Dulcie Cooper
Encyclopedia
Dulcie Cooper, sometimes also called Dulcy Cooper, (3 November 1903 – 3 September 1981) was an Australia
n stage actress who also performed in silent movies and later in television.
, Australia to English parents. Her father, Ashley Cooper, was a newspaperman who later became interested in theater. Part of her girlhood was spent in California
. While the family resided in Vancouver, British Columbia Dulcie was given some child roles. Known for her curly light blonde hair, she began to perform when she was only two and half years of age. She played little Eva many times and also played the part of Oliver Twist
. When she was eight her parents opted to take her out of the theater. A few years later she attended a performance by Marjorie Rambeau
at a theater in San Francisco. Dulcie was given the opportunity to play the star's daughter in a drama entitled Valley of Content. After this, her family relented and the youth returned to the theater.
where she played leads opposite Edward Everett Horton
at the Majestic Theater for about seven months. Cooper's husband, Stafford Campbell, also played the Majestic in 1924, acting in support of Rambeau. A newspaper reporter noticed Dulcie's performances and advised the actress to go to New York. She made the trip and made her eastern debut in Little Spitfire in Newark, New Jersey
. Soon she crossed the bay to Manhattan
where she appeared in Courage, a play that ran a year on Broadway
. She had a leading part in the cast of They Took The Town, which opened in Charleston, West Virginia
in October 1936.
Cooper felt that her early screen performances were sub par. She was signed by the Fox Film Corporation in the early 1920s and was later courted by both Paramount Pictures
and Metro Goldwyn Mayer. She had roles in Charge It (1921), Live and Let Live (1921), What No Man Knows (1921), Desert Blossoms (1921), and Do and Dare (1922). Her last film was The Face on the Bar Room Floor (1932). On television, she appeared in the play Sorry, Wrong Number in 1946 and in an episode of The Phil Silvers Show
in 1957.
In the 1960s, Cooper performed frequently with the Kenley Players
summer stock theater company in Ohio and Michigan. She played many character roles in musicals with the company, including Aunt Eller in Oklahoma!
and Eulalie Mackecknie Shinn in The Music Man
.
Cooper died in New York City
in 1981.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n stage actress who also performed in silent movies and later in television.
Early Life
Dulcie Cooper was born in SydneySydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, Australia to English parents. Her father, Ashley Cooper, was a newspaperman who later became interested in theater. Part of her girlhood was spent in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. While the family resided in Vancouver, British Columbia Dulcie was given some child roles. Known for her curly light blonde hair, she began to perform when she was only two and half years of age. She played little Eva many times and also played the part of Oliver Twist
Oliver Twist
Oliver Twist; or, The Parish Boy's Progress is the second novel by English author Charles Dickens, published by Richard Bentley in 1838. The story is about an orphan Oliver Twist, who endures a miserable existence in a workhouse and then is placed with an undertaker. He escapes and travels to...
. When she was eight her parents opted to take her out of the theater. A few years later she attended a performance by Marjorie Rambeau
Marjorie Rambeau
Marjorie Rambeau was an American film and stage actress.-Early life:Rambeau was born in San Francisco, California to Marcel Rambeau and Lilian Garlinda Kindelberger. Her parents split up when she was a girl. She and her mother went to Nome, Alaska where young Marjorie dressed as a boy, sang and...
at a theater in San Francisco. Dulcie was given the opportunity to play the star's daughter in a drama entitled Valley of Content. After this, her family relented and the youth returned to the theater.
Career
Cooper came to Los AngelesLos Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
where she played leads opposite Edward Everett Horton
Edward Everett Horton
Edward Everett Horton was an American character actor. He had a long career in film, theater, radio, television and voice work for animated cartoons. He is especially known for his work in the films of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.-Early life:Horton was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Isabella...
at the Majestic Theater for about seven months. Cooper's husband, Stafford Campbell, also played the Majestic in 1924, acting in support of Rambeau. A newspaper reporter noticed Dulcie's performances and advised the actress to go to New York. She made the trip and made her eastern debut in Little Spitfire in Newark, New Jersey
Newark, New Jersey
Newark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...
. Soon she crossed the bay to Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
where she appeared in Courage, a play that ran a year on Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
. She had a leading part in the cast of They Took The Town, which opened in Charleston, West Virginia
Charleston, West Virginia
Charleston is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of West Virginia. It is located at the confluence of the Elk and Kanawha Rivers in Kanawha County. As of the 2010 census, it has a population of 51,400, and its metropolitan area 304,214. It is the county seat of Kanawha County.Early...
in October 1936.
Cooper felt that her early screen performances were sub par. She was signed by the Fox Film Corporation in the early 1920s and was later courted by both Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
and Metro Goldwyn Mayer. She had roles in Charge It (1921), Live and Let Live (1921), What No Man Knows (1921), Desert Blossoms (1921), and Do and Dare (1922). Her last film was The Face on the Bar Room Floor (1932). On television, she appeared in the play Sorry, Wrong Number in 1946 and in an episode of The Phil Silvers Show
The Phil Silvers Show
The Phil Silvers Show is a comedy television series which ran on CBS from 1955 to 1959 for 142 episodes, plus a 1959 special. The series starred Phil Silvers as Master Sergeant Ernest G...
in 1957.
In the 1960s, Cooper performed frequently with the Kenley Players
John Kenley
John Kenley was an American theatrical producer.-1906–1920s:Born John Kremchek, in the winter of 1906, his early childhood was spent in Denver. His father, a Slovakian saloon owner, baptized him as Russian Orthodox and by age 4 he was singing in church, in both Russian and English...
summer stock theater company in Ohio and Michigan. She played many character roles in musicals with the company, including Aunt Eller in Oklahoma!
Oklahoma!
Oklahoma! is the first musical written by composer Richard Rodgers and librettist Oscar Hammerstein II. The musical is based on Lynn Riggs' 1931 play, Green Grow the Lilacs. Set in Oklahoma Territory outside the town of Claremore in 1906, it tells the story of cowboy Curly McLain and his romance...
and Eulalie Mackecknie Shinn in The Music Man
The Music Man
The Music Man is a musical with book, music, and lyrics by Meredith Willson, based on a story by Willson and Franklin Lacey. The plot concerns con man Harold Hill, who poses as a boys' band organizer and leader and sells band instruments and uniforms to naive townsfolk before skipping town with...
.
Cooper died in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in 1981.