Merian C. Cooper correspondence, 1915-1973
Scope and Contents
Contains correspondence between Cooper and his father and brother, John C. Cooper Senior and Junior, mostly between the years 1915 and 1933; from Cooper to wife Dorothy and son Richard and daughter Theresa during World War II. The other seven boxes include letter to, from, or regarding: Ray Bradbury, Kevin Brownlow, Douglas Burden, Anna Chennault, Walt Disney, Ira C. Eaker, John Farrow, Anthony Fokker, James Forrestal, Senator Barry Goldwater, Ron Haver, Katherine Hepburn, Richard Hincha, Herbert Hoover, J. Edgar Hoover, Herbert T. Kalmus, General George C. Kenney, Arthur Bliss Lane, Jesse L. Lasky, General Curtis LaMay, Senator George Murphy, General Douglas MacArthur, Senator Joseph McCarthy, Ernest B. Schoedsack, Robert L. Scott, David O. Selznick, Max Steiner, Lowell Thomas, John Wayne, Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney, and John Hay Whitney. Materials date from 1915 to 1973.
Dates
- Creation: 1915-1973
Creator
- Cooper, Merian C. (Person)
Conditions Governing Access
Open for public research.
Conditions Governing Use
It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain any necessary copyright clearances. Permission to use material from this collection must be obtained from Reference Services at specialcollections@byu.edu.
Biographical / Historical
Merian Caldwell Cooper was an American aviator, United States Air Force and Polish Air Force officer, adventurer, screenwriter, film director, and producer. He was a notable movie producer, starting with documentaries filmed with Ernest B. Schoedsack while traveling the world, most famously Grass and Chang. Cooper was a member of the board of directors of Pan American Airways. During his film career, he worked for several Hollywood studios. He is considered co-inventor of the Cinerama film projection process. Cooper's most famous film was the 1933 movie King Kong. He was awarded an honorary Oscar for lifetime achievement in 1952 and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960. Cooper married film actress Dorothy Jordan in 1933. They were married until his death on April 21, 1973.
Extent
6 boxes
29 folders
6 sound discs
13 sound cassettes
Language of Materials
English
Arrangement
Arranged in two subseries: 1. Merian C. Cooper family correspondence, 1915-1973. 2. Merian C. Cooper correspondence, 1922-1985.
Subject
- Cooper, Merian C. -- Correspondence (Person)
Genre / Form
Topical
Repository Details
Part of the L. Tom Perry Special Collections Repository
1130 HBLL
Brigham Young University
Provo Utah 84602 United States