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Merian C. Cooper papers on produced motion pictures, 1915-1984, 1888

 Series
Identifier: MSS 2008 Series 5

Scope and Contents

Contains materials that document Cooper's career primarily as a motion picture producer. Motion pictures are documented in many cases by correspondence, photographs, scripts, publicity material, programs, and art. These include Grass, Chang, The Four Feathers (1929), The Most Dangerous Game, Little Women (1933), King Kong (1933), The Son of Kong, She (1935), The Last Days of Pompeii (1935), The Fugitive (1947), Fort Apache, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, Mighty Joe Young (1949), The Quiet Man, This is Cinerama, The Searchers, Seven Wonders of the World, and The Best of Cinerama. The King Kong section is especially important as it contains much correspondence relating to the film and Cooper's assertion of his rights during the efforts by Dino De Laurentiis to remake the film released by Paramount in 1976. Materials date from 1915 to 1984 and 1888.

Dates

  • 1915-1984
  • 1888

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

152 folders

23 oversize folders

3 phonographs

3 photographs

1 oversize box

32 film reels

3 videoreels

1 videocassette

Language of Materials

English

Arrangement

Arranged chronologically by production release date and alphabetically by production title thereafter.

Repository Details

Part of the L. Tom Perry Special Collections Repository

Contact:
1130 HBLL
Brigham Young University
Provo Utah 84602 United States