Editing Gary Cooper (section)

==Career assessment and legacy==
[[File:Los Angeles (California, USA), Hollywood Boulevard, Gary Cooper -- 2012 -- 4981.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|alt=Photo of Gary Cooper's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame|Cooper's star on the [[Hollywood Walk of Fame]]]]

Cooper's career spanned thirty-six years, from 1925 to 1961.<ref name="dickens-2">Dickens 1970, p. 2.</ref> During that time he appeared in eighty-four feature films in a leading role.<ref>Kaminsky 1979, p. 1.</ref> He was a major movie star from the end of the [[silent film]] era to the end of the golden age of [[Classical Hollywood cinema|Classical Hollywood]]. His natural and authentic acting style appealed powerfully to both men and women,<ref>Meyers 1998, p. xi.</ref> and his range of performances included roles in most major movie genres, including Westerns, war films, adventure films, drama films, crime films, romance films, comedy films, and romantic comedy films. He appeared on the ''Motion Picture Herald'' exhibitor's poll of top ten film personalities for twenty-three consecutive years, from 1936 to 1958.<ref name="arce-147" /> According to Quigley's annual poll, Cooper was one of the top money-making stars for eighteen years, appearing in the top ten in 1936–37, 1941–49, and 1951–57.<ref name="quigley" /> He topped the list in 1953.<ref name="quigley" /> In Quigley's list of all-time money-making stars, Cooper is listed fourth, after John Wayne, [[Clint Eastwood]], and [[Tom Cruise]].<ref name="quigley" /> At the time of his death, it was estimated that his films grossed well over $200{{spaces}}million<ref name="dickens-2" /> (equivalent to ${{Inflation|US|0.2|1961|r=2}}{{spaces}}billion in {{Inflation-year|US}}).

In more than half his feature films, Cooper portrayed Westerners, soldiers, pilots, sailors, and explorers, all men of action.<ref name="kaminsky-2">Kaminsky 1979, p. 2.</ref> In the rest, he played a wide range of characters, included doctors, professors, artists, architects, clerks, and baseball players.<ref name="kaminsky-2" /> Cooper's heroic screen image changed with each period of his career.<ref name="kaminsky-219">Kaminsky 1979, p. 219.</ref> In his early films, he played the young naive hero sure of his moral position and trusting in the triumph of simple virtues (''The Virginian'').<ref name="kaminsky-219" /> After becoming a major star, his Western screen persona was replaced by a more cautious hero in adventure films and dramas (''A Farewell to Arms'').<ref name="kaminsky-219" /> During the height of his career, from 1936 to 1943, he played a new type of hero: a champion of the common man willing to sacrifice himself for others (''Mr. Deeds'', ''Meet John Doe'', and ''For Whom the Bell Tolls'').<ref name="kaminsky-219" />

In the postwar years, Cooper attempted broader variations on his screen image, which now reflected a hero increasingly at odds with the world, who must face adversity alone (''The Fountainhead'' and ''High Noon'').<ref>Kaminsky 1979, pp. 219–20.</ref> In his final films, Cooper's hero rejects the violence of the past, and seeks to reclaim lost honor and find redemption (''Friendly Persuasion'' and ''Man of the West'').<ref>Kaminsky 1979, pp. 220–21.</ref> The screen persona he developed and sustained throughout his career represented the ideal American hero{{snd}}a tall, handsome, and sincere man of steadfast integrity<ref>Dickens 1970, p. 1.</ref> who emphasized action over intellect, and combined the heroic qualities of the romantic lover, the adventurer, and the common man.<ref>Meyers 1998, p. 324.</ref>

On February 6, 1960, Cooper was awarded a star on the [[Hollywood Walk of Fame]] at 6243 Hollywood Boulevard for his contribution to the film industry.<ref name="walk-of-fame" /> He was also awarded a star on the sidewalk outside the Ellen Theater in Bozeman, Montana.<ref name="ricker" />

On May 6, 1961, Cooper was awarded the French [[Ordre des Arts et des Lettres|Order of Arts and Letters]] in recognition of his significant contribution to the arts.<ref name="meyers-308" /> On July 30, 1961, he was posthumously awarded the [[David di Donatello]] Special Award in Italy for his career achievements.<ref name="david" />

In 1966, Cooper was inducted into the [[Hall of Great Western Performers]] at the [[National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum]] in Oklahoma City.<ref name="ncm" /> In 2015, he was inducted into the Utah Cowboy and Western Heritage Hall of Fame.<ref>{{cite web|title=Hall of Fame Inductees – Gary Cooper|url=http://utahcowboymuseum.org/nominations/hall-of-fame-inductees/|website=Utah Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum|access-date=January 8, 2018}}</ref> The [[American Film Institute]] (AFI) ranked Cooper 11th on its list of the [[AFI's 100 Years...100 Stars|25 male stars of classic Hollywood]].<ref name="afi-stars" /> Three of his characters{{snd}}Will Kane, Lou Gehrig, and Sergeant York{{snd}}made AFI's list of the [[AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes & Villains|100 greatest heroes and villains]], all of them as heroes.<ref name="afi-heroes" /> His Lou Gehrig line, "Today, I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth.", is ranked by AFI as the 38th [[AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes|greatest movie quote of all time]].<ref name="afi-quotes" />

More than half a century after his death, Cooper's enduring legacy, according to biographer Jeffrey Meyers, is his image of the ideal American hero preserved in his film performances.<ref>Meyers 1998, pp. 323–324.</ref> [[Charlton Heston]] once observed, "He projected the kind of man Americans would like to be, probably more than any actor that's ever lived."<ref>Kaminsky 1979, p. 206.</ref>