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IMDbPro

Melville Cooper(1896-1973)

  • Actor
  • Soundtrack
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Melville Cooper
Trailer for this classic action thriller
Play trailer1:56
13 Rue Madeleine (1947)
3 Videos
20 Photos
Born George Melville Cooper on October 15, 1896, in Birmingham England, he was the son of non-professionals W.C.J. and Frances (Brennan) Cooper, and attended various English public schools, including King Edward's School in Birmingham. Attracted to the stage as a teenager, he made his debut at Stratford-on-Avon at age 18, but his young career was interrupted by World War I. Serving in a Scottish regiment on the Western Front, he was captured and made prisoner of war for a time by the Germans.

Following the war Cooper returned to the theatre and earned good reviews in the play "The Farmer's Wife" in 1921. He made his official London debut with a production of "Back to Methuselah in 1924, and furthered his career on stage with roles in "The Third Finger" (1927) and "Journey's End" (1929). He turned to films in middle age with the English entry Black Coffee (1931) and, after supporting roles in the popular costumers The Private Life of Don Juan (1934) and The Scarlet Pimpernel (1934), decided to cross the waters to seek work in America. Taking his first Broadway curtain call with "Laburnum Grove" (1935), he also appeared in "Jubilee" (1935) and "Tovarich" (1937) and subsequently became a sometime stage director, as in the case of the 1947 production of "We Love a Lassie."

In Hollywood Cooper was effectively cast as ineffectual types and played in a number of "A" pictures. Giving great snob appeal, he made a most reliable and disdainful butler, chauffeur or doorman in such films as The Bishop Misbehaves (1935), Four's a Crowd (1938), Too Many Husbands (1940), And Baby Makes Three (1949) and The Petty Girl (1950). More quality roles, however, wormed their way outside this stereotype with his blundering and cowardly Sheriff of Nottingham opposite dashing Errol Flynn in The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938); conman sidekick to Barbara Stanwyck in The Lady Eve (1941); portentous Mr. Collins whom Greer Garson nearly married in Pride and Prejudice (1940); and Mr. Tringle, the wedding supervisor, in Father of the Bride (1950) being particular standouts.

Cooper made an active jaunt into TV roles in the 1950s but returned strongly to the stage after biding farewell to films in 1958. In the 1960s he enjoyed such scene-stealing theatrical roles as Colonel Pickering in "My Fair Lady," Pellinore in "Camelot" and Reverend Chasuble in "The Importance of Being Earnest". He made one last return to Broadway playing (what else?) a valet in a short-run revival of the farcical comedy "Charley's Aunt" in 1970, which co-starred Rex Thompson, Louis Nye and 'Maureen O'Sullivan'. Married three times, his first was to London-born actress Rita Page who had a bit part in one of his films This Above All (1942), and died in 1954. They had one daughter, Valerie. The 76-year-old Cooper died in Los Angeles of cancer in 1973, and was survived by third wife Elizabeth.
BornOctober 15, 1896
DiedMarch 31, 1973(76)
BornOctober 15, 1896
DiedMarch 31, 1973(76)
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank

Photos20

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Known for

Olivia de Havilland, Errol Flynn, Basil Rathbone, and Eugene Pallette in The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)
The Adventures of Robin Hood
7.9
  • High Sheriff of Nottingham
  • 1938
Joan Fontaine and Laurence Olivier in Rebecca (1940)
Rebecca
8.1
  • Coroner
  • 1940
David Niven and Cantinflas in Around the World in 80 Days (1956)
Around the World in 80 Days
6.7
  • Mr. Talley - Steward R.M.S 'Mongolia'
  • 1956
Henry Fonda and Barbara Stanwyck in The Lady Eve (1941)
The Lady Eve
7.7
  • Gerald
  • 1941

Credits

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IMDbPro

Actor



  • Elaine Bonazzi in The Trial of Mary Lincoln (1972)
    NET Opera Theater
    TV Series
    • Old Prisoner
    • 1969
  • The Best of the Post (1960)
    The Best of the Post
    7.5
    TV Series
    • Merryweather
    • 1961
  • Dow Hour of Great Mysteries (1960)
    Dow Hour of Great Mysteries
    7.5
    TV Series
    • Franklyn
    • 1960
  • Craig Hill and Kenneth Tobey in Whirlybirds (1957)
    Whirlybirds
    7.7
    TV Series
    • Deacon Barrington
    • 1959
  • Kraft Theatre (1947)
    The United States Steel Hour
    7.8
    TV Series
    • Father Gustave
    • 1959
  • Playhouse 90 (1956)
    Playhouse 90
    8.3
    TV Series
    • Detective
    • Brassett the Valet
    • 1957–1959
  • From the Earth to the Moon (1958)
    From the Earth to the Moon
    5.1
    • Bancroft
    • 1958
  • Buckskin (1958)
    Buckskin
    7.6
    TV Series
    • Old Man Sands
    • 1958
  • Shirley Temple in Shirley Temple's Storybook (1958)
    Shirley Temple's Storybook
    7.3
    TV Series
    • Binky
    • 1958
  • Suspicion (1957)
    Suspicion
    8.1
    TV Series
    • Mr. Merton
    • 1958
  • Richard Coogan in The Californians (1957)
    The Californians
    6.5
    TV Series
    • Lord Charlie Fairbanks
    • 1957
  • The Story of Mankind (1957)
    The Story of Mankind
    4.8
    • Major Domo
    • 1957
  • Alfred Hitchcock in Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955)
    Alfred Hitchcock Presents
    8.5
    TV Series
    • Mullet
    • Pat Lummock
    • 1957
  • Studio 57 (1954)
    Studio 57
    7.0
    TV Series
    • 1957
  • Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher in Bundle of Joy (1956)
    Bundle of Joy
    6.0
    • Adams - the Butler
    • 1956

Soundtrack



  • The Red Danube (1949)
    The Red Danube
    6.5
    • performer: "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" (uncredited)
    • 1949

Videos3

Official Trailer
Trailer 3:44
Official Trailer
13 Rue Madeleine
Trailer 1:56
13 Rue Madeleine
13 Rue Madeleine
Trailer 1:56
13 Rue Madeleine
Immortal Sergeant
Trailer 2:12
Immortal Sergeant

Personal details

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  • Height
    • 5′ 10″ (1.78 m)
  • Born
    • October 15, 1896
    • Birmingham, England, UK
  • Died
    • March 31, 1973
    • Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA(cancer)
  • Spouses
      Elizabeth SutherlandNovember 13, 1943 - March 13, 1973 (his death)
  • Other works
    Active on Broadway in the following productions:
  • Publicity listings
    • 5 Articles

Did you know

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  • Trivia
    Served as a lieutenant with the Seaforth Highlanders, a line infantry regiment of the British Army, in World War I and was wounded and taken prisoner by the Germans.

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