Dulcie Cooper (3 November 1903 – 3 September 1981), briefly known as Dulcy Cooper, was an

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

n-born American stage actress who also performed in silent movies and later in television.

Early life

Dulcie Cooper was born in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

New South Wales, Australia ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

in 1903 to English parents. Her father, Ashley Cooper, was a newspaperman who later became interested in theater. Part of her girlhood was spent in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. While the family resided in

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

she was given some child roles. Known for her curly light blonde hair, she began to perform when she was only two and half years of age. She played little Eva many times and also played the part of

Oliver Twist ''Oliver Twist; or, The Parish Boy's Progress'', Charles Dickens's second novel, was published as a serial from 1837 to 1839, and as a three-volume book in 1838. Born in a workhouse, the orphan Oliver Twist is bound into apprenticeship with ...

. When she was eight her parents opted to take her out of the theater. A few years later she attended a performance by

Marjorie Rambeau Marjorie Burnet Rambeau (July 15, 1889 – July 6, 1970) was an American film and stage actress. She began her stage career at age 12, and appeared in several silent films before debuting in her first sound film, '' Her Man'' (1930). She was t ...

at a theater in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

. She was given the opportunity to play the star's daughter in a drama entitled ''Valley of Content''. After this, her family relented and the youth returned to the theater.

Career

Cooper came to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

where she played leads opposite

Edward Everett Horton Edward Everett Horton Jr. (March 18, 1886 – September 29, 1970) was an American character actor. He had a long career in film, theater, radio, television, and voice work for animated cartoons. Early life Horton was born in Kings County ...

at the Majestic Theater for about seven months. Cooper's husband, Stafford Campbell, also played the Majestic in 1924, acting in support of Rambeau. A newspaper reporter noticed Dulcie's performances and advised the actress to go to New York. She made the trip and made her eastern debut in ''Little Spitfire'' in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

where she appeared in ''Courage'', a play that ran a year on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

in 1928. She had a leading part in the cast of ''They Took The Town'', which opened in

Charleston, West Virginia Charleston is the capital and List of cities in West Virginia, most populous city of West Virginia. Located at the confluence of the Elk River (West Virginia), Elk and Kanawha River, Kanawha rivers, the city had a population of 48,864 at the 20 ...

in October 1936. Cooper felt that her early screen performances were sub par. She was signed by the

Fox Film The Fox Film Corporation (also known as Fox Studios) was an American Independent film production studio formed by William Fox (1879–1952) in 1915, by combining his earlier Greater New York Film Rental Company and Box Office Attractions Film C ...

Corporation in the early 1920s and was later courted by both

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

and

Metro Goldwyn Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...

. She had roles in ''Charge It'' (1921), ''Live and Let Live'' (1921), ''What No Man Knows'' (1921), ''Desert Blossoms'' (1921), and ''Do and Dare'' (1922) with

Tom Mix Thomas Edwin Mix (born Thomas Hezikiah Mix; January 6, 1880 – October 12, 1940) was an American film actor and the star of many early Western films between 1909 and 1935. He appeared in 291 films, all but nine of which were silent films. He w ...

. Her last film was ''The Face on the Bar Room Floor'' (1932). On television, she appeared in the play ''Sorry, Wrong Number'' in 1946 and in an episode of ''

The Phil Silvers Show ''The Phil Silvers Show'', originally titled ''You'll Never Get Rich'', is a sitcom which ran on CBS from 1955 to 1959. A pilot titled "Audition Show" was made in 1955, but it was never broadcast. 143 other episodes were broadcast – all half-a ...

'' in 1957. In the 1960s, Cooper performed frequently with

John Kenley John Kenley (February 20, 1906 – October 23, 2009) was an American theatrical producer who pioneered the use of television stars in summer stock productions. In 1950, he was the first producer to desegregate live theater in Washington, DC. ...

Kenley Players The Kenley Players was an Equity summer stock theatre company which presented hundreds of productions featuring Broadway, film, and television stars in Midwestern cities between 1940 and 1996. ''Variety'' called it the "largest network of theater ...

summer stock theater company in Ohio and Michigan. She played many character roles in musicals with the company, including Aunt Eller in ''

Oklahoma! ''Oklahoma!'' is the first musical theater, musical written by the duo of Rodgers and Hammerstein. The musical is based on Lynn Riggs' 1931 play, ''Green Grow the Lilacs (play), Green Grow the Lilacs''. Set in farm country outside the town of ...

'' and Eulalie Shinn in ''

The Music Man ''The Music Man'' is a musical with book, music, and lyrics by Meredith Willson, based on a story by Willson and Franklin Lacey. The plot concerns con man Harold Hill, who poses as a boys' band organizer and leader and sells band instruments and ...

''.

Partial filmography

* '' Live and Let Live'' (1921) * ''

Desert Blossoms ''Desert Blossoms'' is a 1921 American silent drama film directed by Arthur Rosson and starring William Russell, Helen Ferguson and Wilbur Higby. Cast * William Russell as Stephen Brent *Helen Ferguson as Mary Ralston *Wilbur Higby as James Thor ...

'' (1921) * ''

Do and Dare ''Do and Dare'' is a 1922 American silent Western film directed by Edward Sedgwick and starring Tom Mix, Dulcie Cooper and Claire Adams.Solomon, p. 279. Cast * Tom Mix as Kit Carson Boone / Henry Boone * Dulcie Cooper as Mary Lee * Claire Adam ...

'' (1922) * ''

The Hands of Nara ''The Hands of Nara'' is a 1922 American silent drama film directed by Harry Garson and starring Clara Kimball Young, Elliott Dexter and Vernon Steele.Munden p.323 It is based on the novel of the same title by Richard Washburn Child. Cast * Cla ...

'' (1922)

Death

Dulcie Cooper died in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

in 1981, aged 77, from undisclosed causes.

References

*''

Charleston Gazette The ''Charleston Gazette-Mail'' is the only daily morning newspaper in Charleston, West Virginia. It is the product of a July 2015 merger between ''The Charleston Gazette'' and the ''Charleston Daily Mail''. The paper is one of nine owned by HD ...

'', ''New York Actress Has Part in Players' Show'', 18 October 1936, p. 2 *''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'', "Return To Stage By Comedienne", 15 May 1927, p. 18 *''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', "More Or Less In The Spotlight", 26 December 1926, p. X4

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cooper, Dulcie Australian musical theatre actresses Australian silent film actresses 20th-century Australian actresses Australian television actresses Australian expatriates in the United States Actresses from Sydney 1903 births 1981 deaths 20th-century Australian women singers