Merian C. Cooper

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Director | Inventor | Producer | Writer Born Oct. 24, 1893 in Jacksonville, FL

Merian C. Cooper was a veteran motion picture producer and decorated hero of two world wars. In film he was perhaps best known as the sole creator, co-producer and coauthor of the 1933 film classic "King Kong."

He was also one of the original developers of the Cinerama process, co-producing with Lowell Thomas the film "This Is Cinerama."

Cooper was a veteran whose plane was shot down once during WWI and a second time in 1921 while he was a member of a volunteer American flight squadron called the Kosciuszko Squadron, which supported the Polish Army during the Soviet-Polish war.

In World War II he saw duty in China and the Pacific, serving with Gen. Henry H. Arnold and Gen. Claire L. Chennault.

Between wars he was a major figure in Hollywood's film industry, serving as co-producer or co-author on such films as "Flying Down to Rio," "The Last Days of Pompeii," "Little Women" and "The Quiet Man."

— Los Angeles Times April 22, 1973

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