TeeJay
12-17-2005, 11:53 PM
As hoopla and box office receipts for the new KING KONG re-make
continue to thrill and offend, it seems to be an approprate time to
commemorate the great patriotic American who conceived of the
original 1933 classic.
Merian C. Cooper was exactly the sort of white American male that
the PC crowd loves to hate and villify; but because of his astonishing
creative imagination & capabilities, we are provided with one of those
rare instances from the media when a hipper-than-thou
entertainment industry will occasionally pay tribute to such a man.
“Born in Jacksonville, Florida, in October 1893, Cooper was
descended from a long line of wealthy Southern plantation owners.
His personality was distinct, a blend of the culture and traditions of
the South, and the more aggressive and pragmatic North where he
was educated; his reading of romanatic writers such as Kipling,
Harte, London, and Haggard; the works of Shakespeare and the Bible,
a book he read every day.”
“A flying hero in World War l, explorer, writer, military theorist,
student of art, and innovative filmmaker, Coopers life was his own
best creation.”
[excepted from Oct. ‘77 issue of American film]
As movie producer, Cooper collaborated on some of John Ford’s
greatest films, Fort Apache, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, & The
Searchers: Uplifting explorations of the American character which
encouraged audiences to take pride in their heritage.
Cooper the Commie-fighter:
In 1911, Cooper was appointed to Annapolis Navel academy, but
instead of ships developed a life long love affair with aviation.
[A passion he frequently depicted in his films.]
After being expelled from the academy for "high spirits & high jinx",
he promised his father that he’d make him proud of him. To cut a
long story short, during the end of World War l, he volunteered for
flight training in the Signal Corps. After getting his wings he was
sent overseas in 1918 and was quickly shot down after after bringing
down two enemy planes. He spent the final weeks of the war as a
prisoner of the Germans where he learned from Russian fellow
prisoners about the horrors of Bolshevism, and found a common
enemy.
After the armistice, Cooper quit the army but stayed on to help
Poland in it's war against Red Army encroachment as defeated
Germans retreated, during a war that lasted from 1919-1921. He
joined the Kosciusko Squadron, composed of
American volunteers, and named after the Polish hero who helped
Washington during the American Revolution.
Cooper flew a fighter plane, and developed his
own method of low level bombardment. He was shot down again
and taken to a work camp in Siberia. There are differing stories
about whether he was passing as a Pole or not. If the Russians knew
he was American, they may have killed him out of hand. He was
eventually able to escape into a Latvia in a grueling trek that lasted
23 days; details of which, along
with his earlier epsodes, are pretty incredible!
"The Force" was definitely with him.
He received Poland's highest military decoration:
virtuti militari [Cross of the Brave].
There's an excellent one hour cable documentary titled "I'm King
Kong: "The Exploits of Merian C. Cooper", available as an extra
with a new DVD re-minting of original KONG [possibly the
most politically incorrect film since Birth Of A Nation.]
Two biographies were said to be in the works.Edited by: TeeJay
continue to thrill and offend, it seems to be an approprate time to
commemorate the great patriotic American who conceived of the
original 1933 classic.
Merian C. Cooper was exactly the sort of white American male that
the PC crowd loves to hate and villify; but because of his astonishing
creative imagination & capabilities, we are provided with one of those
rare instances from the media when a hipper-than-thou
entertainment industry will occasionally pay tribute to such a man.
“Born in Jacksonville, Florida, in October 1893, Cooper was
descended from a long line of wealthy Southern plantation owners.
His personality was distinct, a blend of the culture and traditions of
the South, and the more aggressive and pragmatic North where he
was educated; his reading of romanatic writers such as Kipling,
Harte, London, and Haggard; the works of Shakespeare and the Bible,
a book he read every day.”
“A flying hero in World War l, explorer, writer, military theorist,
student of art, and innovative filmmaker, Coopers life was his own
best creation.”
[excepted from Oct. ‘77 issue of American film]
As movie producer, Cooper collaborated on some of John Ford’s
greatest films, Fort Apache, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, & The
Searchers: Uplifting explorations of the American character which
encouraged audiences to take pride in their heritage.
Cooper the Commie-fighter:
In 1911, Cooper was appointed to Annapolis Navel academy, but
instead of ships developed a life long love affair with aviation.
[A passion he frequently depicted in his films.]
After being expelled from the academy for "high spirits & high jinx",
he promised his father that he’d make him proud of him. To cut a
long story short, during the end of World War l, he volunteered for
flight training in the Signal Corps. After getting his wings he was
sent overseas in 1918 and was quickly shot down after after bringing
down two enemy planes. He spent the final weeks of the war as a
prisoner of the Germans where he learned from Russian fellow
prisoners about the horrors of Bolshevism, and found a common
enemy.
After the armistice, Cooper quit the army but stayed on to help
Poland in it's war against Red Army encroachment as defeated
Germans retreated, during a war that lasted from 1919-1921. He
joined the Kosciusko Squadron, composed of
American volunteers, and named after the Polish hero who helped
Washington during the American Revolution.
Cooper flew a fighter plane, and developed his
own method of low level bombardment. He was shot down again
and taken to a work camp in Siberia. There are differing stories
about whether he was passing as a Pole or not. If the Russians knew
he was American, they may have killed him out of hand. He was
eventually able to escape into a Latvia in a grueling trek that lasted
23 days; details of which, along
with his earlier epsodes, are pretty incredible!
"The Force" was definitely with him.
He received Poland's highest military decoration:
virtuti militari [Cross of the Brave].
There's an excellent one hour cable documentary titled "I'm King
Kong: "The Exploits of Merian C. Cooper", available as an extra
with a new DVD re-minting of original KONG [possibly the
most politically incorrect film since Birth Of A Nation.]
Two biographies were said to be in the works.Edited by: TeeJay