First Annual Gary Cooper Film Fest Draws Actor's Daughter to Southampton

“I was 4 years old when I was first came to the Hamptons,” says Maria Cooper Janis. “I learned how to swim here.” Growing up as Gary Cooper’s daughter had some perks. But one thing Cooper and his family enjoyed around the East End was anonymity. “Everyone here was cool about him. People were sweet and nice. If someone wanted an autograph he was accommodating.”

Cooper’s daughter was at the Southampton Playhouse over the weekend for the first annual Gary Cooper Film Festival. “We wanted to honor him,” says Artistic Director Eric Kohn. “The interest had been tremendous,” he added.

“They had a house on Pond Lane,” says Mayor William Manger. “My father and mother were friends of theirs. His second wife ‘Rocky’ brought him out here and he became a fixture in the village.” Rocky is Veronica Balfe, Maria’s mother who was married to Cooper from 1933 until 1961. “There are great pictures of them entering The Bathing Corporation, the beach club at the south end of lake Agawam. There are great stories of him sending Western Union telegrams and eating Crutchley Crullers which were these doughnut holes. He also liked the fresh fish at Catina’s.”

Cooper is buried in the Southampton Cemetery. And he may be getting another local honor. “I think next year we may have his birthday as a special ‘Gary Cooper Day’ in Southampton Village,” Manger says.

Kohn says the festival will be an annual event. Cooper’s daughter is thrilled. But she says there’s a whole new crop of film fans that don’t know about him. “I wish he were remembered more by the under-40 generation.”

When asked where they should start, she answers immediately. “I would say three films, High Noon, Pride of the Yankees and Mr. Deeds Goes To Town.”

Janis says her father loved comedy and had a great sense of comic timing. “But he was never the given the chance to do much comedy.”

When she considers the current crop of actors and who most reminds her of him, she mentions another iconic actor who works effortlessly in comedy and drama. “Tom Hanks. He wrote the forward to my book. They both have the same sense of humanity” That book is Gary Cooper Off Camera: A Daughter Remembers. It was published in 1999 but the fans who showed up to buy it last weekend didn’t care. They wanted a chance to meet or say hello to an icon’s daughter. She was chatty, patient and friendly with each of them. She gladly signed each book put in front of her.

She also brought something with her. And in that regard I’ve buried the lede: It’s Cooper’s Oscar from 1952’s High Noon. And I got to hold it!

Did her father hate things like Academy Awards ceremonies? She says no. “He was as comfortable in blue jeans as he was in white tie and tails.” And in addition crullers and fresh fish, he also bought clothes out here. “He loved Shep Millers. He would never go on talk shows looking like he just rolled out of bed like some of today’s stars. He respected his audience.”

After Tom Hanks, Janis is hard pressed to come up with an actor who could fill Cooper’s boots. “There’s a big difference between a celebrity and a star. And my father was both.”

Janis effortlessly rattles off memories and has a genuine fondness for the Hamptons and the Southampton Playhouse where she says her family often saw films. She chides me for never visiting his grave, but frankly I didn’t know about it until our meeting. “Let’s go!” she says. And I’m ready. But she has more books to sign, another Q and A and more memories to share with filmgoers.

Meantime I held his Oscar! I know, but it bears repeating. I won’t forget the moment or the woman who made it possible. And I’ll be in the front row for the Second Annual Gary Cooper Festival next year. I won’t be alone.

Bill McCuddy is a frequent Dans contributor. He reviews films for the PBS/AllArts Network, has a monthly radio show on WLIW-FM and cohosts a movie related podcast ‘Sitting Around Talking Movies’ on Apple, Spotify and Amazon. He spends an “inordinate amount of time watching movies which explains my pale complexion. Keith Richards once offered me blood.”