|
Miriam Cooper (November 7, 1891 – April 12, 1976) was a silent film actress who is best known for her work in early film including ''The Birth of a Nation'' and ''Intolerance'' for D. W. Griffith and ''The Honor System'' and ''Evangeline'' for her husband Raoul Walsh. She retired from acting in 1923 but was rediscovered by the film community in the 1960s, and toured colleges lecturing about silent films. ==Early life== Miriam Cooper was born to Julian Cooper and Margaret Stewart in Baltimore, Maryland on November 7, 1891. Her mother was from a devout Catholic family with a long history in Baltimore. Her paternal grandfather had helped discover Navassa Island and made his wealth from selling guano. Her father was attending Loyola University when he met her mother. Her parents had 5 children in 5 years (one died in infancy) including her sister Lenore and her brothers Nelson and Gordon. When Miriam was young, her father abandoned the family and went to Europe. Until that point the family had lived comfortably in Washington Heights, but Julian Cooper kept the inheritance, leaving the family destitute. They moved to Little Italy, which Cooper despised. Cooper had a troubled relationship with her mother, whom Cooper loved but felt was cold to her. Once during her childhood her mother told her she hated Miriam for looking like her (Miriam's) father. Her mother remarried in 1914. During this time, Cooper found solace by playing in an abandoned Dutch cemetery. She would lie on the graves and daydream. To make her sister Lenore behave, she also became a storyteller, repeating Edgar Allan Poe's poem "The Raven" and saying it was named for her. Cooper cited these experiences as great influences both on her acting and on her Christian faith. Never intending to be an actress, Cooper originally had trained to be a painter. She attended St. Walpurga's School with the help of the nuns, who arranged her tuition. From there she attended an art school named Cooper Union, again with help from the parish. At the suggestion of a friend of her mother's, Cooper posed for Charles Dana Gibson at the age of 21. It was the first painting Gibson had done in oils.〔 Soon after, on a friend's suggestion, Cooper went to Biograph Studios, just to see what they were doing there. Cooper had only seen one flicker behind her mother's back and hadn't been impressed with it. Able to walk right up to the set, the two girls watched the filming of part of "A Blot on Scutcheon". One of the assistants, Christy Cabanne, approached them and asked if they would like to be extras. They were given the choice of 'page boy' or 'scullery maid'. Cooper did not want to wear slacks, so she chose 'scullery maid'. Her friend backed out, but Cooper stayed for the $5 a day pay. Ford Sterling's wife Teddy Sampson tried to sabotage Cooper's make up, but Mack Sennett and Mabel Normand spotted her and helped her. After shooting, Cooper was asked to stay in costume as D. W. Griffith wanted to screen test her.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Miriam Cooper」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|