Ralph Cooper (January 16, 1908 – August 4, 1992), was an American

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

, screenwriter, dancer and choreographer. Cooper is best known as the original master of ceremonies and founder of amateur night at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, New York City in 1935. He wrote, produced, directed and acted in ten motion pictures. Titles include, ''

The Duke Is Tops ''The Duke Is Tops'' is a 1938 United States, American musical film released by Million Dollar Productions and directed by William Nolte. The film was later released in 1943 under the title ''The Bronze Venus''. It features top-billed Lena Horne i ...

'', ''

Dark Manhattan ''Dark Manhattan'' is a black and white American film produced in 1937 by a partnership of African Americans Ralph Cooper and George Randol. Harry Fraser directed the film, which was written by Randol who was also the executive producer. The ...

'', '' Gangsters on the Loose'' and '' Gang War''. Because of his debonair good looks, he was known as "dark Gable" in the 1930s.

Biography

Cooper was born on January 16, 1908 in Harlem, New York City. He worked as a dancer in small downtown clubs near

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...

, which he attended with plans of becoming a medical doctor. In July 1935, Cooper began the Apollo's Amateur Night which ran every Wednesday night. In 1937, Cooper formed Cooper-Randol Productions with black actor

George Randol George Randol (1895–1973) was an actor, screenwriter, director, and producer of films in the United States. In 1938 he was honored as an influential film executive in a newspaper writeup of the "Negro" film industry. Randol was born in Buena V ...

and soon afterwards

Million Dollar Productions Million Dollar Productions was a movie studio in the United States active from 1937 until 1940. It was established to produce films with African American casts. It was a partnership between Harry M. Popkin, Leo C. Popkin and Ralph Cooper. Histo ...

with white producers Harry Popkin and his brother Leo Popkin to produce

race films Race, RACE or "The Race" may refer to: * Race (biology), an informal taxonomic classification within a species, generally within a sub-species * Race (human categorization), classification of humans into groups based on physical traits, and/or s ...

that he often starred in, wrote, produced and directed. Tino Balio has written that: "Million Dollar, more than any other company, moved black filmmaking away from a marginalized form towards the mainstream, advancing considerably its reputation and ability to attract audiences."

Later life and death

The Apollo closed in the mid–1970s, but the contest was restarted in 1985 after the renovations were completed. Cooper was again the master of ceremonies. His son, Ralph Cooper II, took over the show after his father was hospitalized with cancer in late–1986. He died on August 4, 1992 from cancer. Cooper is interred in Woodlawn Cemetery in

The Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

, New York City.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cooper, Ralph 1908 births 1992 deaths Male actors from New York City American male film actors American male screenwriters 20th-century American screenwriters 20th-century American male actors 20th-century American male writers Screenwriters from New York (state) Writers from Manhattan People from Harlem Deaths from cancer in New York (state) Burials at Woodlawn Cemetery (Bronx, New York) African-American screenwriters African-American male actors 20th-century African-American writers African-American male writers