Veronica Cooper

Veronica Cooper
Veronica and Gary Cooper, 1933
Born
Veronica Balfe

(1913-05-27)May 27, 1913
New York City, U.S.
DiedFebruary 16, 2000(2000-02-16) (aged 86)
New York City, U.S.
Other namesSandra Shaw, Rocky Cooper
OccupationActress
Years active1933
Spouses
​
​
(m. 1933; died 1961)​
John Converse
​
​
(m. 1964; died 1981)​
Children1
RelativesCedric Gibbons (maternal uncle)

Veronica Cooper (née Balfe; May 27, 1913 – February 16, 2000) was an American debutante and actress who appeared in The Gay Nighties and other films under the name Sandra Shaw.[1] She was the wife of the actor Gary Cooper and mother of painter Maria Cooper Janis.

Early life

Veronica May Balfe[citation needed][2] was born in Brooklyn[3] to Veronica Gibbons and Harry Balfe, Jr. Following her parents' divorce, she lived in Paris with her mother. Balfe did not see her father for many years, but kept in touch with her grandfather, who owned a ranch in California. Balfe saw her father a few years before his death in the 1950s. Her mother married Paul Shields, a successful Wall Street financier.

She graduated from the Todhunter School and the Bennett School in Millbrook, New York.[1] While she was in school, she studied dramatics and participated in some amateur productions.[4] An avid sportswoman, she was known to her friends by the nickname "Rocky."[5]

Career

In 1933, she went to see her uncle, Cedric Gibbons, in Hollywood.[citation needed] She received a long-term contract with RKO after a screen test.[4] She played parts in King Kong, Blood Money, and No Other Woman, as well as the sleepwalking countess in the Clark & McCullough comedy short The Gay Nighties (1933). She also played herself in Hedda Hopper's Hollywood No. 3 (1942), and appeared in a few television shows and documentaries.

Personal life

Balfe married actor Gary Cooper on December 15, 1933, at her mother's home at 778 Park Avenue, New York; the wedding had been planned for the Waldorf Astoria hotel, but the location was probably changed to avoid public attention.[1] In 1937,[6] she gave birth to their daughter, Maria Veronica Cooper.[7] They separated in 1951,[8] and reconciled in 1953, remaining married until his death in 1961.[9]

On June 27, 1964, she married plastic surgeon John Marquis Converse in Westport, Connecticut.[10] She was an enthusiastic sportswoman and was the female California skeet champion in the 1930s. She also enjoyed golf, swimming, tennis, and scuba-diving.

She and her daughter were both devout Catholics.

Death

Balfe died in her home in Manhattan on February 16, 2000, aged 86.[3]

Filmography

Year Film Role Notes
1933 No Other Woman Uncredited
King Kong Woman looking down, and screaming from hotel room window Uncredited[11]
The Gay Nighties The Sleepwalking Countess
Blood Money Girl at Racetrack Uncredited
1942 Hedda Hopper's Hollywood No.3 Herself

References

  1. ^ a b c "Gary Cooper Weds in Quiet Ceremony". The New York Times. December 16, 1933. p. 18. Retrieved March 3, 2015.
  2. ^ "New York City Marriage Records (via Family Search)". FamilySearch.
  3. ^ a b "Veronica Cooper Converse". The New York Times. March 7, 2000. p. C 29. ProQuest 91747256. Retrieved February 25, 2021 – via ProQuest.
  4. ^ a b "Cooper, film star, to wed debutante". The New York Times. November 29, 1933. p. 23. ProQuest 100824573. Retrieved February 25, 2021 – via ProQuest.
  5. ^ Thomson, David (2010). Gary Cooper. New York: Faber and Faber. p. 35. ISBN 9780865479326.
  6. ^ "Daughter to Gary Coopers". The New York Times. Associated Press. September 16, 1937. p. 29. ProQuest 102146490. Retrieved February 25, 2021 – via ProQuest.
  7. ^ "Gary Cooper's Daughter Wed To Byron Janis, the Pianist". The New York Times. April 12, 1966. p. 33. ProQuest 117137255. Retrieved February 25, 2021 – via ProQuest.
  8. ^ "Actor Gary Cooper And Wife Separate". The Berkshire Eagle. Massachusetts, Pittsfield. Associated Press. May 17, 1951. p. 3. Retrieved February 25, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ Meyers, Jeffrey (1998). Gary Cooper: American Hero. New York: William Morrow. ISBN 978-0-688-15494-3 pg 269.
  10. ^ "Mrs. Cooper, Widow Of Actor, Is Rewed". The New York Times. June 30, 1964. p. 38. ProQuest 115847800. Retrieved February 25, 2021 – via ProQuest.
  11. ^ Goldner, Orville; Turner, George E. (1975). The Making of King Kong – The Story Behind a Film Classic. New York: Ballantine Books, a division of Random House. p. 165. ISBN 0-8109-4535-5.