The Last Hero

Fülszöveg

On April 17, 1961, just about everyone in America suddenly realized that Gary Cooper was dying.
It wasn't planned, for only a few knew of Cooper's terminál cancer, and James Stewart was ashamed of himself for giving it away by breaking down.
Accepting a special Academy Award for Cooper for his over-all contributions to the movies, Stewart said, "We're all very proud of you, Coop . .
He was shaking, tears forming, voice breaking. . . all of us are . . . terribly proud."
When Gary Cooper died less than four weeks later, few persons in the world of films or any avenue of pub-lic life had been so deeply mourned. Many screen stars have been idolized, and many others have been ad-mired. Gary Cooper was idolized and admired but was alsó beloved, as perhaps no other contemporary screen figure was beloved.
He was beloved by many for the person they knew or believed him to be, but he was beloved by many others for whom Gary Cooper was entirely defined by his screen projection. He was... Tovább

Fülszöveg

On April 17, 1961, just about everyone in America suddenly realized that Gary Cooper was dying.
It wasn't planned, for only a few knew of Cooper's terminál cancer, and James Stewart was ashamed of himself for giving it away by breaking down.
Accepting a special Academy Award for Cooper for his over-all contributions to the movies, Stewart said, "We're all very proud of you, Coop . .
He was shaking, tears forming, voice breaking. . . all of us are . . . terribly proud."
When Gary Cooper died less than four weeks later, few persons in the world of films or any avenue of pub-lic life had been so deeply mourned. Many screen stars have been idolized, and many others have been ad-mired. Gary Cooper was idolized and admired but was alsó beloved, as perhaps no other contemporary screen figure was beloved.
He was beloved by many for the person they knew or believed him to be, but he was beloved by many others for whom Gary Cooper was entirely defined by his screen projection. He was an encouragingly heroic image in an optimistic era of hero worship. He belongs to a very recent yet thoroughly bygone American era such as many of our citizens yearn for.
Thought of Gary Cooper conjures a great era of the movies when they were part of a national unity that now somehow eludes us. He had a great career; and somé would say, a great life. Like Gary Cooper himself, it was a life remarkably ordinary and spectacular.
from
THE LAST HERO
A biography OF GARY GOOPER
BY LARRY SWINDELL
BYLARRY SWINDELL
Gary Cooper was the foremost American screen hero—a major film actor for over thirty years, beginning with the silents. His stardom eclipsed even such successors as Clark Gable, Spen-eer Tracy, Humphrey Bogart, and John Wayne.
This first major biography of the hero of High Noon captures the enig-matic essence of filmland's favorité cowboy. The contrast of his public re-ticence and priváté sophistication made "Coop" a paradox not even the press could unravel. It surprised many that this long-legged cowpoke could dazzle moviegoers with his blue eyes and quiet intensity. Nevertheless, he epitomized both innocence and rak-ishness in a combination that was irre-sistible both on and off the screen. It made him one of the richest and most sought-after stars in the Hollywood firmament.
(continued on back flap)
In his startiing transformation from Montana cowboy to international playboy, Cooper attracted such vamp-ish lovers as Clara Bow and Lupe Ve-lez, and such savant acquaintances as Hemingway and Picasso. Yet he was the most humble and sincere cosmo-politan who ever raced through Bev-erly Hills in a Duesenberg. His life was like one of the movies in which he invariably "played himself"—warmly and winningly.
The Last Hero is an in-depth por-trait of one of America's best loved "good guys," a close-up look at Gary Cooper, both man and myth.
Larry Swindell is a film scholar-historian and the author of much-praised biographies of Spencer Tracy, John Garfield, and Carole Lombard. A career journalist and an ac-complished literary critic, he was book editor of the Philadelphia In-quirer for seven years. He has taught film and theater courses at the Univer-sity of California, Irvine, and now teaches at the University of Delaware and La Salle College. His articles on films and screen personalities have ap-peared in American Film and the New York Times, among others. Vissza