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Legendary Quotes From Iconic Hollywood Actor Gary Cooper

Legendary Quotes From Iconic Hollywood Actor Gary Cooper

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2005 Getty Images / Hulton Archive via Getty Images

"People Ask Me How Come You've Been Around so Long. Well, It's Through Playing the Part of Mr. Average Joe American."

Hulton Archive / Moviepix via Getty Images

"For Me 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?… Free to Everybody."

Express / Moviepix via Getty Images

"Nobody in Hollywood Is Normal. Absolutely Nobody. And They Have Such a Vicious Attitude Toward One Another . . . Nobody Has Any Real Friends."

Earl Crowley / Hulton Archive via Getty Images

"That's For Me to Know and You to Find Out."

Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

"What Puzzles Me Is Why People Seem to Get So Much Pleasure Out of Hurting Each Other."

Courtesy of Columbia Pictures

"Uh, That's a Word We Made Up Back Home for People Who Make Foolish Designs on Paper When They're Thinking: It's Called Doodling."

Courtesy of Columbia Pictures

"Movie Acting Is a Pretty Silly Business for a Man Because It Takes Less Training, Less Ability, and Less Brains to Be Successful in It Than Any Other Business I Can Think Of."

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"Gone With the Wind Is Going to Be the Biggest Flop in History."

Courtesy of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

"If I Had to Wash Dishes, I Guess I'd Give Up Eating."

Courtesy of United Artists

"The Creator Stands on His Own Judgment. The Parasite Follows the Opinions of Others."

Courtesy of Warner Bros.

"There's a Point Here You Either Grow Up and Become Human Being or You Rot."

Courtesy of United Artists

"I Like Westerns Because the Good Ones Are Real…Our Country Was and Is Full of People Who Believe in America."

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"Cancer Is Everybody's Enemy. We Can't 'Think' an Enemy Out of Existence by Ignoring It."

Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons

"I Know That What Is Happening Is God's Will. I Am Not Afraid of the Future."

2005 Getty Images / Hulton Archive via Getty Images

"Trying Hard to Look Like Gary Cooper. Super-Duper."

vectorfusionart / Shutterstock.com

"People Ask Me How Come You've Been Around so Long. Well, It's Through Playing the Part of Mr. Average Joe American."
"For Me 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?… Free to Everybody."
"Nobody in Hollywood Is Normal. Absolutely Nobody. And They Have Such a Vicious Attitude Toward One Another . . . Nobody Has Any Real Friends."
"That's For Me to Know and You to Find Out."
"What Puzzles Me Is Why People Seem to Get So Much Pleasure Out of Hurting Each Other."
"Uh, That's a Word We Made Up Back Home for People Who Make Foolish Designs on Paper When They're Thinking: It's Called Doodling."
"Movie Acting Is a Pretty Silly Business for a Man Because It Takes Less Training, Less Ability, and Less Brains to Be Successful in It Than Any Other Business I Can Think Of."
"Gone With the Wind Is Going to Be the Biggest Flop in History."
"If I Had to Wash Dishes, I Guess I'd Give Up Eating."
"The Creator Stands on His Own Judgment. The Parasite Follows the Opinions of Others."
"There's a Point Here You Either Grow Up and Become Human Being or You Rot."
"I Like Westerns Because the Good Ones Are Real…Our Country Was and Is Full of People Who Believe in America."
"Cancer Is Everybody's Enemy. We Can't 'Think' an Enemy Out of Existence by Ignoring It."
"I Know That What Is Happening Is God's Will. I Am Not Afraid of the Future."
"Trying Hard to Look Like Gary Cooper. Super-Duper."

Regarding the most famous Gary Cooper quotes, some are quotes from interviews. He also has notable movie lines. I'm celebrating the actor as his award-winning "High Noon" made the news when Amazon Prime made it available for streaming on June 1, 2024. It's a movie John Wayne declared "the most un-American thing I have seen in my whole life." I disagree.

The Oscar-winning actor had close friendships with several noted artists and writers up until his death from prostate cancer at the age of 60. He was Ernest Hemingway's good friend and played the lead in Hemingway's "For Whom the Bell Tolls." He was also friends with Pablo Picasso and James Stewart. When Cooper died, Stewart was asked to take Cooper's role in "How the West Was Won."

Cooper's career started with bit roles, but he soon progressed into a star. His real name, Frank, was switched to "Gary" at the suggestion of his agent. He entered into a movie career that would start when he was 22 and last until he died in 1961. Several Gary Cooper movies won awards including:

  • "The Cowboy and the Lady" – Best Performance of the Month (Photoplay Awards) in 1939
  • "Sergeant York" – Best Acting (National Board of Review, USA) in 1941
  • "Sergeant York" – Best Actor (New York Film Critics Circle) in 1941
  • "Sergeant York" – Best Actor (Oscar) in 1942
  • "High Noon" – Best Actor (Oscar) in 1953, John Wayne accepted the award for him.
  • "High Noon" – Best Actor-Drama (Golden Globes) in 1953
  • "The Hanging Tree" – Top Action Performer (Laurel Awards) in 1959
  • "They Came to Cordura" – Top Action Performer (Laurel Awards) in 1960

It's time to dive into famous Gary Cooper quotes as I look back at his amazing career in Westerns and more. (Also read The Most Epic Showdowns in Western Films.)

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