
Gary Cooper in The First Kiss (1928)

a film fan uses a mirror to admire the image of film star Gary Cooper she has had tattooed on her back by George Burchett a London tattooist
photo by William Vanderso, November 14, 1936


Whomever he played—soldier, cowboy, adventurer, lounge lizard, lover—Gary Cooper became that character. The artistry was seamless, so natural that it was impossible to tell where the man left off and the actor began. As Charles Laughton put it: ‘We act, he is.’ John Barrymore put it another way: ‘This fellow is the world’s greatest actor. He does without effort what the rest of us spend our lives trying to learn—namely to be natural.’ (ᴊᴏʜɴ ᴍᴜʟʜᴏʟʟᴀɴᴅ)
Happy Birthday Gary Cooper | May 7, 1901 – May 13, 1961
Whomever he played—soldier, cowboy, adventurer, lounge lizard, lover—Gary Cooper became that character. The artistry was seamless, so natural that it was impossible to tell where the man left off and the actor began. As Charles Laughton put it: ‘We act, he is.’ John Barrymore put it another way: ‘This fellow is the world’s greatest actor. He does without effort what the rest of us spend our lives trying to learn—namely to be natural.’
John Mulholland