Gary Cooper

Gary took his role in High Noon (1952) after Montgomery Clift turned it down.

Gary turned down the lead roles in 2 of the biggest films of 1939, Stagecoach and Gone With The Wind.

Gary co-starred with Barbara Stanwyck in 3 films, including: Ball Of Fire (1941) Meet John Doe (1941) Blowing Wind (1953)

From 1938 until 1942, Gary was paid $150,000 for each movie he filmed.

Gary co-starred with William Powell in 5 films, including: Nevada (1927) Beau Sabreur (1928) Paramount On Parade (1930) Make Me A Star (1932) It's A Big Country (1951)

Gary was featured on the March 3, 1941 cover of Time Magazine.

Gary appeared in a 1945 magazine advertisement for Calox Tooth Powder.

After Gary had a private audience with Pope Pius XII at the Vatican in 1958, he converted to Roman Catholicism the next year.

Gary was friends with Bing Crosby, who named his eldest son after him.

Gary was close friends with Pablo Picasso, and greatly admired his work.

Gary was 6 feet 3 inches tall.

Gary had numerous affairs before and after he was married, with actresses such as Ingrid Bergman, Grace Kelly, Patricia Neal, Clara Bow, and Lupe Velez.

Gary was posthumously inducted into the Western Performers Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, in 1966.

Gary's initials were reversed to give actor Archibald Leach a new name - Cary Grant. Gary had been on extended vacation in Europe in 1931 and Grant had been offered parts he would've had. Upon hearing this and quoting "The guy's got my initials in reverse" -- he returned to Hollywood.

Gary worked briefly as a photographer's assistant and a curtain salesman before his first film work as a stunt horse rider.

Gary had wanted to be a political cartoonist, but was rejected by a number of Los Angeles newspapers, including the L.A. Times, on grounds that his artistic ability was not worth giving him a job.

Gary was announced as the United States' top wage earner in 1939, by the U.S. Treasury Department, with income of $482,819.

Gary was good friends for 20 years with writer Ernest Hemingway and starred in several films based on his novels. Hemingway killed himself a month after Gary's death.

Gary turned down leading roles in both Gone with the Wind and Stagecoach in 1939.

Gary played six real life characters on screen, including Sgt. Alvin C. York, Lou Gehrig, Marco Polo, Dr. Commander Corydon M. Wassell, General Billy Mitchell, and Wild Bill Hickock.

Gary appeared on the cover of Life Magazine on November 24, 1941.

Gary's image on the poster of High Noon (1952) was used in Poland by the Solidarity Party, led by Lech Walesa, in their election and victory over the Communist Party, with the date of the election, June 4, 1989, shown underneath Cooper's image.

Gary adapted his screen name after Gary, Indiana, a name he felt reflected the town's "rough and tough" nature, at the suggestion of his agent in 1925.

Gary was a Yellowstone Park Guide for several years before becoming an actor.

Gary's hobbies included riding, swimming, hunting, fishing, and taxidermy.

Gary was close friends with Myrna Loy, who he met when she was 10 and he was 13, living near each other.

Gary won the Best Actor In A Leading Role Oscar twice, for his roles in Sergeant York (1942) and High Noon (1952). He was nominated in three other movies for the same award, those being Mr. Deeds Goes To Town (1936), The Pride Of The Yankees (1942), and For Whom The Bell Tolls (1943). He was also given an Honorary Oscar in 1961 for his contributions in acting, a month before his death.

Gary turned down Alfred Hitchcock's offers of the lead roles in Foreign Correspondent (1940) and Saboteur (1942). He later said he had "made a mistake" in refusing Hitchcock.

Gary was mentioned in Irving Berlin's famous 1929 song, "Putting On The Ritz," in the following lyrics: "Dressed up like a million dollar trooper...trying hard to look like Gary Cooper (super duper)."

Gary's star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame is located at 6243 Hollywood Boulevard.