Gary Cooper was one of the big name celebrities of the 1940s. By then he was well into his career, having racked up over seventy acting credits with films such
as Wings (1927) and Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936). Cooper worked in all kinds of pictures but was especially successful in Westerns, which was fitting given his background.
In 1901, Gary Cooper was born in Helena, Montana to English immigrants. His father was a farmer and a judge who in 1906, decided to invest in ranchland north of the city. In 1910, Cooper and his brother left Montana to attend school in England but returned in 1914, at the outbreak of WWI. Cooper and his brother then attended school at Gallatin Valley High School in Bozeman. At age thirteen, Cooper injured his hip in a car accident and, upon the recommendation of his doctor, returned home to recuperate via horseback riding. Later, Cooper studied at Grinnell College in Iowa and, surprisingly, was unable to make the drama team. He decided to drop out in 1924 and moved back to the ranch for the last time. That year, Cooper’s parents moved to Los Angeles.
Unable to make a living for himself in Helena, Cooper decided to join them.
After trying a handful of jobs, Cooper began getting work as a movie extra, typically as a cowboy in Westerns. His work was noticed and in 1925 he was signed to a long-term contract with Paramount. His success was acknowledged back in Helena with a quaint newspaper article titled, “Gary Cooper, Son of Judge and Mrs. Cooper, Now a Star.”