Editing Gary Cooper (section)

===Friendships, interests, and character===
According to Cooper<ref>Janis 1999, p. 42.</ref>
{{Blockquote|... the really satisfying things I do are offered me, free, for nothing. Ever go out in the fall and do a little hunting? See the frost on the grass and the leaves turning? Spend a day in the hills alone, or with good companions? Watch a sunset and a moonrise? Notice a bird in the wind? A stream in the woods, a storm at sea, cross the country by train, and catch a glimpse of something beautiful in the desert, or the farmlands? Free to everybody{{spaces}}...}}
[[File:Hemingway SunValley.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|alt=Photo of Ernest Hemingway, Bobbi Powell, and Gary Cooper during a hunting trip|[[Ernest Hemingway]], Bobbi Powell, and Cooper at [[Silver Creek, Idaho]], 1959]]

Cooper's 20-year friendship with [[Ernest Hemingway]] began at [[Sun Valley, Idaho|Sun Valley]] in October 1940.<ref name="meyers-173">Meyers 1998, p. 173.</ref> The previous year, Hemingway drew upon Cooper's image when he created the character of Robert Jordan for the novel ''For Whom the Bell Tolls''.<ref name="meyers-176">Meyers 1998, p. 176.</ref> The two shared a passion for the outdoors,<ref name="meyers-173" /> and for years they hunted duck and pheasant, and skied together in Sun Valley. Both men admired the work of [[Rudyard Kipling]]; Cooper kept a copy of the poem "[[If—]]" in his dressing room, and retained as adults Kipling's sense of boyish adventure.<ref name="meyers-175">Meyers 1998, p. 175.</ref>

As well as admiring Cooper's hunting skills and knowledge of the outdoors, Hemingway believed his character matched his screen persona,<ref name="meyers-173" /> once telling a friend, "If you made up a character like Coop, nobody would believe it. He's just too good to be true."<ref name="meyers-175" /> They saw each other often, and their friendship remained strong through the years.<ref name="meyers-315">Meyers 1998, p. 315.</ref>{{refn|Cooper's friendship with Ernest Hemingway is explored in the documentary ''[[Cooper & Hemingway: The True Gen]]'' (2013).<ref name="variety-scheib" />|group=Note}}

Cooper's social life generally centered on sports, outdoor activities, and dinner parties with his family and friends from the film industry, including directors Henry Hathaway, Howard Hawks, William Wellman, and Fred Zinnemann, and actors Joel McCrea, James Stewart, Barbara Stanwyck, and Robert Taylor.<ref>Meyers 1998, pp. 104–05, 153, 313.</ref><ref>Janis 1999, p. 98.</ref><ref>Swindell 1980, pp. 300–01.</ref> Cooper, in addition to hunting, enjoyed riding, fishing, skiing, and later in life, scuba diving.<ref>Meyers 1998, pp. 59, 299.</ref><ref>Janis 1999, p. 124.</ref> He never abandoned his early love for art and drawing, and over the years, he and his wife acquired a private collection of modern paintings, including works by [[Pierre-Auguste Renoir]], [[Paul Gauguin]], and [[Georgia O'Keeffe]].<ref name="meyers-285-286">Meyers 1998, pp. 285–286.</ref> Cooper owned several works by [[Pablo Picasso]], whom he met in 1956.<ref name="meyers-285-286" /> Cooper also had a lifelong passion for automobiles, with a collection that included a 1930 [[Duesenberg]].<ref name="meyers-59">Meyers 1998, p. 59.</ref><ref>Janis 1999, p. 121.</ref>

Cooper was naturally reserved and introspective, and loved the solitude of outdoor activities.<ref name="meyers-53">Meyers 1998, p. 53.</ref> Not unlike his screen persona, his communication style frequently consisted of long silences<ref name="meyers-53" /> with an occasional "yup" and "shucks".<ref name="swindell-303" /><ref>Janis 1999, p. 6.</ref> He once said, "If others have more interesting things to say than I have, I keep quiet."<ref name="meyers-54">Meyers 1998, p. 54.</ref> According to his friends, Cooper could also be an articulate, well-informed conversationalist on topics ranging from horses, guns, and Western history to film production, sports cars, and modern art.<ref name="meyers-54" /> He was modest and unpretentious,<ref name="meyers-53" /> frequently downplaying his acting abilities and career accomplishments.<ref>Kaminsky 1979, p. 217.</ref> His friends and colleagues described him as charming, well-mannered, and thoughtful, with a lively, boyish sense of humor.<ref name="meyers-54" /> Cooper maintained a sense of propriety throughout his career and never misused his movie-star status; he never sought special treatment or refused to work with a director or leading lady.<ref name="meyers-55">Meyers 1998, p. 55.</ref> His close friend Joel McCrea recalled, "Coop never fought, he never got mad, he never told anybody off that I know of; everybody [who] worked with him liked him."<ref name="meyers-55" />