Lloyd and Edna Liston. He graduated from Wyandotte High School and covered high school sports for the school's newspaper, The Pantograph, and also was a student sports reporter for The Kansas City Star. He was mobilized from the army's basic training at Camp Roberts, California, to the Philippines after the Japanese surrender and then was sent to Korea. After his military service, he attended Kansas City, Kansas, junior college and played on its baseball team.
He played for several teams in the Ban Johnson League and also played professional Class C and D baseball in the Kansas Oklahoma Missouri (KOM) league in Iola, Kansas; Miami, Enid and Blackwell, Oklahoma, and was active in the KOM's old-timers' reunion association. He coached several youth baseball teams and ended his baseball-playing career at the age of 61 in the Western Missouri Amateur Baseball Association. He was a reporter/photographer for The Kansas City Star's Kansas City, Kansas, office, covering local police news and sports, and later worked for The Kansas City Kansan newspaper. He married Delores Olive Sheppard in 1952 and the couple celebrated their 66th anniversary before her death in 2018. He was also predeceased by his parents; sisters Catherine, Barbara and Linda Kay; brothers Robert, Vernon, Jerry and Donnie. He is survived by his brother Richie of Kansas City, Kansas; brother Vance of Basehor, Kansas; eldest son Jeffrey and wife Jan of Boise, Idaho; daughter Jennifer and husband Greg Sherwood of Olathe, Kansas; son Dan and son Tom and his wife, Jeanne, all of the Sun Valley area, Idaho; son Alan and grandson Josh of Kansas City, Kansas, grandson Nick, and two great-grandsons. Cremation. Private services with inurnment in Leavenworth National Cemetery in the spring. The family suggests donations to The Hunger Coalition, 121 Honeysuckle St., Bellevue, ID, 83313, or thehungercoalition.org/act/donate/. Play ball!
Ed comment:
Warren Liston is a person who I could fill notebooks about. However, to those who knew him would quickly figure out any remarks made here would not do him justice. Thus, the only thing I’m going to share at this point is a note sent to Jack Morris of the Society of American Baseball Research—Necrology Section. “This one is a tough one to report. Warren was one of a kind. He and his wife would follow my travels anywhere I would appear in the Mid-America (KC metro) to talk about the KOM league. Wherever the appearance took place Warren would be in his overalls accompanied by his Red Man tobacco pouch and harmonica. He was a beat writer for the KC Star and when he left he still had a lot of typing paper remaining. He used that yellowed paper for his "Hunt and peck" messages to me, pounded out on a very old Underwood typewriter. Those letters were classic and were used in many of the paper newsletter I published for 17 years.”
Shortly after hearing of Liston’s death from his daughter this e-mail was received from Kansas City. It fits well with what is stated in the previous paragraph about the Liston’s attending any function dealing with the KOM league. “I am sure you know this John but just came in from getting today's KC Star and skimmed and saw obit for Warren Liston. Have not read entirely but see it says he was 94. He was in attendance that Saturday many years ago at the Red Bridge Library in KC. Mo when my son and I met you for the very first time. So sad to see.” Casey Casebolt
Also reading the Kansas City Star obituaries on Sunday, December 27, 2020 was former Kansas City A’s batboy from the mid-50’s, Jim Jay. He shared this comment “Saw in the STAR that Warren Liston at 94 passed away. He was a character and a good man. I liked the man.”
Shortly after hearing from Jim Jay a note was received from Bill Ashcraft who will be identified in this paragraph by the note he sent. What the note doesn’t reveal is he was one of the earliest Federal Narcotics agents, forerunner to the DEA, and his supervisor was my first cousin. I mention that since there is a reader of these reports who is the daughter of my first cousin which makes her my second cousin (dah). That is mentioned for it is essential to share material that keeps as many people as possible coming back each time these reports are prepared to see if there is anything, of interest, included. This is the note from Ashcraft. “John: You are probably aware of this but in the event you’re not: The KC Star’s 12-24-2020 edition reported that Warren Liston, a former KOMer had died on 12-21-2020. He was born in 1926 four years older than me. I only was with Iola for about 10 days in 1950 before being sent on to Ada (Ed note: Sooner State league) but Windy Johnson had me pitch relief in 3 games in a row and my arm was quite sore. I could never pitch even one inning without having a heckuva sore arm the next day.
At any rate Johnson had me come in in relief the first night I was in Iola, against Chanute. I could throw quite hard at the time and the first batter I faced was a big guy, whose identity I had no idea of, was a fellow named Newkirk and I threw him about 6 or 7 pitches, one quite close to his head and he glared at me before striking out on the next pitch over his head. The next batter was Sam ?, seems like it was Dixon (Ed note: It was), and he grounded out. When I got to the bench Warren Liston told me that the guy I had almost hit was somewhat hot headed and probably thought that I had intentionally thrown at him-so I had better watch out since I was due to bat. As it turned out we got a man on and Johnson pinch hit for me, thus averting retaliation. (Sorry to bore you with my inconsequential trivia--not about Liston of course). I only met him once but he seemed like a good guy.” Bill Ashcraft--Overland Park, Ks.
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Chanute player from 1950 passed away
Donald David Mitroff www.rosehills.com/obituaries/whittier-ca/donald-mitroff-7...
DECEMBER 17, 1928 – JANUARY 20, 2018
Donald David Mitroff - Was born on December 17, 1928 in Anaheim, CA and passed away on January 20, 2018 and is under the care of Rose Hills Memorial Park.
Ed comment:
There is nothing more frustrating, for the purposes of writing reports, than to find an obituary listed with very little information included. That is when this old guy has to “create stuff.”
Over the years the communication lines were open with the former infielder for the Chanute Athletics in 1950. He was with the club for a couple of weeks but loved his team and the town. This is his Sporting News player’s card. digital.la84.org/digital/collection/p17103coll3/id/152037... He was originally in the Pittsburgh Pirate organization in 1949 at Greenville, Alabama and then wound up with the Cleveland Indian organization to start the 1950 season at Daytona Beach. After 80 games in the Sunshine state he was off to play for Chanute, Kansas which was an unaffiliated club.
At this point I take exception to the obituary birth site listed at the start of this article. Mitroff was born on the date cited but in Lorain, Ohio not Anaheim, California. His Lorain address was 314 E.27th Street and he attended high school in Lorain and played basketball and football as well as baseball. He was a 6’ 185 athlete who was signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates following his graduation from Lorain High School. During his high school days he played amateur baseball for the National Tube Company that was located in his home town.
For the baseball scholars who search these reports for accuracy let it be known that when he filled out his Baseball Questionnaire on July 22, 1950 for the group in San Mateo, California he listed his birth year as 1930 for obvious reasons.
Anaheim was his place of residence for the many years we corresponded. Even for a fellow who had less than three weeks in the KOM league he loved reading about the exploits of the old league and he subscribed to the newsletters for the entirety of its existence.
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Richard Allen Hibbeler --November 6, 1928 - April 15, 2017
hutchensfuneralhomes.com/obituary/richard-allen-hibbeler/
Richard A. (Dick) Hibbeler, of Florissant Missouri, fortified with the Sacraments of Holy Mother Church, Saturday, April 15, 2017
Beloved husband of Frances M. Hibbeler; dear father and father-in-law of Rick (Valerie) Hibbeler, James (Dorothy) Hibbeler, Steve (Margaret) Hibbeler and Gregg (Carrie) Hibbeler; dear grandfather of Ryan (Holly, Kelly (Tanner) Julie (Chris), Jim, Susan (Jonathan), Michael, Christine (Jon), Andrea (Steve), Eric (Rachel), Leah, Peter, Emily, Katherine, Nicholas and Sarah; great-grandfather of 11; dear brother of Mary Jane (Tim) Sandt, and the late Donald, Charles and Kenneth Hibbeler; dear brother-in-law, uncle and friend.
Richard was a former standout amateur athlete who played football and basketball at North side Catholic/De Andreis High School in the 1940’s. He also played professional baseball in the old New York Giants minor league system. He signed his first professional contract at the age of sixteen and was inducted into the St. Louis Amateur Baseball Hall of Fame in 1991.
Richard retired from Southwestern Bell Telephone Company after 37 1/2 years, where he held a number of craft and supervisory positions. He was also active in the Fraternal Order of Eagles Alton Aerie #254 and participated in local community development affairs.
Memorials to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 262 Danny Thomas Place Memphis, TN, 38105. Services will be private with his family.
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James Talmadge Hudson
www.tributearchive.com/obituaries/19250870/James-Talmadge...
James Talmadge Hudson, 92, died December 7, 2020. Born in Swifton, AR He was the son of the late Alvin Vohn and Lena Hancock Hudson. He was a World War II Marine Corps Veteran. Mr. Hudson was of the Lutheran faith. He enjoyed baseball and played professionally in the minor league for the New York Yankees.
Surviving is his wife, Carolyn Lane Hudson of Cheraw, SC, sons, James Hudson of Cheraw, SC , Mark Hudson of Palm Harbor, FL, four grandchildren and three great grandchildren.
There will be a private family visitation and service.
Note
James Hudson started with Independence, Kansas in 1948 and was then sent to Fond du Lac in the Wisconsin State league. When obtaining his release from the Yankee farm team he was signed by the New York Giants and sent to Chanute. His Sporting News player card didn’t reveal his Chanute playing days. digital.la84.org/digital/collection/p17103coll3/id/89996/... During the “revival” days of the KOM league Hudson drove to some of the KOM league cities Interestingly, he made the trip to Chanute but not Independence. He was a long term supporter of the KOM League Remembered newsletter that preceded the Flash Reports.
Ed comment:
This report carries the obituaries of Richard Hibbeler, James Hudson and Vincent Speranza who were all members of the 1948 Chanute Giants if but for fleeting moments. Of the young men who appeared on that New York Giant affiliated club, managed by Al Smith, who stopped Joe DiMaggio’s 56 game hitting streak, Daniel Dondero, Danny Bass, Richard Nolte, Anthony La Croix and Robert Harrison survive. In one of the best kept secrets one of those five guys later played in the major leagues. Yes, Robert Harrison made a quick pass through Chanute that season on his way to the Sooner State league.
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Vincent James Speranza
patch.com/connecticut/glastonbury/classifieds/announcemen...
Vincent “Gizzy” James Speranza died peacefully with his daughter by his side on January 19, 2019 at the age of 89. He had been under the care of Salmon Brook Center and Masonicare Hospice in Glastonbury, CT.
Gizzy is survived by his son James Anthony Speranza of Denmark, his daughter Lynn Michele “Shelly” Ruff and husband David of Fuquay Varina, N.C. and his granddaughter Sarah Speranza of Denmark along with several nieces and nephews. He is preceded in death by his parents Rocco and Nicholetta Speranza and siblings Carmelo Speranza, Lillian Speranza (Frascatore) and Fortunata Speranza (Caputo).
Gizzy was born on June 27, 1929 in Palmi, Italy to Rocco and Nicholetta Speranza. His family immigrated to Stamford, CT in 1930. He graduated from Stamford High School where he had been active in track, gymnastics and baseball. Gizzy’s love of baseball and natural ability as a pitcher led to his being drafted by the Brooklyn Dodgers AA team. His baseball career was cut short when he voluntarily joined the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War. He was stationed in Okinawa.
Gizzy loved to travel. He logged thousands of miles driving across the U.S. visiting National Parks even making it as far as Alaska. He made many stops along the way to visit family and friends. These visits were always filled with much joy, laughter and home-cooked meals. He also made many trips abroad. He enjoyed visiting his son and granddaughter in Denmark. He was also able to return to Italy to visit his birthplace and reconnect with family.
Over the years Gizzy had planted roots in Naples, FL and Fort Collins, CO, before settling in Glastonbury, CT in 2003 so he could live close to his daughter. Gizzy’s love of sports and health remained a priority for him. Wherever he resided he quickly joined the local gym and made many new life-long friends. His days were spent enjoying time with family and friends, caring for his “grand-dogs”, taking long walks around town, going to the gym and of course, satisfying his abundant appetite for good food and conversation.
Gizzy lived his life the way he wanted, carefree and happy and always tried to pass that attitude on to everyone he knew. He touched the lives of so many people in such positive ways, is greatly loved and will be momentously missed by all who knew him.
In lieu of flowers, please send donations to Masonicare of Connecticut.
I didn’t know about this when it happened. He had time with two KOM teams. When he was in the KOM league his birthplace was listed as Calibria, Italy and that he was from Stamford, Conn.
Ed comments:
Speranza made a number of stops in Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas during his career that is cited in the following link. digital.la84.org/digital/collection/p17103coll3/id/141700...
There is a possible conflict on his place of birth listed in his obituary and the one placed on his Sporting News player card. One shows he was from Palmi and the other has Calibria, Italy, I’m going to assume he was born in Palmi and moved 157 miles north to Calibria and from there his parents brought him to Stamford. CT.
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Len Wiesner 1949 Independence Yankees
Wiesner, Leonard George, age 91, was baptized into the hope of Christ's resurrection, Saturday, December 5, 2020. www.schrader.com/obituary/leonard-wiesner
Leonard was the beloved husband of the late Elizabeth Wiesner (nee Gray), who preceded him in death in May 1988; the dear father of Barbara Wiesner, Mary (Rich) Eberhardt and Richard (Marie) Wiesner. He was also the loving grandfather (“G-Pa”) to Kaitlyn, William, Benjamin (Lisa) and Elizabeth Wiesner, Christopher (Amy) Eberhardt and Melissa Eberhardt; great grandfather to Jake and Ryan Eberhardt.
He was born and raised in St. Louis, a son of the late Joseph and Marie (nee Lindewirth) Wiesner. Beloved brother of the late Laverne (Ralph) Fioretti, late Joseph (Elaine) Wiesner, late Marian Duffy, late Loretta (Jake) Marquart, late Joni (Jim) Budde and Delores (Robert) Chapie. Dear uncle, cousin and friend.
After high school Leonard played professional baseball in the New York Yankees farm system, until serving in the United States Army during the Korean Conflict. He received his bachelor's degree from St. Louis University in 1958, and retired as an accountant after 30 years with Monsanto. He was an avid lifelong fan of the New York Yankees and St. Louis Cardinals. He also helped establish the original Metro Collegiate Baseball League in the 1980’s. In 1994, he was inducted into the St. Louis Amateur Baseball Hall of Fame.
Services: Funeral Mass at Christ, Prince of Peace Catholic Church, Manchester, Monday, December 14, 2020, 11:00 a.m. Interment Holy Cross Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Catholic Charities. Visitation at the church, Monday, 10-11 a.m. A service of the SCHRADER Funeral Home and Crematory. Friends may sign the family's on-line guestbook at Schrader.com.
Ed comment:
Wiesner spent a lot of time being injured during his days with the Independence Yankees in 1949 and Joplin Miners in 1950. In spite of that he was a very good hitter and loved remembering those days playing with Bob Wiesler, Mickey Mantle, Steve Kraly and Lou Skizas. Over the last few years, at this time, he would make his annual Christmas call to KOM league headquarters and ask “How many of us are still left?” Sadly, each year the number decreased and this year he missed his call by a couple of weeks.
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Thank You John!!!
Thank You for all the KOM memories. I can’t imagine anyone doing more research than what you have done on anything It makes me wonder how many books all your reports would fill…..
Ed reply:
Books are easy to write. Selling them is the tough task. With my Flash Repots they would easily produce a half dozen good size books a year. The books may be good size but they wouldn’t be good sellers.
The stuff that might sell are the true stories that I know bur won’t reveal. Most of the old ball players who told them to me are now deceased but they have survivors who wouldn’t benefit one iota from them being printed. Bruce Orser in New York
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The Cherokee Kid returns
For those who subscribed to the paper newsletter that went all over everywhere and back for over a decade, the name of Billy Jack Cornsilk was very much in prominence. He came into this world in 1933 at Stilwell, Oklahoma and nineteen years later he was pitching for Boyd Bartley’s Ponca City Dodgers.
Cornsilk reunited with many of his former Ponca City teammates at the huge KOM league reunion, at Carthage, Mo. in 1998. That was the last time I ever saw him but he stayed in touch until recent years. For about a half-dozen years nothing was heard from him until the day after Christmas. When the telephone ran on that day I had a feeling a former ballplayer was calling even though I was addressed by a different first name. When that got sorted out Cornsilk said that he had recently moved to be near his son in the Sacramento area. That came about after he lost his wife.
When going through his “most treasured” belongings (I kid) he found a copy of the KOM League Remembered newsletter from a different century. He looked for a telephone number of the editor of that paper and fortunately he found that the person responsible for printing it hadn’t had a change of numbers. A very nice conversation ensued and now Cornsilk is on the distribution list of these reports as well as all the previous ones he can handle. He also asked for an update on the status of his former teammates and that has already been shared. He is well down memory lane, by now, as he goes over the names of those who still share this planet with him as well as most of his former teammates who don’t.
One of the most memorable stories of Cornsilk is when the paper newsletters were sent. Somehow, Furman Bisher, the legendary sports writer for the Atlanta Constitution-Journal, used Cornsilk’s name at the close of an article. That reference was noticed by a reader in the Atlanta area who was shocked to see Cornsilk mentioned. Immediately, he placed a call to Bisher and asked how he knew of Cornsilk. Bisher admitted he had only seen that name by reading a newsletter published by someone in Missouri. The caller, Ron Minnich, wanted to know if there was any way that person could be contacted and Bisher called Yours truly to see if it was okay to release the contact information. Of course, I was thrilled, for at that juncture the search was for former players was in high gear. So, Billy Cornsilk has been a valuable asset in keeping the KOM league memory alive and it is great he will be reading these reports once again.
For anyone wishing to know the stops on the baseball journey of Cornsilk this link provides it: digital.la84.org/digital/collection/p17103coll3/id/44591/...
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This is a two-prong report—this last for 2020 and the first for 2021 as the KOM League enters its 75th year of being in the hearts and minds of a few people.
German postcard by Kolibri-Verlag, Minden/Westf.no. 2892. Photo: MGM. Publicity still for Friendly Persuasion (William Wyler, 1956).
American screen legend Gary Cooper (1901-1961) is well remembered for his stoic, understated acting style in more than one hundred Westerns, comedies and dramas. He received five Oscar nominations and won twice for his roles as Alvin York in Sergeant York (1941) and as Will Kane in High Noon (1952).
Frank James Cooper was born in Helena, Montana in 1901. His parents were English immigrants, Alice Cooper-Brazier and Charles Henry Cooper, a prominent lawyer, rancher, and eventually a state supreme court judge. Frank left school in 1918 and returned to the family ranch to help raise their five hundred head of cattle and work full-time as a cowboy. In 1919, his father arranged for his son to complete his high school education at Gallatin County High School in Bozeman, Montana. His English teacher, Ida W. Davis, played an important role in encouraging him to focus on academics, join the school's debating team, and become involved in dramatics. He was in a car accident as a teenager that caused him to walk with a limp the rest of his life. In the fall of 1924, Cooper's parents moved to Los Angeles to administer the estates of two relatives. Cooper joined them and there he met some cowboys from Montana who were working as film extras and stuntmen in low-budget Western films. Cooper decided to try his hand working as a film extra for five dollars a day, and as a stuntman for twice that amount. In early 1925, Cooper began his film career working as an extra and stuntman on Poverty Row in such silent Westerns as Riders of the Purple Sage (Lynn Reynolds, 1925) with Tom Mix, and The Trail Rider (W.S. Van Dyke, 1925) with Buck Jones. Cooper paid for a screen test and hired casting director Nan Collins to work as his agent. Collins changed his first name to ‘Gary’ after her hometown of Gary, Indiana. Cooper also worked in non-Western films. He appeared as a masked Cossack in The Eagle (Clarence Brown, 1925) with Rudolph Valentino, as a Roman guard in Ben-Hur (Fred Niblo, 1925) with Ramón Novarro, and as a flood survivor in The Johnstown Flood (Irving Cummings, 1926) with George O'Brien. Gradually he began to land credited roles that offered him more screen time, such as Tricks (Bruce M. Mitchell, 1925), in which he played the film's antagonist. As a featured player, he began to attract the attention of major film studios and in June 1926, Cooper signed a contract with Samuel Goldwyn Productions. His first important film role was in The Winning of Barbara Worth (Henry King, 1926) with Ronald Colman and Vilma Bánky. The film was a major success, and critics called Cooper a "dynamic new personality" and future star. Cooper signed a five-year contract with Jesse L. Lasky at Paramount Pictures for $175 per week. In 1927, with help from established silent film star Clara Bow, Cooper landed high-profile roles opposite her in Children of Divorce (Frank Lloyd, 1927) and Wings (William A. Wellman, 1927), the first film to win an Academy Award for Best Picture. With each new film, Cooper's acting skills improved and his popularity continued to grow, especially among female movie-goers. He received a thousand fan letters per week. The studio placed him opposite popular leading ladies in films such as Beau Sabreur (John Waters, 1928) with Evelyn Brent, Half a Bride (Gregory La Cava, 1928) with Esther Ralston, and Lilac Time (George Fitzmaurice, 1928) with Colleen Moore. The latter introduced synchronized music and sound effects, and became one of the biggest box office hits of the year.
In 1929, Gary Cooper became a major film star with his first sound picture, The Virginian, (Victor Fleming, 1929). The Virginian was one of the first sound films to define the Western code of honour and helped establish many of the conventions of the Western genre. The romantic image of the tall, handsome, and shy cowboy hero that embodied male freedom, courage, and honour was created in large part by Cooper's performance in the film. Cooper transitioned naturally to the sound medium, with his deep, clear, and pleasantly drawling voice. One of the high points of Cooper's early career was his portrayal of a sullen legionnaire in Josef von Sternberg's Morocco (1930) with Marlene Dietrich in her American debut. Cooper produced one of his finest performances to that point in his career. In the Dashiell Hammett crime drama City Streets (Rouben Mamoulian, 1931) he played a misplaced cowboy in a big city who gets involved with gangsters to save the woman (Sylvia Sidney) he loves. After making ten films in two years Cooper was exhausted and had lost thirty pounds. In May 1931, he sailed to Algiers and then Italy, where he lived for the next year. During his time abroad, Cooper stayed with the Countess Dorothy di Frasso who taught him about good food and vintage wines, how to read Italian and French menus in the finest restaurants, and how to socialize among Europe's nobility and upper classes. In 1932, a healthy Cooper returned to Hollywood and negotiated a new contract with Paramount for two films per year, a salary of $4,000 per week, and director and script approval. He appeared opposite Helen Hayes in A Farewell to Arms (Frank Borzage, 1932), the first film adaptation of an Ernest Hemingway novel. Critics praised his highly intense and at times emotional performance, and the film went on to become one of the year's most commercially successful films. The following year, Cooper appeared in the Ernst Lubitsch comedy Design for Living (1933) with Miriam Hopkins and Fredric March, and based loosely on the successful Noël Coward play. Wikipedia: “The film received mixed reviews and did not do well at the box office, but Cooper's performance was singled out for its versatility and revealed his genuine ability to do light comedy”. Then, he appeared in his first of seven films by director Henry Hathaway, Now and Forever (1934), with Carole Lombard and Shirley Temple. The film was a box-office success. His next two Henry Hathaway films were the melodrama Peter Ibbetson (1935) with Ann Harding, about a man caught up in a dream world created by his love for a childhood sweetheart, and the romantic adventure The Lives of a Bengal Lancer (1935), about a daring British officer and his men who defend their stronghold at Bengal against rebellious local tribes. The latter was nominated for six Academy Awards and became one of Cooper's most popular and successful adventure films.
Gary Cooper returned to Poverty Row for the first time since his early silent film days to make Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (Frank Capra, 1936) with Jean Arthur for Columbia Pictures. Cooper plays the character of Longfellow Deeds, an innocent, sweet-natured writer of greeting cards who inherits a fortune, leaves behind his idyllic life in Vermont, and travels to New York where he faces a world of corruption and deceit. For his performance in Mr. Deeds, Cooper received his first Oscar nomination. In the adventure film The General Died at Dawn (Lewis Milestone, 1936) with Madeleine Carroll, he plays an American soldier of fortune in China who helps the peasants defend themselves against the oppression of a cruel warlord. Written by playwright Clifford Odets, the film was a critical and commercial success. In Cecil B. DeMille's sprawling frontier epic The Plainsman (1936) with Jean Arthur—his first of four films with the director—Cooper portrays Wild Bill Hickok in a highly-fictionalized version of the opening of the American western frontier. That year, Cooper appeared for the first time on the Motion Picture Herald exhibitor's poll of top ten film personalities, where he would remain for the next twenty-two years. In Ernst Lubitsch's romantic comedy Bluebeard's Eighth Wife (1938) with Claudette Colbert, Cooper plays a wealthy American businessman in France who falls in love with an impoverished aristocrat's daughter and persuades her to become his eighth wife. In the adventure film Beau Geste (William A. Wellman, 1939) with Ray Milland, he joined the French Foreign Legion to find adventure in the Sahara fighting local tribes. Wikipedia: “Beau Geste provided Cooper with magnificent sets, exotic settings, high-spirited action, and a role tailored to his personality and screen persona.” Cooper cemented his cowboy credentials in The Westerner (William Wyler, 1940). He won his first Academy Award for Best Actor in 1942 for his performance as Alvin York, the most decorated U.S. soldier from the Great War, in Sergeant York (Howard Hawks, 1941). Cooper worked with Ingrid Bergman in For Whom the Bell Tolls (Sam Wood, 1943) which earned him his third Oscar nomination. The film was based on a novel by Ernest Hemingway, with whom Cooper developed a strong friendship. On 23 October 1947, he appeared before the House Un-American Activities Committee in Washington, not under subpoena but responding to an invitation to give testimony on the alleged infiltration of Hollywood by communists. Although he never said he regretted having been a friendly witness, as an independent producer, he hired blacklisted actors and technicians. He did say he had never wanted to see anyone lose the right to work, regardless of what he had done. Cooper won his second Oscar for his performance as Marshal Will Kane in High Noon (Fred Zinnemann, 1952), one of his finest roles and a kind of come-back after a series of flops. He continued to play the lead in films almost to the end of his life. His later box office hits included the influential Western Vera Cruz (Robert Aldrich, 1954) in which he guns down villain Burt Lancaster in a showdown, William Wyler's Friendly Persuasion (1956), in which he portrays a Quaker farmer during the American Civil War, Billy Wilder's Love in the Afternoon (1957) with Audrey Hepburn, and the hard-edged action Western Man of the West (Anthony Mann, 1958), with Lee J. Cobb. Cooper's final film was the British-American co-production The Naked Edge (Michael Anderson, 1961). In April 1960, Cooper underwent surgery for prostate cancer after it had metastasized to his colon. But by the end of the year the cancer had spread to his lungs and bones. On 13 May 1961, six days after his sixtieth birthday, Gary Cooper died. The young and handsome Cooper had affairs with Clara Bow, Lupe Velez, Marlene Dietrich and Tallulah Bankhead. In 1933, he married socialite Veronica Balfe, who, billed as Sandra Shaw, enjoyed a short-lived acting career. They had an ‘open’ marriage and Cooper also had relationships with the actresses Grace Kelly, Anita Ekberg, and Patricia Neal. Sir Cecil Beaton also claimed to have had an affair with him.
Sources: Wikipedia and IMDb.
Vintage postcard, no. 662.
American singer-songwriter Chubby Checker (1941) popularised the dance style Twist, with his 1960 hit cover of Hank Ballard's R&B hit 'The Twist'. In September 2008, 'The Twist' topped Billboard's list of the most popular singles to have appeared in the Hot 100 since its debut in 1958.
Chubby Checker was born in 1941, in Andrews of Spring Gulley, South Carolina, as Ernest Evans. From an early age, he learned to play the piano, played the drums and imitated several singers. At South Philadelphia High School where Frankie Avalon also attended, he made up dances for school performances with his school friend Fabian Forte. Initially, Ernest worked at a poulterer's, where the owner (Henry Colt) took every opportunity to demonstrate Ernest's singing skills. After appearing on a Christmas gift record in late 1958, imitating various stars (Fats Domino, the Coasters, Elvis Presley, Cozy Cole and The Chipmunks), he was offered a contract with Cameo-Parkway in early 1959, where the record 'The Class' was immediately released on single. He got his stage name from his childhood nickname, "Chubby," and his Fats Domino imitations, which gave rise to the pun and alliteration Chubby Checker (checkers is as well as domino a game). Hank Ballard and the Midnighters recorded the original version of 'The Twist' as the B-side of 'Teardrops on your Letter' in 1958. This record was accompanied by a dance to liven up their performance at The Peacock Club in Atlanta. Although the song seemed to appeal to the audience, several attempts to do something with it came to nothing. When Chubby sang the song in June 1959, Cameo-Parkway rated it a B-side. Through Checker's persistence, he not only lost 15 kilos by performing a lot, but 'The Twist' eventually became a number 1 hit in 1960, and the record stayed listed for over 16 weeks. It sparked a dance craze that swept the nation. The song gave Checker his breakthrough and his title as the uncrowned King of Twist. In 1961, 'The Twist' rose to number one for a second time and stayed there for 18 weeks. The song has since been covered by numerous artists.
Chubby Checker's success with 'The Twist' was followed by numerous variations on the twist and similar dances. When Don Covay and John Berry released 'Pony Time' with The Goodtimers in 1960 and achieved some local success with it, it was almost immediately covered by Chubby Checker. Checker's version rose to number 1 and stayed listed for 16 weeks in 1961. Checker went on to have other hits, including 'Let's Twist Again' and 'Limbo Rock'. His success with 'The Twist' also led to several television appearances, including on American Bandstand with Dick Clark. He made his film debut as a performer in the musical Teenage Millionaire (Lawrence Doheny, 1961) with Rocky Graziano and Zasu Pitts. It was followed by Twist Around the Clock (Oscar Rudolph, 1961) with Dion and Don't Knock the Twist (Oscar Rudolph, 1962) with Mari Blanchard. After 1963, the dance hype was a bit over and Checker concentrated on Europe, which was a bit behind the US in terms of music. There he performed in the Austrian film Die ganze Welt ist himmelblau/The whole world is sky blue (Franz Antel, 1964) with Johanna Matz and Peter Weck and the British film The Comedy Man (Alvin Rakoff, 1964) with Kenneth More and Dennis Price. At the German Bierfeste, he met Dutch Catharina 'Rina' Lodders, the 1962 Miss World. En passant, following Elvis Presley with 'Muss I denn' (Wooden heart), he recorded the German children's folk song 'Good old Schwäbische Eisenbahn', better known as 'Troola, troola, troola la'. The b-side is 'Autobahn Baby'. He married Lodders in 1964 and from the marriage three children were born; the family lived in a Philadelphia suburb. Together with the Dutch pop group ZZ en de Maskers, he recorded the 1965 hits 'Baby Baby Balla Balla' and 'Stopping in Las Vegas', which ZZ and the Masks previously recorded as 'Sloppin' in Las Vegas'. He continued to perform and record throughout the 1960s and beyond. In 1970, Checker and three others were arrested near Niagara Falls when drugs were found in their car. In 1983, his illegitimate daughter Mistie Williams was born. She later made it to professional basketball player with the Houston Comets in the Women's National Basketball Association. In 1986 Chubby was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and in 1988, 'The Twist' became a hit for the third time, this time with the Fat Boys. The song reached 16th place in the charts. He incidentally appeared on the screen as himself in such films as Purple People Eater (Linda Shayne, 1988) with Ned Beatty and Calendar Girl (John Whitesell, 1993) with Jason Priestley. In 2000, he started a wholesale snack business called The Last Twist, Inc. and Chubby Checker Snacks. He also introduced the Checkerlicious Express, a driving snack roadshow with Checker himself at the wheel. In 2007, 'Knock Down The Walls' became a hit in the US. Today, Chubby Checker is still performing and is regarded as a rock and roll pioneer and a cultural icon of the 1960s.
Source: Wikipedia (Dutch and English) and IMDb.
And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 3999/1, 1928-1929. Photo: Paramount.
American screen legend Gary Cooper (1901-1961) is well remembered for his stoic, understated acting style in more than one hundred Westerns, comedies and dramas. He received five Oscar nominations and won twice for his roles as Alvin York in Sergeant York (1941) and as Will Kane in High Noon (1952).
Frank James Cooper was born in Helena, Montana in 1901. His parents were English immigrants, Alice Cooper-Brazier and Charles Henry Cooper, a prominent lawyer, rancher, and eventually a state supreme court judge. Frank left school in 1918 and returned to the family ranch to help raise their five hundred head of cattle and work full-time as a cowboy. In 1919, his father arranged for his son to complete his high school education at Gallatin County High School in Bozeman, Montana. His English teacher, Ida W. Davis, played an important role in encouraging him to focus on academics, join the school's debating team, and become involved in dramatics. He was in a car accident as a teenager that caused him to walk with a limp the rest of his life. In the fall of 1924, Cooper's parents moved to Los Angeles to administer the estates of two relatives. Cooper joined them and there he met some cowboys from Montana who were working as film extras and stuntmen in low-budget Western films. Cooper decided to try his hand working as a film extra for five dollars a day, and as a stuntman for twice that amount. In early 1925, Cooper began his film career working as an extra and stuntman on Poverty Row in such silent Westerns as Riders of the Purple Sage (Lynn Reynolds, 1925) with Tom Mix, and The Trail Rider (W.S. Van Dyke, 1925) with Buck Jones. Cooper paid for a screen test and hired casting director Nan Collins to work as his agent. Collins changed his first name to ‘Gary’ after her hometown of Gary, Indiana. Cooper also worked in non-Western films. He appeared as a masked Cossack in The Eagle (Clarence Brown, 1925) with Rudolph Valentino, as a Roman guard in Ben-Hur (Fred Niblo, 1925) with Ramón Novarro, and as a flood survivor in The Johnstown Flood (Irving Cummings, 1926) with George O'Brien. Gradually he began to land credited roles that offered him more screen time, such as Tricks (Bruce M. Mitchell, 1925), in which he played the film's antagonist. As a featured player, he began to attract the attention of major film studios and in June 1926, Cooper signed a contract with Samuel Goldwyn Productions. His first important film role was in The Winning of Barbara Worth (Henry King, 1926) with Ronald Colman and Vilma Bánky. The film was a major success, and critics called Cooper a "dynamic new personality" and future star. Cooper signed a five-year contract with Jesse L. Lasky at Paramount Pictures for $175 per week. In 1927, with help from established silent film star Clara Bow, Cooper landed high-profile roles opposite her in Children of Divorce (Frank Lloyd, 1927) and Wings (William A. Wellman, 1927), the first film to win an Academy Award for Best Picture. With each new film, Cooper's acting skills improved and his popularity continued to grow, especially among female movie-goers. He received a thousand fan letters per week. The studio placed him opposite popular leading ladies in films such as Beau Sabreur (John Waters, 1928) with Evelyn Brent, Half a Bride (Gregory La Cava, 1928) with Esther Ralston, and Lilac Time (George Fitzmaurice, 1928) with Colleen Moore. The latter introduced synchronized music and sound effects, and became one of the biggest box office hits of the year.
In 1929, Gary Cooper became a major film star with his first sound picture, The Virginian, (Victor Fleming, 1929). The Virginian was one of the first sound films to define the Western code of honour and helped establish many of the conventions of the Western genre. The romantic image of the tall, handsome, and shy cowboy hero that embodied male freedom, courage, and honour was created in large part by Cooper's performance in the film. Cooper transitioned naturally to the sound medium, with his deep, clear, and pleasantly drawling voice. One of the high points of Cooper's early career was his portrayal of a sullen legionnaire in Josef von Sternberg's Morocco (1930) with Marlene Dietrich in her American debut. Cooper produced one of his finest performances to that point in his career. In the Dashiell Hammett crime drama City Streets (Rouben Mamoulian, 1931) he played a misplaced cowboy in a big city who gets involved with gangsters to save the woman (Sylvia Sidney) he loves. After making ten films in two years Cooper was exhausted and had lost thirty pounds. In May 1931, he sailed to Algiers and then Italy, where he lived for the next year. During his time abroad, Cooper stayed with the Countess Dorothy di Frasso who taught him about good food and vintage wines, how to read Italian and French menus in the finest restaurants, and how to socialize among Europe's nobility and upper classes. In 1932, a healthy Cooper returned to Hollywood and negotiated a new contract with Paramount for two films per year, a salary of $4,000 per week, and director and script approval. He appeared opposite Helen Hayes in A Farewell to Arms (Frank Borzage, 1932), the first film adaptation of an Ernest Hemingway novel. Critics praised his highly intense and at times emotional performance, and the film went on to become one of the year's most commercially successful films. The following year, Cooper appeared in the Ernst Lubitsch comedy Design for Living (1933) with Miriam Hopkins and Fredric March, and based loosely on the successful Noël Coward play. Wikipedia: “The film received mixed reviews and did not do well at the box office, but Cooper's performance was singled out for its versatility and revealed his genuine ability to do light comedy”. Then, he appeared in his first of seven films by director Henry Hathaway, Now and Forever (1934), with Carole Lombard and Shirley Temple. The film was a box-office success. His next two Henry Hathaway films were the melodrama Peter Ibbetson (1935) with Ann Harding, about a man caught up in a dream world created by his love for a childhood sweetheart, and the romantic adventure The Lives of a Bengal Lancer (1935), about a daring British officer and his men who defend their stronghold at Bengal against rebellious local tribes. The latter was nominated for six Academy Awards and became one of Cooper's most popular and successful adventure films.
Gary Cooper returned to Poverty Row for the first time since his early silent film days to make Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (Frank Capra, 1936) with Jean Arthur for Columbia Pictures. Cooper plays the character of Longfellow Deeds, an innocent, sweet-natured writer of greeting cards who inherits a fortune, leaves behind his idyllic life in Vermont, and travels to New York where he faces a world of corruption and deceit. For his performance in Mr. Deeds, Cooper received his first Oscar nomination. In the adventure film The General Died at Dawn (Lewis Milestone, 1936) with Madeleine Carroll, he plays an American soldier of fortune in China who helps the peasants defend themselves against the oppression of a cruel warlord. Written by playwright Clifford Odets, the film was a critical and commercial success. In Cecil B. DeMille's sprawling frontier epic The Plainsman (1936) with Jean Arthur—his first of four films with the director—Cooper portrays Wild Bill Hickok in a highly-fictionalized version of the opening of the American western frontier. That year, Cooper appeared for the first time on the Motion Picture Herald exhibitor's poll of top ten film personalities, where he would remain for the next twenty-two years. In Ernst Lubitsch's romantic comedy Bluebeard's Eighth Wife (1938) with Claudette Colbert, Cooper plays a wealthy American businessman in France who falls in love with an impoverished aristocrat's daughter and persuades her to become his eighth wife. In the adventure film Beau Geste (William A. Wellman, 1939) with Ray Milland, he joined the French Foreign Legion to find adventure in the Sahara fighting local tribes. Wikipedia: “Beau Geste provided Cooper with magnificent sets, exotic settings, high-spirited action, and a role tailored to his personality and screen persona.”
Cooper cemented his cowboy credentials in The Westerner (William Wyler, 1940). He won his first Academy Award for Best Actor in 1942 for his performance as Alvin York, the most decorated U.S. soldier from the Great War, in Sergeant York (Howard Hawks, 1941). Cooper worked with Ingrid Bergman in For Whom the Bell Tolls (Sam Wood, 1943) which earned him his third Oscar nomination. The film was based on a novel by Ernest Hemingway, with whom Cooper developed a strong friendship. On 23 October 1947, he appeared before the House Un-American Activities Committee in Washington, not under subpoena but responding to an invitation to give testimony on the alleged infiltration of Hollywood by communists. Although he never said he regretted having been a friendly witness, as an independent producer, he hired blacklisted actors and technicians. He did say he had never wanted to see anyone lose the right to work, regardless of what he had done. Cooper won his second Oscar for his performance as Marshal Will Kane in High Noon (Fred Zinnemann, 1952), one of his finest roles and a kind of come-back after a series of flops. He continued to play the lead in films almost to the end of his life. His later box office hits included the influential Western Vera Cruz (Robert Aldrich, 1954) in which he guns down villain Burt Lancaster in a showdown, William Wyler's Friendly Persuasion (1956), in which he portrays a Quaker farmer during the American Civil War, Billy Wilder's Love in the Afternoon (1957) with Audrey Hepburn, and the hard-edged action Western Man of the West (Anthony Mann, 1958), with Lee J. Cobb. Cooper's final film was the British-American co-production The Naked Edge (Michael Anderson, 1961). In April 1960, Cooper underwent surgery for prostate cancer after it had metastasized to his colon. But by the end of the year the cancer had spread to his lungs and bones. On 13 May 1961, six days after his sixtieth birthday, Gary Cooper died. The young and handsome Cooper had affairs with Clara Bow, Lupe Velez, Marlene Dietrich and Tallulah Bankhead. In 1933, he married socialite Veronica Balfe, who, billed as Sandra Shaw, enjoyed a short-lived acting career. They had an ‘open’ marriage and Cooper also had relationships with the actresses Grace Kelly, Anita Ekberg, and Patricia Neal. Sir Cecil Beaton also claimed to have had an affair with him.
Sources: Wikipedia and IMDb.
German postcard by Ross Verlag in the Luxus series, no. 592. Photo: Paramount.
American screen legend Gary Cooper (1901-1961) is well remembered for his stoic, understated acting style in more than one hundred Westerns, comedies and dramas. He received five Oscar nominations and won twice for his roles as Alvin York in Sergeant York (1941) and as Will Kane in High Noon (1952).
Frank James Cooper was born in Helena, Montana in 1901. His parents were English immigrants, Alice Cooper-Brazier and Charles Henry Cooper, a prominent lawyer, rancher, and eventually a state supreme court judge. Frank left school in 1918 and returned to the family ranch to help raise their five hundred head of cattle and work full-time as a cowboy. In 1919, his father arranged for his son to complete his high school education at Gallatin County High School in Bozeman, Montana. His English teacher, Ida W. Davis, played an important role in encouraging him to focus on academics, join the school's debating team, and become involved in dramatics. He was in a car accident as a teenager that caused him to walk with a limp for the rest of his life. In the fall of 1924, Cooper's parents moved to Los Angeles to administer the estates of two relatives. Cooper joined them and there he met some cowboys from Montana who were working as film extras and stuntmen in low-budget Western films. Cooper decided to try his hand working as a film extra for five dollars a day, and as a stuntman for twice that amount. In early 1925, Cooper began his film career working as an extra and stuntman on Poverty Row in such silent Westerns as Riders of the Purple Sage (Lynn Reynolds, 1925) with Tom Mix, and The Trail Rider (W.S. Van Dyke, 1925) with Buck Jones. Cooper paid for a screen test and hired casting director Nan Collins to work as his agent. Collins changed his first name to ‘Gary’ after her hometown of Gary, Indiana. Cooper also worked in non-Western films. He appeared as a masked Cossack in The Eagle (Clarence Brown, 1925) with Rudolph Valentino, as a Roman guard in Ben-Hur (Fred Niblo, 1925) with Ramón Novarro, and as a flood survivor in The Johnstown Flood (Irving Cummings, 1926) with George O'Brien. Gradually he began to land credited roles that offered him more screen time, such as Tricks (Bruce M. Mitchell, 1925), in which he played the film's antagonist. As a featured player, he began to attract the attention of major film studios and in June 1926, Cooper signed a contract with Samuel Goldwyn Productions. His first important film role was in The Winning of Barbara Worth (Henry King, 1926) with Ronald Colman and Vilma Bánky. The film was a major success, and critics called Cooper a "dynamic new personality" and future star. Cooper signed a five-year contract with Jesse L. Lasky at Paramount Pictures for $175 per week. In 1927, with help from established silent film star Clara Bow, Cooper landed high-profile roles opposite her in Children of Divorce (Frank Lloyd, 1927) and Wings (William A. Wellman, 1927), the first film to win an Academy Award for Best Picture. With each new film, Cooper's acting skills improved and his popularity continued to grow, especially among female movie-goers. He received a thousand fan letters per week. The studio placed him opposite popular leading ladies in films such as Beau Sabreur (John Waters, 1928) with Evelyn Brent, Half a Bride (Gregory La Cava, 1928) with Esther Ralston, and Lilac Time (George Fitzmaurice, 1928) with Colleen Moore. The latter introduced synchronized music and sound effects and became one of the biggest box office hits of the year.
In 1929, Gary Cooper became a major film star with his first sound picture, The Virginian, (Victor Fleming, 1929). The Virginian was one of the first sound films to define the Western code of honour and helped establish many of the conventions of the Western genre. The romantic image of the tall, handsome, and shy cowboy hero that embodied male freedom, courage, and honour was created in large part by Cooper's performance in the film. Cooper transitioned naturally to the sound medium, with his deep, clear, and pleasantly drawling voice. One of the high points of Cooper's early career was his portrayal of a sullen legionnaire in Josef von Sternberg's Morocco (1930) with Marlene Dietrich in her American debut. Cooper produced one of his finest performances to that point in his career. In the Dashiell Hammett crime drama City Streets (Rouben Mamoulian, 1931) he played a misplaced cowboy in a big city who gets involved with gangsters to save the woman (Sylvia Sidney) he loves. After making ten films in two years Cooper was exhausted and had lost thirty pounds. In May 1931, he sailed to Algiers and then Italy, where he lived for the next year. During his time abroad, Cooper stayed with the Countess Dorothy di Frasso who taught him about good food and vintage wines, how to read Italian and French menus in the finest restaurants, and how to socialize among Europe's nobility and upper classes. In 1932, a healthy Cooper returned to Hollywood and negotiated a new contract with Paramount for two films per year, a salary of $4,000 per week, and director and script approval. He appeared opposite Helen Hayes in A Farewell to Arms (Frank Borzage, 1932), the first film adaptation of an Ernest Hemingway novel. Critics praised his highly intense and at times emotional performance, and the film went on to become one of the year's most commercially successful films. The following year, Cooper appeared in the Ernst Lubitsch comedy Design for Living (1933) with Miriam Hopkins and Fredric March and based loosely on the successful Noël Coward play. Wikipedia: “The film received mixed reviews and did not do well at the box office, but Cooper's performance was singled out for its versatility and revealed his genuine ability to do light comedy”. Then, he appeared in his first of seven films by director Henry Hathaway, Now and Forever (1934), with Carole Lombard and Shirley Temple. The film was a box-office success. His next two Henry Hathaway films were the melodrama Peter Ibbetson (1935) with Ann Harding, about a man caught up in a dream world created by his love for a childhood sweetheart, and the romantic adventure The Lives of a Bengal Lancer (1935), about a daring British officer and his men who defend their stronghold at Bengal against rebellious local tribes. The latter was nominated for six Academy Awards and became one of Cooper's most popular and successful adventure films.
Gary Cooper returned to Poverty Row for the first time since his early silent film days to make Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (Frank Capra, 1936) with Jean Arthur for Columbia Pictures. Cooper plays the character of Longfellow Deeds, an innocent, sweet-natured writer of greeting cards who inherits a fortune, leaves behind his idyllic life in Vermont and travels to New York where he faces a world of corruption and deceit. For his performance in Mr. Deeds, Cooper received his first Oscar nomination. In the adventure film The General Died at Dawn (Lewis Milestone, 1936) with Madeleine Carroll, he plays an American soldier of fortune in China who helps the peasants defend themselves against the oppression of a cruel warlord. Written by playwright Clifford Odets, the film was a critical and commercial success. In Cecil B. DeMille's sprawling frontier epic The Plainsman (1936) with Jean Arthur—his first of four films with the director—Cooper portrays Wild Bill Hickok in a highly-fictionalized version of the opening of the American western frontier. That year, Cooper appeared for the first time on the Motion Picture Herald exhibitor's poll of top ten film personalities, where he would remain for the next twenty-two years. In Ernst Lubitsch's romantic comedy Bluebeard's Eighth Wife (1938) with Claudette Colbert, Cooper plays a wealthy American businessman in France who falls in love with an impoverished aristocrat's daughter and persuades her to become his eighth wife. In the adventure film Beau Geste (William A. Wellman, 1939) with Ray Milland, he joined the French Foreign Legion to find adventure in the Sahara fighting local tribes. Wikipedia: “Beau Geste provided Cooper with magnificent sets, exotic settings, high-spirited action, and a role tailored to his personality and screen persona.” Cooper cemented his cowboy credentials in The Westerner (William Wyler, 1940). He won his first Academy Award for Best Actor in 1942 for his performance as Alvin York, the most decorated U.S. soldier from the Great War, in Sergeant York (Howard Hawks, 1941). Cooper worked with Ingrid Bergman in For Whom the Bell Tolls (Sam Wood, 1943) which earned him his third Oscar nomination. The film was based on a novel by Ernest Hemingway, with whom Cooper developed a strong friendship. On 23 October 1947, he appeared before the House Un-American Activities Committee in Washington, not under subpoena but responding to an invitation to give testimony on the alleged infiltration of Hollywood by communists. Although he never said he regretted having been a friendly witness, as an independent producer, he hired blacklisted actors and technicians. He did say he had never wanted to see anyone lose the right to work, regardless of what he had done. Cooper won his second Oscar for his performance as Marshal Will Kane in High Noon (Fred Zinnemann, 1952), one of his finest roles and a kind of come-back after a series of flops. He continued to play the lead in films almost to the end of his life. His later box office hits included the influential Western Vera Cruz (Robert Aldrich, 1954) in which he guns down villain Burt Lancaster in a showdown, William Wyler's Friendly Persuasion (1956), in which he portrays a Quaker farmer during the American Civil War, Billy Wilder's Love in the Afternoon (1957) with Audrey Hepburn, and the hard-edged action Western Man of the West (Anthony Mann, 1958), with Lee J. Cobb. Cooper's final film was the British-American co-production The Naked Edge (Michael Anderson, 1961). In April 1960, Cooper underwent surgery for prostate cancer after it had metastasized to his colon. But by the end of the year cancer had spread to his lungs and bones. On 13 May 1961, six days after his sixtieth birthday, Gary Cooper died. The young and handsome Cooper had affairs with Clara Bow, Lupe Velez, Marlene Dietrich and Tallulah Bankhead. In 1933, he married socialite Veronica Balfe, who, billed as Sandra Shaw, enjoyed a short-lived acting career. They had an ‘open’ marriage and Cooper also had relationships with the actresses Grace Kelly, Anita Ekberg, and Patricia Neal. Sir Cecil Beaton also claimed to have had an affair with him.
Sources: Wikipedia and IMDb.
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British cigarette card in the Third Film Stars series by John Player & Sons, no. 8. Photo: United Artists.
American screen legend Gary Cooper (1901-1961) is well remembered for his stoic, understated acting style in more than one hundred Westerns, comedies and dramas. He received five Oscar nominations and won twice for his roles as Alvin York in Sergeant York (1941) and as Will Kane in High Noon (1952).
Frank James Cooper was born in Helena, Montana in 1901. His parents were English immigrants, Alice Cooper-Brazier and Charles Henry Cooper, a prominent lawyer, rancher, and eventually a state supreme court judge. Frank left school in 1918 and returned to the family ranch to help raise their five hundred head of cattle and work full-time as a cowboy. In 1919, his father arranged for his son to complete his high school education at Gallatin County High School in Bozeman, Montana. His English teacher, Ida W. Davis, played an important role in encouraging him to focus on academics, join the school's debating team, and become involved in dramatics. He was in a car accident as a teenager that caused him to walk with a limp the rest of his life. In the fall of 1924, Cooper's parents moved to Los Angeles to administer the estates of two relatives. Cooper joined them and there he met some cowboys from Montana who were working as film extras and stuntmen in low-budget Western films. Cooper decided to try his hand working as a film extra for five dollars a day, and as a stuntman for twice that amount. In early 1925, Cooper began his film career working as an extra and stuntman on Poverty Row in such silent Westerns as Riders of the Purple Sage (Lynn Reynolds, 1925) with Tom Mix, and The Trail Rider (W.S. Van Dyke, 1925) with Buck Jones. Cooper paid for a screen test and hired casting director Nan Collins to work as his agent. Collins changed his first name to ‘Gary’ after her hometown of Gary, Indiana. Cooper also worked in non-Western films. He appeared as a masked Cossack in The Eagle (Clarence Brown, 1925) with Rudolph Valentino, as a Roman guard in Ben-Hur (Fred Niblo, 1925) with Ramón Novarro, and as a flood survivor in The Johnstown Flood (Irving Cummings, 1926) with George O'Brien. Gradually he began to land credited roles that offered him more screen time, such as Tricks (Bruce M. Mitchell, 1925), in which he played the film's antagonist. As a featured player, he began to attract the attention of major film studios and in June 1926, Cooper signed a contract with Samuel Goldwyn Productions. His first important film role was in The Winning of Barbara Worth (Henry King, 1926) with Ronald Colman and Vilma Bánky. The film was a major success, and critics called Cooper a "dynamic new personality" and future star. Cooper signed a five-year contract with Jesse L. Lasky at Paramount Pictures for $175 per week. In 1927, with help from established silent film star Clara Bow, Cooper landed high-profile roles opposite her in Children of Divorce (Frank Lloyd, 1927) and Wings (William A. Wellman, 1927), the first film to win an Academy Award for Best Picture. With each new film, Cooper's acting skills improved and his popularity continued to grow, especially among female movie-goers. He received a thousand fan letters per week. The studio placed him opposite popular leading ladies in films such as Beau Sabreur (John Waters, 1928) with Evelyn Brent, Half a Bride (Gregory La Cava, 1928) with Esther Ralston, and Lilac Time (George Fitzmaurice, 1928) with Colleen Moore. The latter introduced synchronized music and sound effects, and became one of the biggest box office hits of the year.
In 1929, Gary Cooper became a major film star with his first sound picture, The Virginian, (Victor Fleming, 1929). The Virginian was one of the first sound films to define the Western code of honour and helped establish many of the conventions of the Western genre. The romantic image of the tall, handsome, and shy cowboy hero that embodied male freedom, courage, and honour was created in large part by Cooper's performance in the film. Cooper transitioned naturally to the sound medium, with his deep, clear, and pleasantly drawling voice. One of the high points of Cooper's early career was his portrayal of a sullen legionnaire in Josef von Sternberg's Morocco (1930) with Marlene Dietrich in her American debut. Cooper produced one of his finest performances to that point in his career. In the Dashiell Hammett crime drama City Streets (Rouben Mamoulian, 1931) he played a misplaced cowboy in a big city who gets involved with gangsters to save the woman (Sylvia Sidney) he loves. After making ten films in two years Cooper was exhausted and had lost thirty pounds. In May 1931, he sailed to Algiers and then Italy, where he lived for the next year. During his time abroad, Cooper stayed with the Countess Dorothy di Frasso who taught him about good food and vintage wines, how to read Italian and French menus in the finest restaurants, and how to socialize among Europe's nobility and upper classes. In 1932, a healthy Cooper returned to Hollywood and negotiated a new contract with Paramount for two films per year, a salary of $4,000 per week, and director and script approval. He appeared opposite Helen Hayes in A Farewell to Arms (Frank Borzage, 1932), the first film adaptation of an Ernest Hemingway novel. Critics praised his highly intense and at times emotional performance, and the film went on to become one of the year's most commercially successful films. The following year, Cooper appeared in the Ernst Lubitsch comedy Design for Living (1933) with Miriam Hopkins and Fredric March, and based loosely on the successful Noël Coward play. Wikipedia: “The film received mixed reviews and did not do well at the box office, but Cooper's performance was singled out for its versatility and revealed his genuine ability to do light comedy”. Then, he appeared in his first of seven films by director Henry Hathaway, Now and Forever (1934), with Carole Lombard and Shirley Temple. The film was a box-office success. His next two Henry Hathaway films were the melodrama Peter Ibbetson (1935) with Ann Harding, about a man caught up in a dream world created by his love for a childhood sweetheart, and the romantic adventure The Lives of a Bengal Lancer (1935), about a daring British officer and his men who defend their stronghold at Bengal against rebellious local tribes. The latter was nominated for six Academy Awards and became one of Cooper's most popular and successful adventure films.
Gary Cooper returned to Poverty Row for the first time since his early silent film days to make Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (Frank Capra, 1936) with Jean Arthur for Columbia Pictures. Cooper plays the character of Longfellow Deeds, an innocent, sweet-natured writer of greeting cards who inherits a fortune, leaves behind his idyllic life in Vermont, and travels to New York where he faces a world of corruption and deceit. For his performance in Mr. Deeds, Cooper received his first Oscar nomination. In the adventure film The General Died at Dawn (Lewis Milestone, 1936) with Madeleine Carroll, he plays an American soldier of fortune in China who helps the peasants defend themselves against the oppression of a cruel warlord. Written by playwright Clifford Odets, the film was a critical and commercial success. In Cecil B. DeMille's sprawling frontier epic The Plainsman (1936) with Jean Arthur—his first of four films with the director—Cooper portrays Wild Bill Hickok in a highly-fictionalized version of the opening of the American western frontier. That year, Cooper appeared for the first time on the Motion Picture Herald exhibitor's poll of top ten film personalities, where he would remain for the next twenty-two years. In Ernst Lubitsch's romantic comedy Bluebeard's Eighth Wife (1938) with Claudette Colbert, Cooper plays a wealthy American businessman in France who falls in love with an impoverished aristocrat's daughter and persuades her to become his eighth wife. In the adventure film Beau Geste (William A. Wellman, 1939) with Ray Milland, he joined the French Foreign Legion to find adventure in the Sahara fighting local tribes. Wikipedia: “Beau Geste provided Cooper with magnificent sets, exotic settings, high-spirited action, and a role tailored to his personality and screen persona.” Cooper cemented his cowboy credentials in The Westerner (William Wyler, 1940). He won his first Academy Award for Best Actor in 1942 for his performance as Alvin York, the most decorated U.S. soldier from the Great War, in Sergeant York (Howard Hawks, 1941). Cooper worked with Ingrid Bergman in For Whom the Bell Tolls (Sam Wood, 1943) which earned him his third Oscar nomination. The film was based on a novel by Ernest Hemingway, with whom Cooper developed a strong friendship. On 23 October 1947, he appeared before the House Un-American Activities Committee in Washington, not under subpoena but responding to an invitation to give testimony on the alleged infiltration of Hollywood by communists. Although he never said he regretted having been a friendly witness, as an independent producer, he hired blacklisted actors and technicians. He did say he had never wanted to see anyone lose the right to work, regardless of what he had done. Cooper won his second Oscar for his performance as Marshal Will Kane in High Noon (Fred Zinnemann, 1952), one of his finest roles and a kind of come-back after a series of flops. He continued to play the lead in films almost to the end of his life. His later box office hits included the influential Western Vera Cruz (Robert Aldrich, 1954) in which he guns down villain Burt Lancaster in a showdown, William Wyler's Friendly Persuasion (1956), in which he portrays a Quaker farmer during the American Civil War, Billy Wilder's Love in the Afternoon (1957) with Audrey Hepburn, and the hard-edged action Western Man of the West (Anthony Mann, 1958), with Lee J. Cobb. Cooper's final film was the British-American co-production The Naked Edge (Michael Anderson, 1961). In April 1960, Cooper underwent surgery for prostate cancer after it had metastasized to his colon. But by the end of the year the cancer had spread to his lungs and bones. On 13 May 1961, six days after his sixtieth birthday, Gary Cooper died. The young and handsome Cooper had affairs with Clara Bow, Lupe Velez, Marlene Dietrich and Tallulah Bankhead. In 1933, he married socialite Veronica Balfe, who, billed as Sandra Shaw, enjoyed a short-lived acting career. They had an ‘open’ marriage and Cooper also had relationships with the actresses Grace Kelly, Anita Ekberg, and Patricia Neal. Sir Cecil Beaton also claimed to have had an affair with him.
Sources: Wikipedia and IMDb.
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 6209/1, 1931-1932. Photo: Paramount.
American screen legend Gary Cooper (1901-1961) is well remembered for his stoic, understated acting style in more than one hundred Westerns, comedies and dramas. He received five Oscar nominations and won twice for his roles as Alvin York in Sergeant York (1941) and as Will Kane in High Noon (1952).
Frank James Cooper was born in Helena, Montana in 1901. His parents were English immigrants, Alice Cooper-Brazier and Charles Henry Cooper, a prominent lawyer, rancher, and eventually a state supreme court judge. Frank left school in 1918 and returned to the family ranch to help raise their five hundred head of cattle and work full-time as a cowboy. In 1919, his father arranged for his son to complete his high school education at Gallatin County High School in Bozeman, Montana. His English teacher, Ida W. Davis, played an important role in encouraging him to focus on academics, join the school's debating team, and become involved in dramatics. He was in a car accident as a teenager that caused him to walk with a limp the rest of his life. In the fall of 1924, Cooper's parents moved to Los Angeles to administer the estates of two relatives. Cooper joined them and there he met some cowboys from Montana who were working as film extras and stuntmen in low-budget Western films. Cooper decided to try his hand working as a film extra for five dollars a day, and as a stuntman for twice that amount. In early 1925, Cooper began his film career working as an extra and stuntman on Poverty Row in such silent Westerns as Riders of the Purple Sage (Lynn Reynolds, 1925) with Tom Mix, and The Trail Rider (W.S. Van Dyke, 1925) with Buck Jones. Cooper paid for a screen test and hired casting director Nan Collins to work as his agent. Collins changed his first name to ‘Gary’ after her hometown of Gary, Indiana. Cooper also worked in non-Western films. He appeared as a masked Cossack in The Eagle (Clarence Brown, 1925) with Rudolph Valentino, as a Roman guard in Ben-Hur (Fred Niblo, 1925) with Ramón Novarro, and as a flood survivor in The Johnstown Flood (Irving Cummings, 1926) with George O'Brien. Gradually he began to land credited roles that offered him more screen time, such as Tricks (Bruce M. Mitchell, 1925), in which he played the film's antagonist. As a featured player, he began to attract the attention of major film studios and in June 1926, Cooper signed a contract with Samuel Goldwyn Productions. His first important film role was in The Winning of Barbara Worth (Henry King, 1926) with Ronald Colman and Vilma Bánky. The film was a major success, and critics called Cooper a "dynamic new personality" and future star. Cooper signed a five-year contract with Jesse L. Lasky at Paramount Pictures for $175 per week. In 1927, with help from established silent film star Clara Bow, Cooper landed high-profile roles opposite her in Children of Divorce (Frank Lloyd, 1927) and Wings (William A. Wellman, 1927), the first film to win an Academy Award for Best Picture. With each new film, Cooper's acting skills improved and his popularity continued to grow, especially among female movie-goers. He received a thousand fan letters per week. The studio placed him opposite popular leading ladies in films such as Beau Sabreur (John Waters, 1928) with Evelyn Brent, Half a Bride (Gregory La Cava, 1928) with Esther Ralston, and Lilac Time (George Fitzmaurice, 1928) with Colleen Moore. The latter introduced synchronized music and sound effects, and became one of the biggest box office hits of the year.
In 1929, Gary Cooper became a major film star with his first sound picture, The Virginian, (Victor Fleming, 1929). The Virginian was one of the first sound films to define the Western code of honour and helped establish many of the conventions of the Western genre. The romantic image of the tall, handsome, and shy cowboy hero that embodied male freedom, courage, and honour was created in large part by Cooper's performance in the film. Cooper transitioned naturally to the sound medium, with his deep, clear, and pleasantly drawling voice. One of the high points of Cooper's early career was his portrayal of a sullen legionnaire in Josef von Sternberg's Morocco (1930) with Marlene Dietrich in her American debut. Cooper produced one of his finest performances to that point in his career. In the Dashiell Hammett crime drama City Streets (Rouben Mamoulian, 1931) he played a misplaced cowboy in a big city who gets involved with gangsters to save the woman (Sylvia Sidney) he loves. After making ten films in two years Cooper was exhausted and had lost thirty pounds. In May 1931, he sailed to Algiers and then Italy, where he lived for the next year. During his time abroad, Cooper stayed with the Countess Dorothy di Frasso who taught him about good food and vintage wines, how to read Italian and French menus in the finest restaurants, and how to socialize among Europe's nobility and upper classes. In 1932, a healthy Cooper returned to Hollywood and negotiated a new contract with Paramount for two films per year, a salary of $4,000 per week, and director and script approval. He appeared opposite Helen Hayes in A Farewell to Arms (Frank Borzage, 1932), the first film adaptation of an Ernest Hemingway novel. Critics praised his highly intense and at times emotional performance, and the film went on to become one of the year's most commercially successful films. The following year, Cooper appeared in the Ernst Lubitsch comedy Design for Living (1933) with Miriam Hopkins and Fredric March, and based loosely on the successful Noël Coward play. Wikipedia: “The film received mixed reviews and did not do well at the box office, but Cooper's performance was singled out for its versatility and revealed his genuine ability to do light comedy”. Then, he appeared in his first of seven films by director Henry Hathaway, Now and Forever (1934), with Carole Lombard and Shirley Temple. The film was a box-office success. His next two Henry Hathaway films were the melodrama Peter Ibbetson (1935) with Ann Harding, about a man caught up in a dream world created by his love for a childhood sweetheart, and the romantic adventure The Lives of a Bengal Lancer (1935), about a daring British officer and his men who defend their stronghold at Bengal against rebellious local tribes. The latter was nominated for six Academy Awards and became one of Cooper's most popular and successful adventure films.
Gary Cooper returned to Poverty Row for the first time since his early silent film days to make Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (Frank Capra, 1936) with Jean Arthur for Columbia Pictures. Cooper plays the character of Longfellow Deeds, an innocent, sweet-natured writer of greeting cards who inherits a fortune, leaves behind his idyllic life in Vermont, and travels to New York where he faces a world of corruption and deceit. For his performance in Mr. Deeds, Cooper received his first Oscar nomination. In the adventure film The General Died at Dawn (Lewis Milestone, 1936) with Madeleine Carroll, he plays an American soldier of fortune in China who helps the peasants defend themselves against the oppression of a cruel warlord. Written by playwright Clifford Odets, the film was a critical and commercial success. In Cecil B. DeMille's sprawling frontier epic The Plainsman (1936) with Jean Arthur—his first of four films with the director—Cooper portrays Wild Bill Hickok in a highly-fictionalized version of the opening of the American western frontier. That year, Cooper appeared for the first time on the Motion Picture Herald exhibitor's poll of top ten film personalities, where he would remain for the next twenty-two years. In Ernst Lubitsch's romantic comedy Bluebeard's Eighth Wife (1938) with Claudette Colbert, Cooper plays a wealthy American businessman in France who falls in love with an impoverished aristocrat's daughter and persuades her to become his eighth wife. In the adventure film Beau Geste (William A. Wellman, 1939) with Ray Milland, he joined the French Foreign Legion to find adventure in the Sahara fighting local tribes. Wikipedia: “Beau Geste provided Cooper with magnificent sets, exotic settings, high-spirited action, and a role tailored to his personality and screen persona.” Cooper cemented his cowboy credentials in The Westerner (William Wyler, 1940). He won his first Academy Award for Best Actor in 1942 for his performance as Alvin York, the most decorated U.S. soldier from the Great War, in Sergeant York (Howard Hawks, 1941). Cooper worked with Ingrid Bergman in For Whom the Bell Tolls (Sam Wood, 1943) which earned him his third Oscar nomination. The film was based on a novel by Ernest Hemingway, with whom Cooper developed a strong friendship. On 23 October 1947, he appeared before the House Un-American Activities Committee in Washington, not under subpoena but responding to an invitation to give testimony on the alleged infiltration of Hollywood by communists. Although he never said he regretted having been a friendly witness, as an independent producer, he hired blacklisted actors and technicians. He did say he had never wanted to see anyone lose the right to work, regardless of what he had done. Cooper won his second Oscar for his performance as Marshal Will Kane in High Noon (Fred Zinnemann, 1952), one of his finest roles and a kind of come-back after a series of flops. He continued to play the lead in films almost to the end of his life. His later box office hits included the influential Western Vera Cruz (Robert Aldrich, 1954) in which he guns down villain Burt Lancaster in a showdown, William Wyler's Friendly Persuasion (1956), in which he portrays a Quaker farmer during the American Civil War, Billy Wilder's Love in the Afternoon (1957) with Audrey Hepburn, and the hard-edged action Western Man of the West (Anthony Mann, 1958), with Lee J. Cobb. Cooper's final film was the British-American co-production The Naked Edge (Michael Anderson, 1961). In April 1960, Cooper underwent surgery for prostate cancer after it had metastasized to his colon. But by the end of the year the cancer had spread to his lungs and bones. On 13 May 1961, six days after his sixtieth birthday, Gary Cooper died. The young and handsome Cooper had affairs with Clara Bow, Lupe Velez, Marlene Dietrich and Tallulah Bankhead. In 1933, he married socialite Veronica Balfe, who, billed as Sandra Shaw, enjoyed a short-lived acting career. They had an ‘open’ marriage and Cooper also had relationships with the actresses Grace Kelly, Anita Ekberg, and Patricia Neal. Sir Cecil Beaton also claimed to have had an affair with him.
Sources: Wikipedia and IMDb.
British Real Photogravure Portrait. Photo: Paramount. Publicity still for The Lives of a Bengal Lancer (Henry Hathaway, 1935).
American screen legend Gary Cooper (1901-1961) is well remembered for his stoic, understated acting style in more than one hundred Westerns, comedies and dramas. He received five Oscar nominations and won twice for his roles as Alvin York in Sergeant York (1941) and as Will Kane in High Noon (1952).
Frank James Cooper was born in Helena, Montana in 1901. His parents were English immigrants, Alice Cooper-Brazier and Charles Henry Cooper, a prominent lawyer, rancher, and eventually a state supreme court judge. Frank left school in 1918 and returned to the family ranch to help raise their five hundred head of cattle and work full-time as a cowboy. In 1919, his father arranged for his son to complete his high school education at Gallatin County High School in Bozeman, Montana. His English teacher, Ida W. Davis, played an important role in encouraging him to focus on academics, join the school's debating team, and become involved in dramatics. He was in a car accident as a teenager that caused him to walk with a limp the rest of his life. In the fall of 1924, Cooper's parents moved to Los Angeles to administer the estates of two relatives. Cooper joined them and there he met some cowboys from Montana who were working as film extras and stuntmen in low-budget Western films. Cooper decided to try his hand working as a film extra for five dollars a day, and as a stuntman for twice that amount. In early 1925, Cooper began his film career working as an extra and stuntman on Poverty Row in such silent Westerns as Riders of the Purple Sage (Lynn Reynolds, 1925) with Tom Mix, and The Trail Rider (W.S. Van Dyke, 1925) with Buck Jones. Cooper paid for a screen test and hired casting director Nan Collins to work as his agent. Collins changed his first name to ‘Gary’ after her hometown of Gary, Indiana. Cooper also worked in non-Western films. He appeared as a masked Cossack in The Eagle (Clarence Brown, 1925) with Rudolph Valentino, as a Roman guard in Ben-Hur (Fred Niblo, 1925) with Ramón Novarro, and as a flood survivor in The Johnstown Flood (Irving Cummings, 1926) with George O'Brien. Gradually he began to land credited roles that offered him more screen time, such as Tricks (Bruce M. Mitchell, 1925), in which he played the film's antagonist. As a featured player, he began to attract the attention of major film studios and in June 1926, Cooper signed a contract with Samuel Goldwyn Productions. His first important film role was in The Winning of Barbara Worth (Henry King, 1926) with Ronald Colman and Vilma Bánky. The film was a major success, and critics called Cooper a "dynamic new personality" and future star. Cooper signed a five-year contract with Jesse L. Lasky at Paramount Pictures for $175 per week. In 1927, with help from established silent film star Clara Bow, Cooper landed high-profile roles opposite her in Children of Divorce (Frank Lloyd, 1927) and Wings (William A. Wellman, 1927), the first film to win an Academy Award for Best Picture. With each new film, Cooper's acting skills improved and his popularity continued to grow, especially among female movie-goers. He received a thousand fan letters per week. The studio placed him opposite popular leading ladies in films such as Beau Sabreur (John Waters, 1928) with Evelyn Brent, Half a Bride (Gregory La Cava, 1928) with Esther Ralston, and Lilac Time (George Fitzmaurice, 1928) with Colleen Moore. The latter introduced synchronized music and sound effects, and became one of the biggest box office hits of the year.
In 1929, Gary Cooper became a major film star with his first sound picture, The Virginian, (Victor Fleming, 1929). The Virginian was one of the first sound films to define the Western code of honour and helped establish many of the conventions of the Western genre. The romantic image of the tall, handsome, and shy cowboy hero that embodied male freedom, courage, and honour was created in large part by Cooper's performance in the film. Cooper transitioned naturally to the sound medium, with his deep, clear, and pleasantly drawling voice. One of the high points of Cooper's early career was his portrayal of a sullen legionnaire in Josef von Sternberg's Morocco (1930) with Marlene Dietrich in her American debut. Cooper produced one of his finest performances to that point in his career. In the Dashiell Hammett crime drama City Streets (Rouben Mamoulian, 1931) he played a misplaced cowboy in a big city who gets involved with gangsters to save the woman (Sylvia Sidney) he loves. After making ten films in two years Cooper was exhausted and had lost thirty pounds. In May 1931, he sailed to Algiers and then Italy, where he lived for the next year. During his time abroad, Cooper stayed with the Countess Dorothy di Frasso who taught him about good food and vintage wines, how to read Italian and French menus in the finest restaurants, and how to socialize among Europe's nobility and upper classes. In 1932, a healthy Cooper returned to Hollywood and negotiated a new contract with Paramount for two films per year, a salary of $4,000 per week, and director and script approval. He appeared opposite Helen Hayes in A Farewell to Arms (Frank Borzage, 1932), the first film adaptation of an Ernest Hemingway novel. Critics praised his highly intense and at times emotional performance, and the film went on to become one of the year's most commercially successful films. The following year, Cooper appeared in the Ernst Lubitsch comedy Design for Living (1933) with Miriam Hopkins and Fredric March, and based loosely on the successful Noël Coward play. Wikipedia: “The film received mixed reviews and did not do well at the box office, but Cooper's performance was singled out for its versatility and revealed his genuine ability to do light comedy”. Then, he appeared in his first of seven films by director Henry Hathaway, Now and Forever (1934), with Carole Lombard and Shirley Temple. The film was a box-office success. His next two Henry Hathaway films were the melodrama Peter Ibbetson (1935) with Ann Harding, about a man caught up in a dream world created by his love for a childhood sweetheart, and the romantic adventure The Lives of a Bengal Lancer (1935), about a daring British officer and his men who defend their stronghold at Bengal against rebellious local tribes. The latter was nominated for six Academy Awards and became one of Cooper's most popular and successful adventure films.
Gary Cooper returned to Poverty Row for the first time since his early silent film days to make Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (Frank Capra, 1936) with Jean Arthur for Columbia Pictures. Cooper plays the character of Longfellow Deeds, an innocent, sweet-natured writer of greeting cards who inherits a fortune, leaves behind his idyllic life in Vermont, and travels to New York where he faces a world of corruption and deceit. For his performance in Mr. Deeds, Cooper received his first Oscar nomination. In the adventure film The General Died at Dawn (Lewis Milestone, 1936) with Madeleine Carroll, he plays an American soldier of fortune in China who helps the peasants defend themselves against the oppression of a cruel warlord. Written by playwright Clifford Odets, the film was a critical and commercial success. In Cecil B. DeMille's sprawling frontier epic The Plainsman (1936) with Jean Arthur—his first of four films with the director—Cooper portrays Wild Bill Hickok in a highly-fictionalized version of the opening of the American western frontier. That year, Cooper appeared for the first time on the Motion Picture Herald exhibitor's poll of top ten film personalities, where he would remain for the next twenty-two years. In Ernst Lubitsch's romantic comedy Bluebeard's Eighth Wife (1938) with Claudette Colbert, Cooper plays a wealthy American businessman in France who falls in love with an impoverished aristocrat's daughter and persuades her to become his eighth wife. In the adventure film Beau Geste (William A. Wellman, 1939) with Ray Milland, he joined the French Foreign Legion to find adventure in the Sahara fighting local tribes. Wikipedia: “Beau Geste provided Cooper with magnificent sets, exotic settings, high-spirited action, and a role tailored to his personality and screen persona.” Cooper cemented his cowboy credentials in The Westerner (William Wyler, 1940). He won his first Academy Award for Best Actor in 1942 for his performance as Alvin York, the most decorated U.S. soldier from the Great War, in Sergeant York (Howard Hawks, 1941). Cooper worked with Ingrid Bergman in For Whom the Bell Tolls (Sam Wood, 1943) which earned him his third Oscar nomination. The film was based on a novel by Ernest Hemingway, with whom Cooper developed a strong friendship. On 23 October 1947, he appeared before the House Un-American Activities Committee in Washington, not under subpoena but responding to an invitation to give testimony on the alleged infiltration of Hollywood by communists. Although he never said he regretted having been a friendly witness, as an independent producer, he hired blacklisted actors and technicians. He did say he had never wanted to see anyone lose the right to work, regardless of what he had done. Cooper won his second Oscar for his performance as Marshal Will Kane in High Noon (Fred Zinnemann, 1952), one of his finest roles and a kind of come-back after a series of flops. He continued to play the lead in films almost to the end of his life. His later box office hits included the influential Western Vera Cruz (Robert Aldrich, 1954) in which he guns down villain Burt Lancaster in a showdown, William Wyler's Friendly Persuasion (1956), in which he portrays a Quaker farmer during the American Civil War, Billy Wilder's Love in the Afternoon (1957) with Audrey Hepburn, and the hard-edged action Western Man of the West (Anthony Mann, 1958), with Lee J. Cobb. Cooper's final film was the British-American co-production The Naked Edge (Michael Anderson, 1961). In April 1960, Cooper underwent surgery for prostate cancer after it had metastasized to his colon. But by the end of the year the cancer had spread to his lungs and bones. On 13 May 1961, six days after his sixtieth birthday, Gary Cooper died. The young and handsome Cooper had affairs with Clara Bow, Lupe Velez, Marlene Dietrich and Tallulah Bankhead. In 1933, he married socialite Veronica Balfe, who, billed as Sandra Shaw, enjoyed a short-lived acting career. They had an ‘open’ marriage and Cooper also had relationships with the actresses Grace Kelly, Anita Ekberg, and Patricia Neal. Sir Cecil Beaton also claimed to have had an affair with him.
Sources: Wikipedia and IMDb.
64 - Circus Maximus in Rome catches fire
532 - Start of Dionysian Pascal Cycle
711 - Muslim forces under Tariq ibn Ziyad defeat the Visigoths led by their king Roderic.
1195 - Battle at Alarcos: Almohaden beats Alfons VIII of Castilia
1380 - Thomas of Buckingham's invasion army lands on Calais
1425 - Duke John VI van Brabant pledges Holland/Zealand to Philip the Good
1510 - 38 Jews are burned at stake in Berlin Prussia
1524 - Boer War begins in Germany's Black Forest
1525 - Catholic German monarchy form Union of Dessau
1544 - Italian War of 1542: The Siege of Boulogne began.
1545 - King Henry VIII's flagship Mary Rose sinks at Portsmouth; 73 die
1551 - Treaty of Karlsburg: Arch-Duke Ferdinand of Austria recognized as king of Hungary/Transsylvania
1553 - 15-year-old Lady Jane Grey deposed as England's Queen after 9 days
1572 - Battle at Saint-Ghislain: Spanish army beats The Genlis' mercenaries
1575 - Spanish viceroy Gilles of Hierges attacks Oudewater
1590 - King Philip Ii's secretary Antonio Perez escapes jail
1599 - Jacob van Necks merchant fleet leaves Java
1639 - French troops occupy Salses, at Perpignan
1674 - Court of Holland bans books of Hobbes/Spinoza/Meyer
1688 - Soldiers killed governor of Aerssen in Paramaribo
1702 - Swedish troops under King Charles XII occupy Crackow
1760 - The formal request to found the later city of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico is filed by its founders.
1799 - A group of Napoleon Bonaparte's soldiers discover what is now known as The Rosetta Stone, enabling the translation of hieroglyphics for the first time.
1816 - Survivors of French frigate Medusa rescued off Senegal after 17 days
1836 - HMS Beagle/Charles Darwin reaches Ascension
1843 - Brunel's steamship the SS Great Britain is launched, becoming the first ocean-going craft with an iron hull or screw propeller and also becoming the largest vessel afloat in the world.
1848 - The first women's rights convention, called by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia C. Mott, was held in Seneca Falls, New York.
1848 - German Parliament demands Dutch province of Limburg
1850 - Airship Elizabeth leaves in storm for Fire Island, crashes (42 die)
1860 - 1st railroad reaches Kansas
1862 - Forrest's 1st raid
1863 - Battle of Buffington's Island (St George Creek), Ohio
1864 - Battle of Winchester, VA (Stephenson's Depot) [->JUL 20]
1866 - Tennessee is 1st to ratify 14th Amendment, guaranteeing civil rights
1867 - Congress passed 3rd Reconstruction Act over Pres Andrew Johnson's veto
1867 - Dutch Red Cross forms
1867 - Reconstruction enacted
1870 - France declares war on Prussia; Franco-Prussian war begins
1875 - Emma Abbott, a floating hospital for sick kids, makes trial trip, NYC
1877 - 1st Wimbledon Mens Tennis: Spencer W Gore beats Marshall (61 62 64)
1879 - Doc Holliday kills for the first time after a man shoots up his New Mexico saloon.
1880 - SF Public Library starts lending books
1899 - National Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, forms
1900 - Michel Théato wins 2nd olympics marathon (2:59:45.0-40,260k)
1902 - NY Giants lose their 1st game under new manager John McGraw
1904 - Cleveland Nap's Neal Ball makes 1st unassisted triple play
1904 - Dutch Premier Kuypers disbands 1st Chamber
1908 - Feyenoord soccer team forms in Rotterdam
1909 - Cleveland shortstop Neal Ball executes an unassisted triple play
1910 - Cy Young registers his 500th career victory
1912 - A meteorite with an estimated mass of 190 kg explodes over the town of Holbrook in Navajo County, Arizona causing approximately 16,000 pieces of debris to rain down on the town.
1913 - Billboard publishes earliest known "Last Week's 10 Best Sellers among Popular Songs" Malinda's Wedding Day is #1
1914 - Boston Braves begin drive from last to 1st place in NL
1915 - Dutch accidents at sea law enforced
1915 - Naval accident
1915 - Wash Nationals steal record 8 bases vs Cleve Indians in the 1st inning
1918 - German armies retreat across Marne River in France (WW I)
1918 - Wash catcher Eddie Ainsmith applies for deferment from the draft Sec of War Newton D Baker rules baseball players are not draft exempt
1919 - Following Peace Day celebrations marking the end of World War I, ex-servicemen rioted and burnt down Luton Town Hall.
1923 - WRC-AM in Washington DC begins radio transmissions
1926 - 2nd French govt of Herriot, forms
1927 - Ty Cobb gets his 4,000th hit
1928 - King Fuad of Egypt grabs power/disbands parliament
1933 - 1st time, brothers on opposite teams homer in the same game. Red Sox
1933 - Rick Ferrell homers off brother pitcher Wes of Cleve, who also homers
1936 - Indians' Bob Feller makes his major league debut in relief
1936 - Spanish premier Casares Quiroga succeeded by Jose Giral
1937 - Entartete Art Fair opens in Munich
1937 - Joris Ivens' "Spanish Earth" premieres in Hollywood
1939 - Dr Roy P Scholz is 1st surgeon to use fiberglass sutures in St. Louis, Missouri
1940 - Hitler orders Great Britain to surrenders
1940 - Nazi occupiers imprison 231 prominent Dutch citizens in Buchenwald
1940 - Nazi occupiers in Neth forbid anti-nazi films
1941 - 1st US Army flying school for black cadets dedicated (Tuskegee Ala)
1941 - BBC World Service begins playing V(ictory) (...-) 5th of Beethoven
1941 - British PM Winston Churchill launched his "V for Victory" campaign
1941 - President Roosevelt appointed FEP Committee
1942 - Dmitri Shostakovitch' 7th Symphony, premieres in US
1942 - German occupiers confiscate bicycles in Rotterdam & Hague
1943 - 500 allied air forces raid Rome during WW II
1944 - 1,200+ 8th Air Force bombers bomb targets in SW Germany
1944 - 500 15th Air Force Liberators/Flying Fortresses bomb Munich vicinity
1944 - 500 15th Air Force-Liberators surround Munich
1944 - Allied troops occupy Faubourg de Vaucelles, at Caen
1944 - Danish defiance fails on assault on Taarbaek Fort at Copenhagen
1944 - Danish resistance fails on assault on Taarbaek Fort near Copenhagen
1944 - Democratic convention opens in Chicago
1944 - Earl Claus von Stauffenberg visits RC church in Berlin-Dahlem
1944 - General Bradley flies to England
1944 - Japanese aircraft carriers Taiho/Shokaku sinks in Marianas
1944 - NY archbishop Spellman flies to Europe
1944 - Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg 1st meets Eichmann
1945 - Edwin Schlossberg, husband of Carolyn Kennedy
1945 - USS Cod saves 51 sailors from Dutch sub in only sub-to-sub rescue
1947 - Prime minister of shadow Burma government ,Bogyoke Aung San and 6 of his cabinet and 2 non-cabinet members were assassinated by British , which resulted in the political chaos in the country lasting until now.
1948 - French govt of Schuman, resigns
1949 - Laos becomes associated state within French Union
1950 - French/Vietnamese offensive against Viet Minh
1950 - NY Yanks obtain their 1st black players, Elston Howard & Frank Barnes
1950 - Pope Pius XII publishes encyclical Summi maeroris
1951 - "2 in the Aisle" opens at Mark Hellinger Theater NYC for 276 perfs
1952 - "Paint Your Wagon" closes at Shubert Theater NYC after 289 perfs
1952 - 15th modern Olympic games opens in Helsinki, Finland
1952 - Freddie Trueman takes 8-31, India all out 58 at Old Trafford
1952 - India all out 82 in 2nd innings after making 52 earlier in the day
1953 - KIMA TV channel 29 in Yakima, WA (CBS) begins broadcasting
1953 - WAKR (now WAKC) TV channel 23 in Akron, OH (ABC) begins broadcasting
1955 - Balclutha ties up at Pier 43 & becomes a floating museum
1955 - Yarkon Water Project opens to supply water to Negev desert in Israel
1956 - US refuse to lend Egypt money to build Aswan Dam
1957 - 1st rocket with nuclear warhead fired, Yucca Flat, Nevada
1957 - Don Bowden becomes 1st American to break 4 minute mile (3m58s7)
1957 - US performs nuclear Test at Nevada Test Site
1958 - "Oh, Captain!" closes at Alvin Theater NYC after 192 performances
1958 - Charly Gaul wins Tour de France
1959 - Mickey Wright wins LPGA Machine International Golf Open Alliance
1960 - Italian Govt Tambroni, resigns
1960 - SF Giants Juan Marichal debuts, with a 1 hitter against Phillies
1961 - 1st in-flight movie shown (TWA)
1962 - Hungarian communist party expels Rákosi & Gero
1963 - NASA civilian Test pilot Joe Walker in X-15 reaches 105 km
1963 - Phila Phillies Roy Siever hits HR # 300
1964 - 46th PGA Championship: Bobby Nichols shoots a 271 at Columbus CC Ohio
1964 - Ruth Jessen wins LPGA Yankee Women's Golf Open
1964 - USSR performs nuclear Test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR
1965 - Shooting begins on Star Trek 2nd pilot "Where No Man Has Gone Before"
1966 - 50 year old Frank Sinatra marries 21 year old Mia Farrow in Las Vegas
1966 - France performs nuclear Test at Fangataufa Island
1966 - Gov James Rhodes declares state of emergency in Cleveland (race riot)
1967 - 1st air conditioned NYC subway car (R-38 on the F line)
1967 - Race riots in Durham NC
1967 - US launches Explorer 35 for lunar orbit (800/7400 km)
1969 - Apollo 11 goes into Moon orbit
1970 - Judy Rankin wins LPGA Springfield Jaycee Golf Open
1971 - Sudan military coup under maj Hashem al-Atta, Numeiry flees
1973 - Willie Mays named to NL all star team for 24th time (ties Musial)
1974 - Cleve Indian Dick Bosman no-hits Oakland A's, 4-0
1974 - David Bowie's "Diamond Dog" tour ends in NYC
1974 - Soyuz 14 lands
1975 - Apollo & Soyuz linked in orbit for 2 days, separate
1975 - NY Yank catcher Thurman Munson's 1st-inning single & RBI are
1975 - Nullified because the tar on his bat handle exceeds 18" limit
1976 - Rock group Deep Purple disbands
1976 - Allman Brother's roadie Scooter Herring sentenced to 75 years for providing drugs for the group, based on Gregg Allman's testimony
1976 - Sagarmatha National Park in Nepal is created.
1977 - 48th All Star Baseball Game: NL wins 7-5 at Yankee Stadium, NY
1977 - All star MVP: Don Sutton (LA Dodgers)
1977 - Floods in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, kills 76
1978 - France performs nuclear Test at Muruora Island
1978 - Yanks start 14 game comeback with 2-0 win
1979 - 2 supertankers collide off Tobago-260,000 TONS of oil spill
1979 - Maritza Sayalero, 18, of Venezuela, crowned 28th Miss Universe
1979 - Nicaragua Liberation Day; Sandinistas take over from Somoza
1979 - Patricia Harris, becomes sect of HEW
1980 - 22nd modern Olympic games opens in Moscow; US & others boycott
1980 - David Bowie appears in role of "Elephant Man" in Denver
1981 - 110th British Golf Open: Bill Rogers shoots a 276 at Royal St George
1981 - Donna Caponi Young wins LPGA WUI Golf Classic
1982 - 1st Old Timer's All star classic - AL wins 7-2 in Wash DC
1982 - Bolivian govt resigns
1982 - David S Dodge becomes 1st American hostage in Lebanon
1982 - 1st annual Cracker Jack Oldtimers Classic 75-year-old Luke Appling hits a 250-foot HR off Warren Spahn, AL beats NL 7-2
1983 - The first three-dimensional reconstruction of a human head in a CT is published.
1984 - 1st female to captain a 747 across Atlantic (Lynn Rippelmeyer)
1984 - Geraldine A Ferraro, (Rep-D-NY), wins Democratic VP nomination
1985 - Christa McAuliffe chosen 1st school teacher to fly space shuttle
1985 - Dam in Fiemme Valley Italy bursts; 200-300 die
1985 - The Val di Stava Dam collapse killing 268 people in Val di Stava, Italy.
1986 - Caroline Kennedy (28) marries Edwin Schlossberg (41)
1986 - Indian pitcher Phil Niekro wins his 307th game tying him with
1986 - Tim Witherspoon KOs Frank Bruno in 11 for heavyweight boxing title
1987 - 116th British Golf Open: Nick Faldo shoots a 279 at Muirfield Gullane
1987 - Don Mattingly sets AL record of extra base hits in 10 cons games
1987 - Jane Geddes wins LPGA Boston Five Golf Classic
1989 - Cleve Indian Joe Carter has his 4th 3 HR game
1989 - United Airlines DC-10 crashes at Sioux City Iowa, kills 112
1990 - BASF plant in Cincinnati explodes in flames, 1 dies
1990 - Cincinnati Red Pete Rose is sentence to 5 months for tax evasion
1990 - Richard Nixon library opens in Yorba Linda, Calif
1990 - Dave Raghetti pitches in his 499th game as a NY Yankee, passing Whitey Ford in most appearances as a NY Yankee
1991 - Cal Ripken plays in his 1,500th consecutive game
1991 - Mike Tyson rapes a Miss Black America contestant (Desiree Washington)
1991 - With NY Yankee victory, 10 of 14 AL teams are at .500 or better
1992 - "Price" closes at Criterion Theater NYC after 47 performances
1992 - 30th Tennis Fed Cup: Germany beats Spain in Frankfurt Germany (2-1)
1992 - Ballet dancer Peter Martins charged with beating his wife
1992 - Ebony P Warren, crowned 24th Miss Black America
1992 - Juli Inkster wins LPGA JAL Big Apple Golf Classic
1992 - NYC Ballet star Peter Martins, arrested for beating his wife
1993 - Glen Chapple (Lancs) scores fastest F-C century, 21 minutes
1993 - Last day of 1st-class cricket for Ian Botham
1993 - Pres Clinton fires FBI director William Sessions
1994 - 1st game ever cancelled at Seattle Kingdome (falling tiles)
1994 - Bomb explosion in Alas Airlines at Colon Panama, 21 killed
1994 - Leonid Kvetjsma sworn in as Ukraine president
1996 - Ireland beats Netherlands in 1st European Championship Final
1996 - Jason Gallian scores 312 in 683 mins for Lancashire v Derbyshire
1996 - XXVI Olympic games open in Atlanta Georgia
1998 - 127th British Golf Open: at Royal Birkdale
Five years ago President George W. Bush issued his first presidential veto, rejecting a bill that could have multiplied federal money for embryonic stem cell research. Actor Jack Warden died in New York at age 85.
One year ago The Agriculture Department pressured Shirley Sherrod, an administrator in Georgia, to resign after a conservative website posted edited video it claimed showed her making racist remarks. (After reviewing the entire video, the White House ended up apologizing to Sherrod.)
Thought for today "An optimist will tell you the glass is half-full; the pessimist, half-empty; and the engineer will tell you the glass is twice the size it needs to be."
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. A 1605/1, 1937-1938. Photo: Paramount.
American screen legend Gary Cooper (1901-1961) is well remembered for his stoic, understated acting style in more than one hundred Westerns, comedies and dramas. He received five Oscar nominations and won twice for his roles as Alvin York in Sergeant York (1941) and as Will Kane in High Noon (1952).
Frank James Cooper was born in Helena, Montana in 1901. His parents were English immigrants, Alice Cooper-Brazier and Charles Henry Cooper, a prominent lawyer, rancher, and eventually a state supreme court judge. Frank left school in 1918 and returned to the family ranch to help raise their five hundred head of cattle and work full-time as a cowboy. In 1919, his father arranged for his son to complete his high school education at Gallatin County High School in Bozeman, Montana. His English teacher, Ida W. Davis, played an important role in encouraging him to focus on academics, join the school's debating team, and become involved in dramatics. He was in a car accident as a teenager that caused him to walk with a limp the rest of his life. In the fall of 1924, Cooper's parents moved to Los Angeles to administer the estates of two relatives. Cooper joined them and there he met some cowboys from Montana who were working as film extras and stuntmen in low-budget Western films. Cooper decided to try his hand working as a film extra for five dollars a day, and as a stuntman for twice that amount. In early 1925, Cooper began his film career working as an extra and stuntman on Poverty Row in such silent Westerns as Riders of the Purple Sage (Lynn Reynolds, 1925) with Tom Mix, and The Trail Rider (W.S. Van Dyke, 1925) with Buck Jones. Cooper paid for a screen test and hired casting director Nan Collins to work as his agent. Collins changed his first name to ‘Gary’ after her hometown of Gary, Indiana. Cooper also worked in non-Western films. He appeared as a masked Cossack in The Eagle (Clarence Brown, 1925) with Rudolph Valentino, as a Roman guard in Ben-Hur (Fred Niblo, 1925) with Ramón Novarro, and as a flood survivor in The Johnstown Flood (Irving Cummings, 1926) with George O'Brien. Gradually he began to land credited roles that offered him more screen time, such as Tricks (Bruce M. Mitchell, 1925), in which he played the film's antagonist. As a featured player, he began to attract the attention of major film studios and in June 1926, Cooper signed a contract with Samuel Goldwyn Productions. His first important film role was in The Winning of Barbara Worth (Henry King, 1926) with Ronald Colman and Vilma Bánky. The film was a major success, and critics called Cooper a "dynamic new personality" and future star. Cooper signed a five-year contract with Jesse L. Lasky at Paramount Pictures for $175 per week. In 1927, with help from established silent film star Clara Bow, Cooper landed high-profile roles opposite her in Children of Divorce (Frank Lloyd, 1927) and Wings (William A. Wellman, 1927), the first film to win an Academy Award for Best Picture. With each new film, Cooper's acting skills improved and his popularity continued to grow, especially among female movie-goers. He received a thousand fan letters per week. The studio placed him opposite popular leading ladies in films such as Beau Sabreur (John Waters, 1928) with Evelyn Brent, Half a Bride (Gregory La Cava, 1928) with Esther Ralston, and Lilac Time (George Fitzmaurice, 1928) with Colleen Moore. The latter introduced synchronized music and sound effects, and became one of the biggest box office hits of the year.
In 1929, Gary Cooper became a major film star with his first sound picture, The Virginian, (Victor Fleming, 1929). The Virginian was one of the first sound films to define the Western code of honour and helped establish many of the conventions of the Western genre. The romantic image of the tall, handsome, and shy cowboy hero that embodied male freedom, courage, and honour was created in large part by Cooper's performance in the film. Cooper transitioned naturally to the sound medium, with his deep, clear, and pleasantly drawling voice. One of the high points of Cooper's early career was his portrayal of a sullen legionnaire in Josef von Sternberg's Morocco (1930) with Marlene Dietrich in her American debut. Cooper produced one of his finest performances to that point in his career. In the Dashiell Hammett crime drama City Streets (Rouben Mamoulian, 1931) he played a misplaced cowboy in a big city who gets involved with gangsters to save the woman (Sylvia Sidney) he loves. After making ten films in two years Cooper was exhausted and had lost thirty pounds. In May 1931, he sailed to Algiers and then Italy, where he lived for the next year. During his time abroad, Cooper stayed with the Countess Dorothy di Frasso who taught him about good food and vintage wines, how to read Italian and French menus in the finest restaurants, and how to socialize among Europe's nobility and upper classes. In 1932, a healthy Cooper returned to Hollywood and negotiated a new contract with Paramount for two films per year, a salary of $4,000 per week, and director and script approval. He appeared opposite Helen Hayes in A Farewell to Arms (Frank Borzage, 1932), the first film adaptation of an Ernest Hemingway novel. Critics praised his highly intense and at times emotional performance, and the film went on to become one of the year's most commercially successful films. The following year, Cooper appeared in the Ernst Lubitsch comedy Design for Living (1933) with Miriam Hopkins and Fredric March, and based loosely on the successful Noël Coward play. Wikipedia: “The film received mixed reviews and did not do well at the box office, but Cooper's performance was singled out for its versatility and revealed his genuine ability to do light comedy”. Then, he appeared in his first of seven films by director Henry Hathaway, Now and Forever (1934), with Carole Lombard and Shirley Temple. The film was a box-office success. His next two Henry Hathaway films were the melodrama Peter Ibbetson (1935) with Ann Harding, about a man caught up in a dream world created by his love for a childhood sweetheart, and the romantic adventure The Lives of a Bengal Lancer (1935), about a daring British officer and his men who defend their stronghold at Bengal against rebellious local tribes. The latter was nominated for six Academy Awards and became one of Cooper's most popular and successful adventure films.
Gary Cooper returned to Poverty Row for the first time since his early silent film days to make Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (Frank Capra, 1936) with Jean Arthur for Columbia Pictures. Cooper plays the character of Longfellow Deeds, an innocent, sweet-natured writer of greeting cards who inherits a fortune, leaves behind his idyllic life in Vermont, and travels to New York where he faces a world of corruption and deceit. For his performance in Mr. Deeds, Cooper received his first Oscar nomination. In the adventure film The General Died at Dawn (Lewis Milestone, 1936) with Madeleine Carroll, he plays an American soldier of fortune in China who helps the peasants defend themselves against the oppression of a cruel warlord. Written by playwright Clifford Odets, the film was a critical and commercial success. In Cecil B. DeMille's sprawling frontier epic The Plainsman (1936) with Jean Arthur—his first of four films with the director—Cooper portrays Wild Bill Hickok in a highly-fictionalized version of the opening of the American western frontier. That year, Cooper appeared for the first time on the Motion Picture Herald exhibitor's poll of top ten film personalities, where he would remain for the next twenty-two years. In Ernst Lubitsch's romantic comedy Bluebeard's Eighth Wife (1938) with Claudette Colbert, Cooper plays a wealthy American businessman in France who falls in love with an impoverished aristocrat's daughter and persuades her to become his eighth wife. In the adventure film Beau Geste (William A. Wellman, 1939) with Ray Milland, he joined the French Foreign Legion to find adventure in the Sahara fighting local tribes. Wikipedia: “Beau Geste provided Cooper with magnificent sets, exotic settings, high-spirited action, and a role tailored to his personality and screen persona.” Cooper cemented his cowboy credentials in The Westerner (William Wyler, 1940). He won his first Academy Award for Best Actor in 1942 for his performance as Alvin York, the most decorated U.S. soldier from the Great War, in Sergeant York (Howard Hawks, 1941). Cooper worked with Ingrid Bergman in For Whom the Bell Tolls (Sam Wood, 1943) which earned him his third Oscar nomination. The film was based on a novel by Ernest Hemingway, with whom Cooper developed a strong friendship. On 23 October 1947, he appeared before the House Un-American Activities Committee in Washington, not under subpoena but responding to an invitation to give testimony on the alleged infiltration of Hollywood by communists. Although he never said he regretted having been a friendly witness, as an independent producer, he hired blacklisted actors and technicians. He did say he had never wanted to see anyone lose the right to work, regardless of what he had done. Cooper won his second Oscar for his performance as Marshal Will Kane in High Noon (Fred Zinnemann, 1952), one of his finest roles and a kind of come-back after a series of flops. He continued to play the lead in films almost to the end of his life. His later box office hits included the influential Western Vera Cruz (Robert Aldrich, 1954) in which he guns down villain Burt Lancaster in a showdown, William Wyler's Friendly Persuasion (1956), in which he portrays a Quaker farmer during the American Civil War, Billy Wilder's Love in the Afternoon (1957) with Audrey Hepburn, and the hard-edged action Western Man of the West (Anthony Mann, 1958), with Lee J. Cobb. Cooper's final film was the British-American co-production The Naked Edge (Michael Anderson, 1961). In April 1960, Cooper underwent surgery for prostate cancer after it had metastasized to his colon. But by the end of the year the cancer had spread to his lungs and bones. On 13 May 1961, six days after his sixtieth birthday, Gary Cooper died. The young and handsome Cooper had affairs with Clara Bow, Lupe Velez, Marlene Dietrich and Tallulah Bankhead. In 1933, he married socialite Veronica Balfe, who, billed as Sandra Shaw, enjoyed a short-lived acting career. They had an ‘open’ marriage and Cooper also had relationships with the actresses Grace Kelly, Anita Ekberg, and Patricia Neal. Sir Cecil Beaton also claimed to have had an affair with him.
Sources: Wikipedia and IMDb.
German cigarette card by Ross Verlag in the 'Künstler im Film' series for Zigarettenfabrik Monopol, Dresden, Serie 1, image 162 (of 200). Photo: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
American screen legend Gary Cooper (1901-1961) is well remembered for his stoic, understated acting style in more than one hundred Westerns, comedies and dramas. He received five Oscar nominations and won twice for his roles as Alvin York in Sergeant York (1941) and as Will Kane in High Noon (1952).
Frank James Cooper was born in Helena, Montana in 1901. His parents were English immigrants, Alice Cooper-Brazier and Charles Henry Cooper, a prominent lawyer, rancher, and eventually a state supreme court judge. Frank left school in 1918 and returned to the family ranch to help raise their five hundred head of cattle and work full-time as a cowboy. In 1919, his father arranged for his son to complete his high school education at Gallatin County High School in Bozeman, Montana. His English teacher, Ida W. Davis, played an important role in encouraging him to focus on academics, join the school's debating team, and become involved in dramatics. He was in a car accident as a teenager that caused him to walk with a limp for the rest of his life. In the fall of 1924, Cooper's parents moved to Los Angeles to administer the estates of two relatives. Cooper joined them and there he met some cowboys from Montana who were working as film extras and stuntmen in low-budget Western films. Cooper decided to try his hand working as a film extra for five dollars a day, and as a stuntman for twice that amount. In early 1925, Cooper began his film career working as an extra and stuntman on Poverty Row in such silent Westerns as Riders of the Purple Sage (Lynn Reynolds, 1925) with Tom Mix, and The Trail Rider (W.S. Van Dyke, 1925) with Buck Jones. Cooper paid for a screen test and hired casting director Nan Collins to work as his agent. Collins changed his first name to ‘Gary’ after her hometown of Gary, Indiana. Cooper also worked in non-Western films. He appeared as a masked Cossack in The Eagle (Clarence Brown, 1925) with Rudolph Valentino, as a Roman guard in Ben-Hur (Fred Niblo, 1925) with Ramón Novarro, and as a flood survivor in The Johnstown Flood (Irving Cummings, 1926) with George O'Brien. Gradually he began to land credited roles that offered him more screen time, such as Tricks (Bruce M. Mitchell, 1925), in which he played the film's antagonist. As a featured player, he began to attract the attention of major film studios and in June 1926, Cooper signed a contract with Samuel Goldwyn Productions. His first important film role was in The Winning of Barbara Worth (Henry King, 1926) with Ronald Colman and Vilma Bánky. The film was a major success, and critics called Cooper a "dynamic new personality" and future star. Cooper signed a five-year contract with Jesse L. Lasky at Paramount Pictures for $175 per week. In 1927, with help from established silent film star Clara Bow, Cooper landed high-profile roles opposite her in Children of Divorce (Frank Lloyd, 1927) and Wings (William A. Wellman, 1927), the first film to win an Academy Award for Best Picture. With each new film, Cooper's acting skills improved and his popularity continued to grow, especially among female movie-goers. He received a thousand fan letters per week. The studio placed him opposite popular leading ladies in films such as Beau Sabreur (John Waters, 1928) with Evelyn Brent, Half a Bride (Gregory La Cava, 1928) with Esther Ralston, and Lilac Time (George Fitzmaurice, 1928) with Colleen Moore. The latter introduced synchronised music and sound effects and became one of the biggest box office hits of the year.
In 1929, Gary Cooper became a major film star with his first sound picture, The Virginian, (Victor Fleming, 1929). The Virginian was one of the first sound films to define the Western code of honour and helped establish many of the conventions of the Western genre. The romantic image of the tall, handsome, and shy cowboy hero that embodied male freedom, courage, and honour was created in large part by Cooper's performance in the film. Cooper transitioned naturally to the sound medium, with his deep, clear, and pleasantly drawling voice. One of the high points of Cooper's early career was his portrayal of a sullen legionnaire in Josef von Sternberg's Morocco (1930) with Marlene Dietrich in her American debut. Cooper produced one of his finest performances to that point in his career. In the Dashiell Hammett crime drama City Streets (Rouben Mamoulian, 1931) he played a misplaced cowboy in a big city who gets involved with gangsters to save the woman (Sylvia Sidney) he loves. After making ten films in two years Cooper was exhausted and had lost thirty pounds. In May 1931, he sailed to Algiers and then Italy, where he lived for the next year. During his time abroad, Cooper stayed with the Countess Dorothy di Frasso who taught him about good food and vintage wines, how to read Italian and French menus in the finest restaurants, and how to socialize among Europe's nobility and upper classes. In 1932, a healthy Cooper returned to Hollywood and negotiated a new contract with Paramount for two films per year, a salary of $4,000 per week, and director and script approval. He appeared opposite Helen Hayes in A Farewell to Arms (Frank Borzage, 1932), the first film adaptation of an Ernest Hemingway novel. Critics praised his highly intense and at times emotional performance, and the film went on to become one of the year's most commercially successful films. The following year, Cooper appeared in the Ernst Lubitsch comedy Design for Living (1933) with Miriam Hopkins and Fredric March and based loosely on the successful Noël Coward play. Wikipedia: “The film received mixed reviews and did not do well at the box office, but Cooper's performance was singled out for its versatility and revealed his genuine ability to do light comedy”. Then, he appeared in his first of seven films by director Henry Hathaway, Now and Forever (1934), with Carole Lombard and Shirley Temple. The film was a box-office success. His next two Henry Hathaway films were the melodrama Peter Ibbetson (1935) with Ann Harding, about a man, caught up in a dream world created by his love for a childhood sweetheart, and the romantic adventure The Lives of a Bengal Lancer (1935), about a daring British officer and his men who defend their stronghold at Bengal against rebellious local tribes. The latter was nominated for six Academy Awards and became one of Cooper's most popular and successful adventure films.
Gary Cooper returned to Poverty Row for the first time since his early silent film days to make Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (Frank Capra, 1936) with Jean Arthur for Columbia Pictures. Cooper plays the character of Longfellow Deeds, an innocent, sweet-natured writer of greeting cards who inherits a fortune, leaves behind his idyllic life in Vermont and travels to New York where he faces a world of corruption and deceit. For his performance in Mr. Deeds, Cooper received his first Oscar nomination. In the adventure film The General Died at Dawn (Lewis Milestone, 1936) with Madeleine Carroll, he plays an American soldier of fortune in China who helps the peasants defend themselves against the oppression of a cruel warlord. Written by playwright Clifford Odets, the film was a critical and commercial success. In Cecil B. DeMille's sprawling frontier epic The Plainsman (1936) with Jean Arthur—his first of four films with the director—Cooper portrays Wild Bill Hickok in a highly fictionalised version of the opening of the American western frontier. That year, Cooper appeared for the first time on the Motion Picture Herald exhibitor's poll of the top ten film personalities, where he would remain for the next twenty-two years. In Ernst Lubitsch's romantic comedy Bluebeard's Eighth Wife (1938) with Claudette Colbert, Cooper plays a wealthy American businessman in France who falls in love with an impoverished aristocrat's daughter and persuades her to become his eighth wife. In the adventure film Beau Geste (William A. Wellman, 1939) with Ray Milland, he joined the French Foreign Legion to find adventure in the Sahara fighting local tribes. Wikipedia: “Beau Geste provided Cooper with magnificent sets, exotic settings, high-spirited action, and a role tailored to his personality and screen persona.” Cooper cemented his cowboy credentials in The Westerner (William Wyler, 1940). He won his first Academy Award for Best Actor in 1942 for his performance as Alvin York, the most decorated U.S. soldier from the Great War, in Sergeant York (Howard Hawks, 1941). Cooper worked with Ingrid Bergman in For Whom the Bell Tolls (Sam Wood, 1943) which earned him his third Oscar nomination. The film was based on a novel by Ernest Hemingway, with whom Cooper developed a strong friendship. On 23 October 1947, he appeared before the House Un-American Activities Committee in Washington, not under subpoena but responding to an invitation to give testimony on the alleged infiltration of Hollywood by communists. Although he never said he regretted having been a friendly witness, as an independent producer, he hired blacklisted actors and technicians. He did say he had never wanted to see anyone lose the right to work, regardless of what he had done. Cooper won his second Oscar for his performance as Marshal Will Kane in High Noon (Fred Zinnemann, 1952), one of his finest roles and a kind of come-back after a series of flops. He continued to play the lead in films almost to the end of his life. His later box office hits included the influential Western Vera Cruz (Robert Aldrich, 1954) in which he guns down villain Burt Lancaster in a showdown, William Wyler's Friendly Persuasion (1956), in which he portrays a Quaker farmer during the American Civil War, Billy Wilder's Love in the Afternoon (1957) with Audrey Hepburn, and the hard-edged action Western Man of the West (Anthony Mann, 1958), with Lee J. Cobb. Cooper's final film was the British-American co-production The Naked Edge (Michael Anderson, 1961). In April 1960, Cooper underwent surgery for prostate cancer after it had metastasized to his colon. But by the end of the year, the cancer had spread to his lungs and bones. On 13 May 1961, six days after his sixtieth birthday, Gary Cooper died. The young and handsome Cooper had affairs with Clara Bow, Lupe Velez, Marlene Dietrich, and Tallulah Bankhead. In 1933, he married socialite Veronica Balfe, who, billed as Sandra Shaw, enjoyed a short-lived acting career. They had an ‘open’ marriage and Cooper also had relationships with the actresses Grace Kelly, Anita Ekberg, and Patricia Neal. Sir Cecil Beaton also claimed to have had an affair with him.
Sources: Wikipedia and IMDb.
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