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Merian C. Cooper correspondence, 1915-1973

 Series
Identifier: MSS 2008 Series 13

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

  • 1915-1973

Creator

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

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