Ben Cooper, Inc. was a

privately held A privately held company (or simply a private company) is a company whose Stock, shares and related rights or obligations are not offered for public subscription or publicly negotiated in their respective listed markets. Instead, the Private equi ...

American

corporation A corporation or body corporate is an individual or a group of people, such as an association or company, that has been authorized by the State (polity), state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law as ...

founded in 1937 which primarily manufactured Halloween costumes from the late 1930s to the late 1980s. It was one of the three largest Halloween costume manufacturers in the

U.S. The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

from the 1950s through the mid-1980s.Rinker, "Halloween Costumes Worth Scaring Up By Collectors," ''The Morning Call'', November 10, 1996. The company's inexpensive plastic masks and vinyl smocks were an iconic American symbol of Halloween from the 1950s to the 1970s, for which Cooper has been called the " Halston of Halloween"Shapiro, "Trick and Treat! Ben Cooper Bags Millions as the Halston of Halloween,"
''People'', October 29, 1979. and the "High Priest" of Halloween.

Corporate history

Ben Cooper - translucent mummy mask - early 1960s

Founder Ben Cooper was born on the

Lower East Side The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal to Houston streets. Historically, it w ...

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in 1906. He studied accounting and briefly sought a career as a

songwriter A songwriter is a person who creates musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music genre and film scoring. ...

before founding a theatrical costume business in 1927."Halloween Costume", in ''Encyclopedia of Clothing and Fashion,'' 2004, p. 167. Cooper designed costumes and sets for the legendary Cotton Club in

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater ...

and several editions of the

Ziegfeld Follies The ''Ziegfeld Follies'' were a series of elaborate theatrical revue productions on Broadway in New York City from 1907 to 1931, with renewals in 1934, 1936, 1943, and 1957. They became a radio program in 1932 and 1936 as '' The Ziegfeld Foll ...

. With live theatre becoming rarer in the 1930s due to the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

and Halloween becoming a more popular holiday, Cooper established Ben Cooper, Inc., in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, New York, in 1937. The firm assumed control of A.S. Fishbach, Inc.—which had a

license A license (American English) or licence (Commonwealth English) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another part ...

to produce costumes based on characters owned by

The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was founded on October 16 ...

such as

Donald Duck Donald Fauntleroy Duck is a cartoon character created by the Walt Disney Company. Donald is an Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor suit, sailor shirt and cap with ...

and

Snow White "Snow White" is a German fairy tale, first written down in the early 19th century. The Brothers Grimm published it in 1812 in the first edition of their collection ''Grimms' Fairy Tales'', numbered as Tale 53. The original title was ''Sneewittch ...

—in 1937 and began selling Disney costumes under Fishbach's Spotlight brand. The two companies formally merged and incorporated as Ben Cooper, Inc., on December 8, 1942. By the late 1940s, Ben Cooper, Inc. was one of the largest and most prominent Halloween costume manufacturers in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

.Fendelman, "Vintage Halloween Costumes," ''Country Living,'' October 1, 2007. Its costumes were generally very thin fabric with a silk-screened image on the front that sold for less than $3. The company began selling its costumes through large retailers such as J. C. Penney,

Sears Sears, Roebuck and Co., commonly known as Sears ( ), is an American chain of department stores and online retailer founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosen ...

, Woolworth's, and five-and-dime stores. Costumes often sold for $1.25 ($ in dollars). At the time, the most popular costumes were traditional Halloween figures such as devils, ghosts, skeletons, and witches. In the 1950s, television characters such as

Davy Crockett Colonel (United States), Colonel David Crockett (August 17, 1786 – March 6, 1836) was an American politician, militia officer and frontiersman. Often referred to in popular culture as the "King of the Wild Frontier", he represented Tennesse ...

Superman Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, which first appeared in the comic book ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1, published in the United States on April 18, 1938.The copyright date of ''Action Comics ...

, and

Zorro Zorro ( or , Spanish for "fox") is a fictional character created in 1919 by American Pulp magazine, pulp writer Johnston McCulley, appearing in works set in the Pueblo de Los Ángeles in Alta California. He is typically portrayed as a dashin ...

were more popular. As parents became more concerned about safety in the 1950s, the company responded by creating its "Glitter Glo" costumes, dresses, and jumpsuits with large amounts of blue glitter glued to the front (which would reflect the headlights of oncoming automobiles). The company banked heavily on the popularity of President John F. Kennedy and

Jacqueline Kennedy Jacqueline Lee Kennedy Onassis ( ; July 28, 1929 – May 19, 1994) was an American writer, book editor, and socialite who served as the first lady of the United States from 1961 to 1963, as the wife of President John F. Kennedy. A popular f ...

, but had to destroy thousands of masks after Kennedy was assassinated in November 1963. Ben Cooper - Empire Strikes Back boxed costume C-3PO - 1977

In the 1960s and 1970s, Ben Cooper, Inc., was one of the "big three" Halloween costume companies, along with Collegeville and the H. Halpern Company (Halco).Rinker, "Unmasking the Value of Old Halloween Costumes," ''The Morning Call,'' October 23, 2007. The company became known for licensing popular film and television characters and getting their images onto store shelves quickly. For example, it licensed

Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appearance, first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in ...

, a virtually unknown character at the time, in 1963. The company also licensed the

Batman Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...

character in 1964. The company was the first to license anything depicting Marvel superheroes. The company produced a very popular

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...

mask in the late 1960s, which sold as equally well as its

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

mask even in the late 1980s.Kleinfeld, "The Weird, the Bad and the Scary", ''New York Times,'' October 15, 1989.
/ref> The company produced a

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mask in 1987, anticipating Bush's election as president by a year. In 1979, Ben Cooper, Inc., was still the largest Halloween costume company in the U.S. That same year, the firm issued its first costume based on a character in an R-rated motion picture, the creature from the film '' Alien''. The company suffered heavy financial losses in the early and mid-1980s. Beginning on September 29, 1982, seven people died after taking the painkiller Tylenol. Investigators discovered that someone had tampered with the product, lacing it with

potassium cyanide Potassium cyanide is a compound with the formula KCN. It is a colorless salt, similar in appearance to sugar, that is highly soluble in water. Most KCN is used in gold mining, organic synthesis, and electroplating. Smaller applications include ...

. Terrified parents nationwide refused to allow their children to celebrate Halloween the following month, and sales of costumes plummeted and did not recover for several years. Ben Cooper, Inc. formed the Halloween Celebration Committee along with eight other manufacturers of Halloween costumes, masks, makeup, and accessories and (in cooperation with the Toy Manufacturers of America) published the booklet "13 Great Ways to Celebrate Halloween" in order to reassure parents and help stimulate interest in the holiday again. Despite this setback, in 1984 the firm was still the largest supplier of Halloween costumes in the United States. The company recovered around 1987, as total sales of accessories, costumes, and makeup rose at an annual rate of 20 percent a year. A 2024 documentary by Rob Caprilozzi, ''Dressing Up Halloween: The Story of Ben Cooper, Inc.'' traces the firm's corporate history. In it, the son of costume designer Frank Romano, states that the reason that the costumes had an image of the character on the front was that children often moved the sweat-inducing masks off their faces and wore them atop their heads and the licensing agreements required that the characters always be recognizable.

Toys

Apart from Halloween costumes, Ben Cooper's other major venture was toys, primarily of the rack toy variety. In 1974, they made Planet of the Apes jigglers, sold loose in a counter box. In 1975, they made Shark!, a rubber shark with a rubber man clearly inspired by the popularity of '' Jaws'', for which Imperial Toy Corporation had the actual license. In 1980, they produced a set of "

Marvel Marvel may refer to: Business * Marvel Entertainment, an American entertainment company ** Marvel Comics, the primary imprint of Marvel Entertainment ** Marvel Universe, a fictional shared universe ** Marvel Music, an imprint of Marvel Comics ...

Super Heroes

Action Figure An action figure is a poseable character model figure made most commonly of plastic, and often based upon characters from a film, comic book, military, video game, television program, or sport; fictional or historical. These figures are usually ...

s," which were also flexible, non-articulated "jigglers," depicting

, The Thing,

Doctor Strange Dr. Stephen Vincent Strange is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Steve Ditko, the character first appeared in ''Strange Tales'' #110 (cover-dated July 1963). Doctor Strange serves as ...

, and the evil Red Skull, the latter two possibly appearing as toys for the first time. They were sold loose from a counter display box.

Bankruptcies and sale

The increasing sales in the late 1980s were not enough to stave off bankruptcy, however. Ben Cooper, Inc.'s financial problems became so severe in 1988 that many customers left the firm and diverted licenses and business to its biggest competitor, Collegeville. The company filed for

Chapter 11 bankruptcy Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code ( Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, w ...

on March 13, 1988. As a privately held company, little financial data was available on its profit margins. However, one press report estimated the firm's profit margin below 10 percent in 1989. On January 6, 1989, the company's facility in

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

burned to the ground, destroying (the company said) $2 million to $3 million in inventory ($ million to $ million in dollars).Scism, "Court Lets Costume Firm Seek Jury Trial On Claim", ''Greensboro News-Record,'' May 16, 1991."Major Bankruptcy Ruling Stands", ''Business Insurance,'' June 3, 1991. Cooper's two insurance companies canceled coverage of the firm and refused to pay, citing inaccuracies in the insurance policy.''In re Ben Cooper, Inc.'', 896 F.2d 1394, 1396-1397. The bankruptcy court refused to consider Cooper's claims against the insurance companies. Cooper appealed the court's ruling. Ben Cooper, Inc. emerged from bankruptcy in April 1989 after paying all its creditors in full. The

United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (in case citations, 2d Cir.) is one of the thirteen United States Courts of Appeals. Its territory covers the states of Connecticut, New York (state), New York, and Vermont, and it has ap ...

determined in February 1990 that the issue of the insurance coverage was "core" and thus should be heard by the bankruptcy court. One of the insurance companies appealed to the

Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all Federal tribunals in the United States, U.S. federal court cases, and over Stat ...

. In a per curiam decision, the Supreme Court held that a serious jurisdictional issue had been brought to the court's attention by legal briefs, forcing it to vacate the appellate court's decision, remanding the case back to the appellate court, and asking the appellate court to consider the jurisdictional issue. The 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals considered the jurisdictional issue, found in Cooper's favor, and reinstated its original ruling in January 1991. Just days after the appellate court's second ruling, executives of Ben Cooper, Inc. announced they were moving the company to

Greensboro, North Carolina Greensboro (; ) is a city in Guilford County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 299,035; it was estimated to be 307,381 in 2024. It is the List of municipalitie ...

.Scism, "Greensboro Gains New Jobs As Costume Maker Relocates," ''Greensboro News-Record,'' January 8, 1991. The company said at this time that it had 35 permanent employees, and manufactured and supplied more than 4 million costumes in the previous year.Scism, "Bankruptcy Repeat No Treat for Costume Manufacturer," ''Greensboro News-Record,'' October 31, 1991. It said it controlled 70 to 80 percent of the licensed costume character costume business, and was partnered with companies such as Children's Television Workshop (producers of

Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational television, educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation, and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Worksh ...

DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...

Mattel Mattel, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational corporation, multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company headquartered in El Segundo, California. Founded in Los Angeles by Harold Matson and the husband-and-wife duo of Ruth Handler, ...

, and Walt Disney Studios. It said the reason for the move was to be closer to Southern textile factories and cutting shops, so that it could move away from the environmentally harmful vinyl costumes it had obtained from Asia and toward more acceptable natural fabrics. The company hoped to invest $6 million ($) in building its new Greensboro facility, and said it would apply for a $600,000 Community Development Block Grant to help defray costs and provide jobs to low-income workers in the area. Rubies Costume banner 1115 Bwy jeh

On October 30, 1991, Ben Cooper, Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy yet again. The company's chief executive officer said the cause of the second bankruptcy was due to relocation expenses, the

early 1990s recession The early 1990s recession describes the period of economic downturn affecting much of the Western world in the early 1990s. The impacts of the recession contributed in part to the 1992 U.S. presidential election victory of Bill Clinton over incum ...

, and delays in obtaining bank loans. The company was not able to survive as an independent firm, however, and was bought by Rubie's Costume Co. in 1992.Szadkowski, "New Superheroes Suit Up With Halloween Standards," ''The Washington Times,'' October 11, 2003
Everhart, "Halloween: A Family Business," ''Selling Halloween,'' February 2007.

Collectibility

Products made by Ben Cooper, Inc. remain highly collectible. Collectors prize the boxed costumes with mask the most. In 2002, photographer Phyllis Galembo published ''Dressed for Thrills: 100 Years of Halloween Costumes & Masquerade,'' a book of text and photography which features some of the costumes produced by Ben Cooper, Inc.Miller, "Mask Oriented," Salon.com, October 30, 2002
see also, generally: Galembo, ''Dressed for Thrills: 100 Years of Halloween Costumes and Masquerade,'' 2002.

Footnotes

Bibliography

*"Antiques and Collectibles." ''The Bergen Record.'' October 31, 2002. *"Ben Cooper Files to Reorganize in Chapter 11." ''Daily News Record.'' March 14, 1988. *"Chalkware Owl Could Bring As Much As $20." '' Spokane Spokesman-Review.'' June 11, 2004. *"Cooper Agrees to Pay Unsecured Creditors 100%." '' Daily News Record.'' October 26, 1988. *DeCaro, Frank. "Grown-Up Goblins: Halloween Fantasies Let the Ghoul Times Roll for Stressed Out Baby Boomers." ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...

.'' October 25, 1987.
Everhart, Jane. "Halloween: A Family Business." ''Selling Halloween.'' February 2007.
*Fendelman, Helaine. "Vintage Halloween Costumes." '' Country Living.'' October 1, 2007. *Fricker, Dan. "Raisins Are Sweet for Costume Maker." '' The Morning Call.'' October 26, 1988. *Galembo, Phyllis. ''Dressed for Thrills: 100 Years of Halloween Costumes and Masquerade.'' New York: Harry N. Abrams, 2002.
"Ghoul Gear."
''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village, New York City, known for being the country's first Alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, ...

.'' October 25–31, 1973. *"Halloween Costume." In ''Encyclopedia of Clothing and Fashion.'' Valerie Steele, ed. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2004. *"Halloween Costumes May Scare Up Profits." '' The Charlotte Observer.'' June 1, 1995. *Kita, Joe. "Just Needle and Thread Create Stuff of Dreams — and Nightmares." ''The Morning Call.'' October 25, 1984.
Kleinfeld, N.R. "The Weird, the Bad and the Scary."
''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

.'' October 15, 1989. *Kovel, Terry. "Scaring Up Containers." ''Virginian-Pilot.'' October 26, 2008. *Kovel, Ralph and Kovel, Terry. "Antiques and Collectibles." ''Monterey County Herald.'' October 22, 2005. *Kovel, Ralph and Kovel, Terry. "Comfort Helped 'Sleeping Chair' Take Wing." ''

Dallas Morning News ''The Dallas Morning News'' is a daily newspaper serving the Dallas–Fort Worth area of Texas, with an average print circulation in 2022 of 65,369. It was founded on October 1, 1885, by Alfred Horatio Belo as a satellite publication of the ' ...

.'' November 5, 1996. *Kovel, Ralph and Kovel, Terry. "Ghoulish Goings-On." ''Atlanta Journal and Constitution.'' October 27, 1995. *Kovel, Ralph and Kovel, Terry. "It's Hard to Put a Price Tag on One-of-a-Kind Folk Art." ''Florida Times-Union.'' October 19, 1996. *Kovel, Ralph and Kovel, Terry. "Pop-Up Books and Toys Entertain for Centuries." ''Albany Times Union.'' October 28, 2007. *Lesem, Jeanne. "Booklet Aims to Make '83 Halloween Trick-or-Treat Both Scary and Safe." ''

United Press International United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th ce ...

.'' October 4, 1983. *"Major Bankruptcy Ruling Stands." ''Business Insurance.'' June 3, 1991. *McLaughlin, Patricia. "Costumes' Popularity Is Absolutely Batty." ''St. Louis Post-Dispatch.'' October 26, 1989.
Miller, Laura. "Mask Oriented."
Salon.com. October 30, 2002. Accessed 2010-09-20. *Moody, Sid. "Television Land Outside Your Door." ''The Hartford Courant.'' October 30, 1960. *Petty, Ross D. "The 'Amazing Adventures' of Super Hero®." '' The Trademark Reporter.'' 100:3 (May–June 2010). *Rinker, Harry. "Halloween Costumes Worth Scaring Up By Collectors." ''The Morning Call.'' November 10, 1996. *Rinker, Harry. "Unmasking the Value of Old Halloween Costumes." ''The Morning Call.'' October 23, 2007. *Rosenkrantz, Linda. "Chills and Thrills Have Long History." ''San Diego Union-Tribune.'' October 20, 2002. *Sandstrom, Karen. "Frightfully Collectible." ''The Plain Dealer.'' October 28, 1994. *Scism, Jack. "Bankruptcy Repeat No Treat for Costume Manufacturer." ''Greensboro News-Record.'' October 31, 1991. *Scism, Jack. "Court Lets Costume Firm Seek Jury Trial On Claim." ''Greensboro News-Record.'' May 16, 1991. *Scism, Jack. "Greensboro Gains New Jobs As Costume Maker Relocates." ''Greensboro News-Record.'' January 8, 1991.
Shapiro, Harriet. "Trick and Treat! Ben Cooper Bags Millions as the Halston of Halloween."
''

People The term "the people" refers to the public or Common people, common mass of people of a polity. As such it is a concept of human rights law, international law as well as constitutional law, particularly used for claims of popular sovereignty. I ...

.'' October 29, 1979.
"Snow White Costumes By Fishbach." ''Playthings.'' June 1938.
*Szadkowski, Joseph. "New Superheroes Suit Up With Halloween Standards." ''

The Washington Times ''The Washington Times'' is an American Conservatism, conservative daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It covers general interest topics with an emphasis on Politics of the United States, national politics. Its broadsheet daily edit ...

.'' October 11, 2003. *"Trick-or-Treating as Buck Rogers." ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

.'' October 28, 2000. *Yvaska, Steven Wayne. "Spirited Noisemakers." ''San Jose Mercury News.'' October 29, 2005. {{DEFAULTSORT:Ben Cooper, Inc. Halloween Halloween in the United States Manufacturing companies established in 1937 Manufacturing companies disestablished in 1992 Clothing retailers of the United States Defunct companies based in New York City Companies based in Greensboro, North Carolina Companies that have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1988 Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1991 1937 establishments in the United States 1937 establishments in New York City Companies established in 1937 Clothing companies based in New York City