Gary Cooper

Born Frank James Cooper on May 7, 1901, he started as a film extra and stunt rider before finding his footing as a Western hero in silent pictures. His first sound role, the title part in 1929's The Virginian, made him a star. Through the 1930s he stretched beyond cowboys into adventure and drama - A Farewell to Arms in 1932, The Lives of a Bengal Lancer in 1935 - then hit his commercial and critical peak playing everyday champions in Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, Meet John Doe, Ball of Fire, The Pride of the Yankees, and For Whom the Bell Tolls. He won Best Actor for Sergeant York in 1941 and High Noon in 1952, and as he aged he gravitated toward conflicted, nonviolent men searching for something like grace in Friendly Persuasion and Man of the West. He died May 13, 1961, six days after receiving an honorary Oscar, having spent 23 consecutive years as one of the ten biggest names in American film.