Merian C. Cooper

Merian C. Cooper
Merian C. Cooper in 1927
Born	Merian Caldwell Cooper (1893-10-24)October 24, 1893 Jacksonville, Florida, US
Died	April 21, 1973(1973-04-21) (aged 79) San Diego, California, US
Nationality	American
Alma mater	United States Naval Academy Georgia Institute of Technology
Occupation	Director Movie producer Military officer
Military career
Allegiance	United States  Poland
Service/branch	United States Navy  United States Army  Polish Air Force
Years of service	1912–1915 1916–1919 1919–1921 1941–1945
Rank	Brigadier General (US)
Battles/wars	Border War World War I Polish-Soviet War World War II
Awards	Mexican Border Service Medal World War I Victory Medal Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal World War II Victory Medal Order of Virtuti Militari Cross of Valour

Merian Caldwell Cooper (October 24, 1893 – April 21, 1973) was an American aviator, United States Air Force and Polish Air Force officer, adventurer, screenwriter, film director, and producer. Cooper was the founder of the Kościuszko Squadron during the Polish–Soviet War and was a Soviet prisoner of war for a time. He was a notable movie producer, and got his start with film as part of the Explorers Club, traveling the world and documenting adventures. He was a member of the board of directors of Pan American Airways, but his love of film always took priority. During his film career, he worked for companies such as Pioneer Pictures, RKO Pictures, and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. He is also credited as co-inventor of the Cinerama film projection process. Cooper's most famous film was the 1933 movie King Kong. He was awarded an honorary Oscar for lifetime achievement in 1952 and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960.

Merian Caldwell Cooper was born in Jacksonville, Florida, to the lawyer John C. Cooper and the former Mary Caldwell. He was the youngest of three children. At age six, Cooper decided that he wanted to be an explorer after hearing stories from the book Explorations and Adventures in Equatorial Africa. He was educated at The Lawrenceville School in New Jersey and graduated in 1911.

After graduation, Cooper received a prestigious appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy, but was expelled during his senior year for "hell raising and for championing air power". In 1916, Cooper worked for the Minneapolis Daily News as a reporter, where he met Delos Lovelace. In the next few years, he also worked at the Des Moines Register-Leader and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.