Jackie Cooper

Acting

Jackie Cooper

Born 1922-09-15 · Los Angeles, California, USA

Jackie Cooper (September 15, 1922 –May 3, 2011) was an American actor. He is best known for his role of Perry White in the Christopher Reeves Superman films (1978–1987). He with the Navy in the South Pacific toward the end of World War II and then, quietly and without publicity or fanfare, compiled one of the most distinguished peacetime military careers of anyone in his profession. In 1961, as his weekly TV series Hennesey (1959) was enhancing naval recruiting efforts, accepted a commission as a line officer in the Naval Reserve with duties in recruitment, training films, and public relations. Holder of a multi-engine pilot license, he later co-piloted jet planes for the Navy, which made him an Honorary Aviator authorized to wear wings of gold-at the time only the third so honored in naval aviation history. By 1976 he had attained the rank of captain, and was in uniform aboard the carrier USS Constellation for the Bicentennial celebration on July 4. In 1980, the Navy proposed a period of active duty at the Pentagon that would have resulted in a promotion to rear admiral, bringing him even with Air Force Reserve Brigadier General James Stewart. Fresh on the heels of a second directing Emmy, he felt his absence would impact achieving a long-held goal of directing motion pictures, and reluctantly declined. (The opportunity in films never materialized.) Holds Letters of Commendation from six secretaries of the Navy. Was honorary chairman of the U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation and a charter member of VIVA, the effort to return POW-MIAs from Vietnam. Upon retirement in 1982, he was decorated with the Legion of Merit by Navy Secretary John F. Lehman Jr.. Other than Stewart, no performer in his industry has achieved a higher uniformed rank in the U.S. military. (Glenn Ford was also a Naval Reserve captain, and director and Captain John Ford was awarded honorary flag rank upon his 1951 retirement from the Naval Reserve).

Acting credits

Superman poster
7.2

Mild-mannered Clark Kent works as a reporter at the Daily Planet alongside his crush, Lois Lane. Clark must summon his superhero alter-ego when the nefarious Lex Luthor launches a plan to take over the world.

Superman

1978

Superman II poster
6.8

Three Kryptonian criminals led by General Zod team up with Lex Luthor to conquer Earth, forcing a depowered Superman to regain his strength and stop them.

Superman II

1980

Superman IV: The Quest for Peace poster
4.6

With global superpowers engaged in an increasingly hostile arms race, Superman leads a crusade to rid the world of nuclear weapons. But Lex Luthor, recently sprung from jail, is declaring war on the Man of Steel and his quest to save the planet. Using a strand of Superman's hair, Luthor synthesizes a powerful ally known as Nuclear Man and ignites an epic battle spanning Earth and space.

Superman IV: The Quest for Peace

1987

Superman III poster
5.5

Aiming to defeat the Man of Steel, wealthy executive Ross Webster hires bumbling but brilliant Gus Gorman to develop synthetic kryptonite, which yields some unexpected psychological effects. Between rekindling romance with his high school sweetheart and saving himself, Superman must contend with a powerful supercomputer.

Superman III

1983

The First 100 Years: A Celebration of American Movies poster
8.0

Based on the first centenary of the largest exporter of films in the world, that is Hollywood, is the story told by its protagonists, actors and writers and other people who made life in this business, interspersing images of famous movies.

The First 100 Years: A Celebration of American Movies

1995

Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut poster
7.4

Superman agrees to sacrifice his powers to start a relationship with Lois Lane, unaware that three Kryptonian criminals he inadvertently released are conquering Earth.

Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut

2006

Ziegfeld Girl poster
6.6

Discovery by Flo Ziegfeld changes a girl's life but not necessarily for the better, as three beautiful women find out when they join the spectacle on Broadway: Susan, the singer who must leave behind her ageing vaudevillian father; vulnerable Sheila, the working girl pursued both by a millionaire and by her loyal boyfriend from Flatbush; and the mysterious European beauty Sandra, whose concert violinist husband cannot endure the thought of their escaping from poverty by promenading her glamor in skimpy costumes.

Ziegfeld Girl

1941

Look, Up in the Sky! The Amazing Story of Superman poster
7.6

The history of the comic book superhero, Superman, in his various media incarnations.

Look, Up in the Sky! The Amazing Story of Superman

2006

When a Feller Needs a Friend poster
5.5

A lame boy's uncle tries to rescue him from his over-protective parents.

When a Feller Needs a Friend

1932

The Love Machine poster
5.0

An ambitious TV newscaster has an affair with the wife of a network executive to get a promotion.

The Love Machine

1971

Treasure Island poster
6.5

In this early film adaptation of the classic novel by Robert Louis Stevenson, young Jim Hawkins is caught up with the pirate Long John Silver in search of buccaneer Captain Flint's buried treasure.

Treasure Island

1934

The Champ poster
7.1

A broken-down alcoholic prizefighter struggles to keep custody of his adoring son.

The Champ

1931

The Return of Frank James poster
6.3

Farmer Frank and his ward hunt brother Jesse's killers, the back-shooting Fords.

The Return of Frank James

1940

Skippy poster
6.1

Skippy, the mischievous son of a wealthy doctor, meets Sooky in poverty-ridden Shantytown, and together they try to save Sooky's pet from a cruel dogcatcher.

Skippy

1931

The Bowery poster
5.4

"In the Gay Nineties New York had grown up into bustles and balloon Sleeves ... but The Bowery had grown younger, louder and more rowdy until it was known as the 'Livest Mile on the face of the globe' ... the cradle of men who were later to be famous.

The Bowery

1933

Surrender poster
5.1

A wealthy writer who has had terrible experiences with money-hungry girlfriends & ex-wives pretends to be a broke, washed-up novelist to see if the woman he loves wants him for himself or just for his money.

Surrender

1987

No artwork available
NR

Two autograph hounds attend an air show at Santa Anita racetrack.

Soaring Stars

1942

You Will Believe: The Cinematic Saga of Superman poster
6.0

A 5-part documentary of the history of Superman in the movies. • Origin - Superman in the media and the challenges the Salkinds faced • Vision - Creating the right script, Choosing the right director and casting the right actors • Ascent - The production and launch of a new kind of fantasy film • Crisis - Complications and conflicts between the creative forces behind Superman II • Redemption - Criticisms and burnout of Superman III and Superman IV: The Quest for Peace

You Will Believe: The Cinematic Saga of Superman

2006

The Making of 'Superman III' poster
6.8

This documentary treats movie fans to a behind-the-scenes look at the making of Superman III, a more comical take on the superhero story in which the Man of Steel takes on a supercomputer and its bumbling programmer. Included are interviews with the cast and crew who share their experiences from making the film, as well as disscuss the efforts that went into it.

The Making of 'Superman III'

1985

The Devil Is a Sissy poster
7.0

A well-bred young English lad living in lower Manhattan tries to gain acceptance from his not-so-well-bred peers at school.

The Devil Is a Sissy

1936

Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage poster
7.0

Out-takes (mostly from Warner Bros.), promotional shorts, movie premieres, public service pleas, wardrobe tests, documentary material, and archival footage make up this star-studded voyeuristic look at the Golden age of Hollywood during the 30s, 40, and 50.

Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage

1983

Brother, Can You Spare a Dime? poster
6.3

Period music, film clips and newsreel footage combined into a visual exploration of the American entertainment industry during the Great Depression.

Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?

1975

Journey into Fear poster
6.0

U.S geologist discovers something about Oil that proves VERY threatening to the Turkish and Arab business people.

Journey into Fear

1975

The Big Guy poster
8.0

A man is given the choice between having fabulous wealth or saving an innocent man from the death penalty.

The Big Guy

1939

Behind the camera

Rodeo Girl poster
8.5

Sammy Garrett, the wife of a champion rodeo performer, is tired of her subsidiary role at home as a housewife. So she becomes an aspiring rodeo rider herself, encouraged by her one-time performer mother, and eventually confronts her new lifestyle, despite her husband's disapproval. Based on the true story of rodeo champion Sue Pirtle.

Rodeo Girl

1980

The Night They Saved Christmas poster
5.6

An oil company is exploring two Arctic sites for oil. The needed blasting at the first site rocks Santa Claus' North Pole village. He realizes that any blasting at the second site will destroy his home. He enlists the aid of a woman and her children to convince her husband (who works for the company) that the first site is where the oil they want is. Along the way, Santa explains all his secrets in delivering presents all around the world.

The Night They Saved Christmas

1984

Marathon poster
6.0

A bemused, mild-mannered accountant takes up jogging and a lithesome, young woman sprints into his life, inspiring him to enter a marathon, to the annoyance of his non-running wife.

Marathon

1980

White Mama poster
8.0

A poor, elderly white woman living in a tenement in a black ghetto is befriended by a neighborhood boy, and the two of them form a mutually beneficial relationship: he provides her companionship and protection, and she becomes the mother he never had.

White Mama

1980

Perfect Gentlemen poster
4.8

Women whose husbands are incarcerated decide to band together to rob a hotel safe.

Perfect Gentlemen

1978

Stand Up and Be Counted poster
7.0

Sheila is a newspaper reporter who returns to her home town in order to write an article about the progress of the liberation of the women. Arriving at the town she is very surprised to see that her sister and also her mother agree very much with the feministic arguments.

Stand Up and Be Counted

1972

Leave 'Em Laughing poster
8.0

Real-life clown Jack Thum, along with his devoted wife, Shirlee, cared for dozens of homeless children — 37 of them over the years — in the Chicago area, all of whom come back to visit when they discover he's terminally ill.

Leave 'Em Laughing

1981

Izzy & Moe poster
6.0

The adventures of two retired vaudeville performers who become two of the best prohibition agents in the 1920's.

Izzy & Moe

1985

Rainbow poster
10.0

The early life and struggles of Judy Garland (portrayed by Andrea McArdle), and of the film star's trials as a youngster in dealing with the movie studio system that held her back while her mother was forever pushing her to excel.

Rainbow

1978

Sex and the Single Parent poster
10.0

Two attractive divorcees find that their newly realized independence continues to be guided by their respective parental obligations.

Sex and the Single Parent

1979

The Deacon Street Deer poster
8.0

Neighborhood children protect a deer that has escaped from cruel carnival owners.

The Deacon Street Deer

1986

Having Babies III poster
4.8

Dr. Julie Farr presides over three impending births and cannot help but get involved in the lives of her troubled patients.

Having Babies III

1978

Moonlight poster
7.5

A fast-food delivery man for a New York Chinese restaurant gets involved with international terrorists and is recruited by undercover agents to help track down the leader in this prospective pilot.

Moonlight

1982

Rosie: The Rosemary Clooney Story poster
NR

The story of singer Rosemary Clooney's rise to fame, her marriage to Jose Ferrer, and her nervous breakdown.

Rosie: The Rosemary Clooney Story

1982

The Ladies poster
9.0

Sentimental drama in which, following her divorce, a middle-aged woman (Patricia Elliott) moves in with her daughter (Talia Balsam). But things do not run smoothly...

The Ladies

1987

The Ladies poster
9.0

Sentimental drama in which, following her divorce, a middle-aged woman (Patricia Elliott) moves in with her daughter (Talia Balsam). But things do not run smoothly...

The Ladies

1987