Gladys Cooper - a Biography

by Sheridan Morley

For those who thought that Dame Gladys Cooper was only the character actress who played grande dames and dowagers, this book is a real eye-opener. Cooper was one of the most collected postcard stars during WWI, and by the time she arrived in Hollywood, she had been acting for almost forty years and had run her own theatre. Review by Graceann Macleod "Books Fuel My Life" (London, UK) Sheridan Morley, her grandson, wrote this book with great love, yet it is surprisingly clear-eyed. She was not an easy woman to get along with, but her family and friends seem to have accepted this as part of her special allure. She was tough yet generous, loving yet cool. The book includes numerous photographs of Miss Cooper throughout her life and career, from her early days as a stunningly beautiful beginner through to her final performance, when she was still quite lovely for all the years lived showing through her eyes. Life was meant to be lived full throttle and retiring was for wimps as far as Cooper was concerned. She only stepped down when illness forced her, much against her will, and she died only a few weeks afterward.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction

256 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 1979

About the author

Sheridan A. Morley (5 December 1941 − 16 February 2007) was an English author, biographer, critic and broadcaster. He was the official biographer of Sir John Gielgud and wrote biographies of many other theatrical figures he had known, including Noël Coward.

Morley was the eldest son of actor Robert Morley and grandson, via his mother Joan Buckmaster, of the actress Dame Gladys Cooper.

Reviews

[Graceann · Rating 5 out of 5]

For those who thought that Dame Gladys Cooper was only the character actress who played grande dames and dowagers, this book is a real eye-opener. Cooper was one of the most collected postcard stars during WWI, and by the time she arrived in Hollywood, she had been acting for almost forty years and had run her own theatre.

Sheridan Morley, her grandson, wrote this book with great love, yet it is surprisingly clear-eyed. She was not an easy woman to get along with, but her family and friends seem to have accepted this as part of her special allure. She was tough yet generous, loving yet cool. The book includes numerous photographs of Miss Cooper throughout her life and career, from her early days as a stunningly beautiful beginner through to her final performance, when she was still quite lovely for all the years lived showing through her eyes. Life was meant to be lived full throttle and retiring was for wimps as far as Cooper was concerned. She only stepped down when illness forced her, much against her will, and she died only a few weeks afterward.

Anyone sitting down with this book is in for some surprises, especially if they only ever thought of Gladys Cooper as the elderly lady in the Twilight Zone episode, or as Charlotte Vale's imperious mother in Now, Voyager. There was MUCH more to her, as this biography will attest - just the sheer number of roles that she originated on stage (Kiki and the lead in The Letter to name just two) is worth the price of admission. I was amazed at how beautiful she was in her earlier days, and just how little I knew about this lady with whom I thought I was familiar.

[Debi Emerson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gladys Cooper has long been a favorite of mine, so I very much enjoyed this account of her life. Written by her grandson, it is nevertheless very honest and doesn't gloss over her failings. A very good book!

[Raymond J Golden · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thumbs up!

I truly enjoyed getting to know one of my favorite actresses. The one part that really brought her to my attention was her performance in the Bishop's Wife. Her scene with Cary Grant was incredibly moving. Overall, a good read.

[Dar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh, my! How I would love to have known this woman. What great fun she must have been. The author (her grandson) truly makes her come alive.

Gladys Cooper was a great beauty and a great stage actress during the teens, 20s, 30s and 40s in England and in the U.S. She was a World War I pin-up girl; a beauty who took neither herself nor her beauty nor her acting too seriously. Her great loves were her children and her menagerie. She seems to have had a wonderful sense of humor, didn't suffer fools gladly, had amazing energy - even in her later years - and was a feminist before that was even a word.

She was a marvelous character actor in her later years in talking films and got some great reviews. If you love old movies, this book really helps bring alive those Gladys was in. A good, good read.