Ralph Cooper (January 16, 1908 – August 4, 1992), was an American

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

, screenwriter,

dancer Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

and choreographer. Cooper is best known as the original master of ceremonies and founder of amateur night at the

Apollo Theater The Apollo Theater (formerly the Hurtig & Seamon's New Theatre; also Apollo Theatre or 125th Street Apollo Theatre) is a multi-use Theater (structure), theater at 253 125th Street (Manhattan), West 125th Street in the Harlem neighborhood of U ...

in Harlem, New York City, in 1935. He wrote, produced, directed and acted in ten motion pictures. Titles include '' The Duke Is Tops'', '' Dark Manhattan'', '' Gangsters on the Loose'' and '' Gang War''. Because of his debonair good looks, he was known as "dark Gable" in the 1930s.

Biography

Cooper was born on January 16, 1908, in Harlem, New York City. He worked as a dancer in small downtown clubs near

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

, which he attended with plans of becoming a medical doctor. In July 1935, Cooper began the Apollo's Amateur Night which ran every Wednesday night. In 1937, Cooper formed Cooper-Randol Productions with black actor

George Randol George Randol (1895–1973) was an actor, screenwriter, director, and producer of films in the United States. In 1938 he was honored as an influential film executive in a newspaper writeup of the "Negro" film industry. Life and career Randol was ...

and soon afterwards Million Dollar Productions with white producers Harry Popkin and his brother Leo Popkin to produce

race films The race film or race movie was a genre of film produced in the United States between about 1915 and the early 1950s, consisting of films produced for African American, black audiences, and featuring black casts. Approximately five hundred race ...

that he often starred in, wrote, produced and directed. Tino Balio has written that: "Million Dollar, more than any other company, moved black filmmaking away from a marginalized form towards the mainstream, advancing considerably its reputation and ability to attract audiences."

Later life and death

The Apollo closed in the mid–1970s, but the contest was restarted in 1985 after the renovations were completed. Cooper was again the master of ceremonies. His son, Ralph Cooper II, took over the show after his father was hospitalized with cancer in late–1986. He died on August 4, 1992, from cancer. Cooper is interred in Woodlawn Cemetery in

The Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

, New York City.

Filmography

* ''

Lloyd's of London Lloyd's of London, generally known simply as Lloyd's, is a insurance and reinsurance market located in London, England. Unlike most of its competitors in the industry, it is not an insurance company; rather, Lloyd's is a corporate body gover ...

'' (1936) (uncredited actor in indeterminate role) * '' White Hunter'' (1937, actor) * '' Dark Manhattan'' (1937, actor, director and producer) * '' Bargain with Bullets'' (1937, actor, story and screenwriter) * '' Gang Smashers'' (1938, story) * '' The Duke Is Tops'' (1938, actor, director and screenwriter) * '' Gang War'' (1940, actor) * '' Am I Guilty?'' (1940, actor)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cooper, Ralph 1908 births 1992 deaths Male actors from Manhattan American male film actors American male screenwriters 20th-century American screenwriters 20th-century African-American male actors 20th-century American male actors 20th-century American male writers Screenwriters from New York (state) Writers from Manhattan People from Harlem Deaths from cancer in New York (state) Burials at Woodlawn Cemetery (Bronx, New York) African-American screenwriters 20th-century African-American writers African-American male writers