Editing Merian C. Cooper (section)

{{short description|American filmmaker}}
{{good article}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2015}}
{{Infobox person
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| name               = 
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| native_name        = 
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| image              = MSS2008 B50 CooperHeadshot.jpg
| alt                = 
| caption            = Cooper in 1927
| birth_name         = Merian Caldwell Cooper
| birth_date         = {{birth date|1893|10|24}}
| birth_place        = [[Jacksonville, Florida]], U.S.
| death_date         = {{death date and age|1973|04|21|1893|10|24}}
| death_place        = [[San Diego, California]], U.S.
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| resting_place_coordinates = <!-- {{Coord|LAT|LONG|type:landmark|display=inline}} -->
| monuments          = 
| nationality        = American
| other_names        = 
| citizenship        = 
| education          = 
| alma_mater         = {{hlist|[[United States Naval Academy]]|[[Georgia Institute of Technology]]}}
| occupation         = {{hlist|[[Film director]]|[[Movie producer]]|[[Military officer]]|[[Aviator]]}}
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| spouse             = {{marriage|[[Dorothy Jordan (American actress)|Dorothy Jordan]]|1933}}
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| children           = 3
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| module             = {{Infobox military person
| embed                     = yes
| birth_name                =
| allegiance                ={{flag|United States|1912}}<br />{{flagu|Poland}}
| branch                    = {{Army|United States}} <br /> {{Air force|Poland}}
| serviceyears              ={{ubl|1913–1915|1916–1919|1919–1921|1941–1973}}
| rank                      = [[Brigadier General]] (US) <br /> [[Podpułkownik]]  (PL)
| battles                   ={{hlist|[[Border War (1910–1919)|Border War]]|[[World War I]]|[[Polish-Soviet War]]|[[World War II]]}}
| awards                    =  {{hlist|[[Mexican Border Service Medal]]|[[World War I Victory Medal (United States)|World War I Victory Medal]]| [[Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal]]|[[World War II Victory Medal (United States)|World War II Victory Medal]]|[[Order of Virtuti Militari]]|[[Cross of Valour (Poland)|Cross of Valour]]}}
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'''Merian Caldwell Cooper''' (October 24, 1893 – April 21, 1973) was an American filmmaker, actor, producer and air officer. In film, his most famous work was the 1933 movie ''[[King Kong (1933 film)|King Kong]]'', and he is credited as co-inventor of the [[Cinerama]] film projection process. He was awarded an [[Academy Honorary Award|honorary Oscar]] for lifetime achievement in 1952 and received a star on the [[Hollywood Walk of Fame]] in 1960. He was a passionate anti-communist.<ref name="MP" />{{rp|225}}

Before entering the movie business, Cooper fought in the [[World War I]] as a pilot in the [[United States Army Air Service]] and later in the [[Polish Air Force]]. He had a distinguished career as the founder of the [[Kościuszko's Squadron|Kościuszko Squadron]] during the [[Polish–Soviet War]] and was a Soviet prisoner of war for a time. He got his start in 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 took priority. During his film career, he worked for companies such as [[Pioneer Pictures]], [[RKO Pictures]], and [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]]. In 1925, he and [[Ernest B. Schoedsack]] went to [[Iran]] and made ''[[Grass (1925 film)|Grass: A Nation's Battle for Life]]'', a documentary about the [[Bakhtiari people]].