Born	Frank James Cooper May 7, 1901 Helena, Montana, U.S.
Died	May 13, 1961 (aged 60) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Cause of death	Prostate cancer
Resting place	Sacred Heart Cemetery, Southampton, New York
Education	Dunstable Grammar School Gallatin Valley High School
Alma mater	Grinnell College
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1925–1960
Political party	Republican
Religion	Roman Catholic
Spouse(s)	Veronica Cooper (m. 1933–61)
Children	Maria (b. 1937)

Gary Cooper (born Frank James Cooper; May 7, 1901 – May 13, 1961) was an American film actor. Noted for his stoic, understated style, Cooper found success in a number of film genres, including westerns (High Noon), crime (City Streets), comedy (Mr. Deeds Goes to Town) and drama (The Pride of the Yankees). Cooper's career spanned from 1925 until shortly before his death, and comprised more than one hundred films.

Cooper received five Academy Award nominations for Best Actor, winning twice for Sergeant York and High Noon. He also received an Honorary Award in 1961 from the Academy.

Decades later, the American Film Institute named Cooper among the AFI's 100 Years...100 Stars, ranking 11th among males. In 2003, his performances as Will Kane in High Noon, Lou Gehrig in The Pride of the Yankees, and Alvin York in Sergeant York made the AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes & Villains list, all of them as heroes.

Death
On April 14, 1960, Cooper underwent surgery for prostate cancer after it had metastasized to his colon. He fell ill again on May 31 and underwent further surgery in early June. However, the cancer had already begun to spread to his lungs and bones. Cooper, however, was not informed his cancer was terminal until February 1961. Typically, the actor telephoned the doctor the very next day to apologize for the ordeal of having to tell him the fatal news.

Cooper was too ill to attend the Academy Awards ceremony in April 1961, so his close friend, James Stewart, accepted the honorary Oscar on his behalf. Stewart's emotional speech hinted that something was seriously wrong, and the next day newspapers ran the headline, "Gary Cooper has cancer". One month later on May 13, 1961, six days after his 60th birthday, Cooper died. In his last public statement, Cooper said, "I know that what is happening is God's will. I am not afraid of the future."

Cooper was originally interred in Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery in Culver City, California. In May 1974 his body was removed from the Grotto Section of Holy Cross Cemetery, when his widow Veronica remarried and moved to New York. She had Cooper's body exhumed and reburied in Sacred Hearts Cemetery in Southampton, New York. Veronica "Rocky" Cooper Converse died in 2000 and was buried next to Cooper at Sacred Hearts Cemetery.