Jackie Cooper dies at 88

The actor rose to prominence as a child star and remained in show business for six decades.

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Oct. 20, 1978

Actor Jackie Cooper, shown in 1978, died May 3, 2011. "He just kinda died of old age," attorney Roger Licht told the Reuters news service. "He wore out."

Nick Ut / AP

Cooper is shown in costume for his title character in the 1931 Hollywood film "Skippy." Cooper earned a best actor nomination for the role at the age of 9, making him the youngest actor to be nominated for an Academy Award.

/ AP

Dec. 12, 1931

Cooper makes an imprint of his hands and feet in cement during induction ceremonies in the forecourt of Grauman's theater on Hollywood Boulevard.

/ AP

Feb. 28, 1932

As a young movie star, Cooper poses with Chicago Cubs manager Rogers Hornsby at Wrigley Field in Los Angeles during an Olympics benefit baseball game between the Joe E. Browns and the Buster Keatons. Players from the Pirates, Giants and Cubs participated.

/ AP

Oct. 10, 1933

Cooper poses with film producer Louis B. Mayer at the premiere of "The Bowery" in Hollywood. Cooper had the leading role in the movie.

/ AP

1933

Cooper arrives for the premiere of "The Bowery," in which he had a leading role, in Hollywood.

/ AP

Nov. 5, 1934

Cooper pays a visit to Arthur Willersdorf, 13, ill with a rheumatic heart, in Beth David Hospital in New York. The hospital superintendent wrote Cooper, who was in New York on a visit, that the call would do the boy "more good than all the medicine in the world."

/ AP

June 22, 1935

Cooper, left, and Mickey Rooney, a fellow child actor, try to use cameras owned by visiting newspaper journalists.

Frank Filan / AP

July 24, 1936

Cooper and actress Judy Garland attend a ballgame in Hollywood.

/ AP

July 24, 1936

From left, Judy Garland, Cooper, Diane Lewis and Mickey Rooney attend a ballgame in Hollywood.

/ AP

Aug. 15, 1936

Cooper and Judy Garland are shown together in Hollywood.

/ AP

July 4, 1942

Actresses Bonita Granville, left, and Gloria de Haven join Jackie Cooper at the opening of the Hollywood Casino in Hollywood.

/ AP

Nov. 3, 1943

Cooper, right, an apprentice seaman, and Walter J. Finn, left, of Rochester, Minn., admire the service ribbons of Dudley C. Mathes of Long Beach, Calif., at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind., where the three were enrolled in a new class in the Naval V-12 school. Cooper, 21, was among 400 youths beginning study for commissions at the school.

/ AP

Dec. 5, 1945

Jackie Cooper, then in the Navy, lights up for his actress-wife, June Horne, while they stop at the Mocambo in West Hollywood on a round of entertainment during his leave.

/ AP

May 12, 1961

Cooper shows his third wife, Barbara, how to use a six-shooter at the Share Charity Party in Hollywood.

/ AP

March 26, 1962

Cooper, playing a Navy doctor in the Naval sitcom "Hennessey," and actress Abby Dalton, playing Nurse Martha Hale, pose with their wedding cake during a studio party celebrating their TV marriage.

HPM / AP

Nov. 6, 1964

Cooper with actress Elizabeth Montgomery in Hollywood.

/ AP

Aug. 5, 1978

Cooper stands on the set of "Rainbow," a movie he directed, with one of the co-stars, 15-year-old Johnny Doran. "Rainbow" is a two-hour film based on the teenage years of Judy Garland, with whom Cooper starred in 1941. "It's spooky," said Cooper when he found his look-alike in Doran, who was playing the role Cooper himself played with Garland.

Huynh / AP

1978

Actor Christopher Reeve, Margot Kidder and Cooper in the first "Superman" film. Cooper played the irascible Daily Planet editor Perry White.

/ Reuters

Sept. 10, 1979

Cooper poses with his Emmy at the 31st annual Emmy Awards in Los Angeles. He won for best directing in a drama series for "The White Shadow."

Reed Saxon / AP

June 15, 1983

Cooper, with his wife, Barbara, at the Pierre Hotel in New York, celebrates the New York premiere of "Superman III."

NK / AP

Jan. 21, 1987

Cooper directs actress Tyne Daly, right, on set for "Cagney and Lacey."

Douglas C. Pizac / AP

June 14, 2004

Cooper admires photos from his 1931 film "Skippy" before a screening of the Oscar-nominated drama at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Beverly Hills. The film was featured as part of the Academy's "Great to Be Nominated" screening series. At age 9, Cooper received an Academy Award nomination as best actor for his performance in the title role.

Todd Wawrychuk / AP

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