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Living Dangerously: The Adventures of Merian C. Cooper, Creator of King Kong
Explorer, war hero, filmmaker, and cinema pioneer Merian C. Cooper–the adventurer who created King Kong–was truly larger than life. “Pictures cannot be made from an executive’s desk,” “Coop” declared, and he did more than talk the talk–he walked the walk to the far corners of the globe, with a motion picture camera in tow, in an era when those corners were truly unknown, untamed, and unforgiving.
Cooper’s place in history is assured, thanks not only to the monstrous gorilla from Skull Island but because the story of Kong’s creator is even bigger and bolder than the beast he made into a cultural icon. Spellbound since boyhood by tales of life-threatening adventure and exotic locales, Cooper plunged again and again into harrowing expeditions that took him to places not yet civilized by modern man.
Cooper was one of the first bomber pilots in World War I. After the war, he helped form the famous Kosciuszko Squadron in battle-torn Poland. He then turned his attention to producing documentary films that chronicled his hair-raising encounters with savage warriors, man-eating tigers, nomadic tribes, and elephant stampedes.
In addition to producing King Kong, he was the first to team Fred Astaire with Ginger Rogers, arranged Katharine Hepburn’s screen test, collaborated with John Ford on Hollywood’s greatest Westerns, and then changed the face of film forever with Cinerama, the original “virtual reality.” He returned to military service during World War II, serving with General Claire Chennault in China, flying missions into the heart of enemy territory.
This book is a stunning tribute to a two-fisted visionary who packed a multitude of lifetimes into eighty remarkable years. The first comprehensive biography of this unique man and his amazing time, it’s the tale of someone whose greatest desire was always to be living dangerously.
Cooper’s place in history is assured, thanks not only to the monstrous gorilla from Skull Island but because the story of Kong’s creator is even bigger and bolder than the beast he made into a cultural icon. Spellbound since boyhood by tales of life-threatening adventure and exotic locales, Cooper plunged again and again into harrowing expeditions that took him to places not yet civilized by modern man.
Cooper was one of the first bomber pilots in World War I. After the war, he helped form the famous Kosciuszko Squadron in battle-torn Poland. He then turned his attention to producing documentary films that chronicled his hair-raising encounters with savage warriors, man-eating tigers, nomadic tribes, and elephant stampedes.
In addition to producing King Kong, he was the first to team Fred Astaire with Ginger Rogers, arranged Katharine Hepburn’s screen test, collaborated with John Ford on Hollywood’s greatest Westerns, and then changed the face of film forever with Cinerama, the original “virtual reality.” He returned to military service during World War II, serving with General Claire Chennault in China, flying missions into the heart of enemy territory.
This book is a stunning tribute to a two-fisted visionary who packed a multitude of lifetimes into eighty remarkable years. The first comprehensive biography of this unique man and his amazing time, it’s the tale of someone whose greatest desire was always to be living dangerously.
478 pages, Hardcover
First published August 2, 2005
2 people are currently reading
83 people want to read
About the author
Mark Cotta Vaz
78 books178 followersMark Cotta Vaz is the author of over twenty-one books, including four New York Times bestsellers. His recent works include Mythic Vision: The Making of Eragon, The Spirit: The Movie Visual Companion, and the biography Living Dangerously: The Adventures of Merian C. Cooper, Creator of King Kong, which was a Los Angeles Times bestseller.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
January 14, 2023
Mark Cotta Vaz captures the essence as well as the details of Merian C. Cooper's life. From war hero, in both World Wars, to adventurer, to filmmaker, to commercial aviation pioneer, and finally to filmmaking innovator, Cooper is almost untouched in importance compared to other Hollywood figures. He reigns as a titan. And it's all the more peculiar that he has been all but forgotten, while many much lesser Hollywood figures have maintained their fame.
The fact is that it's impossible to pigeonhole Cooper. And this biography makes that clear. Perhaps that is the reason lesser biographers have not been able to do Cooper justice. This volume reads like an adventure story. But then it is, because Cooper's life was an adventure story. Anyone of his exploits themselves could have been turned into a feature film. And, in many ways, as Vaz also makes clear, that is exactly what Cooper's great gorilla epic, King Kong, does. It captures the life and adventures of Cooper himself, being a somewhat veiled autobiography.
The fact is that it's impossible to pigeonhole Cooper. And this biography makes that clear. Perhaps that is the reason lesser biographers have not been able to do Cooper justice. This volume reads like an adventure story. But then it is, because Cooper's life was an adventure story. Anyone of his exploits themselves could have been turned into a feature film. And, in many ways, as Vaz also makes clear, that is exactly what Cooper's great gorilla epic, King Kong, does. It captures the life and adventures of Cooper himself, being a somewhat veiled autobiography.
August 3, 2009
Just to clear things up, the reason I read this was because Maud Hart Lovelace, the author of the Betsy-Tacy books, was married to a guy named Delos Lovelace, and he and Merian Cooper were close friends and Delos and Maud ended up naming their daughter after him. So, onward. I really had no idea that Merian C. Cooper had done so much. He was a fighter pilot in WWI, and then started into film -- first with documentaries, and this was so fascinating that I'm going to try to watch all of his early films. I loved reading about how he and his colleagues were wrestling with ideas about what it means to call something a documentary. You know they've got all this primitive film equipment that only works under the most ideal conditions, and they would miss shots and then have to decide whether it was okay to ask everyone to do the same thing again, only this time on purpose. Then King Kong, and it made me think about how impossible it would be now to ever watch that movie without any irony at all. I guess his big idea of a follow-up was a movie about defending New York City with a fighter squad of people riding giant eagles ... but WWII happened and he enlisted again as a pilot. In short, he did live a crazy adventurous life, but it also struck me as firmly pathological (cripes, he gave his son the "come home with your shield or on it" speech before he shipped out for Viet Nam) ... a view that wasn't shared by the author, who apparently thought this was normal.
Grade: A-
Recommended: I thought this was a very good biography, it worked well for me and I wasn't even that interested in the subject before I started reading, and I think it would be very enjoyable for anyone interested in the pioneer days of film.
Grade: A-
Recommended: I thought this was a very good biography, it worked well for me and I wasn't even that interested in the subject before I started reading, and I think it would be very enjoyable for anyone interested in the pioneer days of film.
November 8, 2025
A biography of explorer, adventurer, journalist, author, movie producer, bomber pilot (in three wars), prisoner of war, airline executive, businessman, and inventor Merian C. Cooper, the legendary creator of King Kong.
This fast-paced though lengthy biography is perfectly adequate in summing up Cooper's astonishing career. My early reaction was that Cooper was a real-life Indiana Jones whose biography contains so much jaw-dropping action that it’s difficult to cram into one book.
The first half of the book—covering Cooper's exploits during World War I, volunteer service with the Kosciuszko Squadron in Poland, harrowing experiences as a prisoner of war, and early adventures in filmmaking with partner Ernest B. Schoedsack—is excellent. But I found the information on King Kong skimpy. I wanted more. Heck, you could write a whole book on King Kong alone. Cooper's heroic exploits in China during World War II with Major General Claire Chennault are well-documented, but I was disappointed that Cooper's production of John Ford's finest Westerns (they collaborated on nine movies together, including The Searchers) after the war is hardly mentioned.
Although Cooper sometimes seems like a character from a 19th Century Kipling novel, he was an ardent technologist who championed advances in motion picture technology throughout his career, including advances in sound, color, widescreen formats (e.g., Cinerama), and 3D color television. Sadly, many of his efforts were thwarted by other Hollywood executives unwilling to take risks.
Given Cooper’s whirlwind life, it’s a wonder he remained married to the same woman (actress Dorothy Jordan) for 40 years. They had three children together, although this book doesn't concern itself with Cooper's family life. Cooper also fathered an illegitimate son with another woman in Poland while serving with the Kosciuszko Squadron in the 1920s, but he returned to the U.S. and never established a relationship with the boy, who became bestselling Polish writer and translator Maciej Słomczyński.
Author Vaz steers clear of political controversy. Cooper's fierce anti-communist stance, particularly after the disappointing defeat of Chiang by the Chinese communists led by Mao in 1949, led him to support the despicable Senator Joseph McCarthy, a lying drunkard whose demagogic, reckless, and unsubstantiated accusations destroyed numerous people's careers unjustifiably and who slandered the patriotism of countless opponents purely for political gain. McCarthy (and his malevolent lawyer Roy Cohn, who later mentored corrupt real estate developer Donald Trump) represents everything evil about American politics, so it's not surprising that Vaz hardly touched upon Cooper's anti-communist activities during the Red Scare period. Readers might not find that period of Cooper's life so honorable. Although not mentioned in the book, Cooper later supported Barry Goldwater's campaign in the 1964 presidential election.
This fast-paced though lengthy biography is perfectly adequate in summing up Cooper's astonishing career. My early reaction was that Cooper was a real-life Indiana Jones whose biography contains so much jaw-dropping action that it’s difficult to cram into one book.
The first half of the book—covering Cooper's exploits during World War I, volunteer service with the Kosciuszko Squadron in Poland, harrowing experiences as a prisoner of war, and early adventures in filmmaking with partner Ernest B. Schoedsack—is excellent. But I found the information on King Kong skimpy. I wanted more. Heck, you could write a whole book on King Kong alone. Cooper's heroic exploits in China during World War II with Major General Claire Chennault are well-documented, but I was disappointed that Cooper's production of John Ford's finest Westerns (they collaborated on nine movies together, including The Searchers) after the war is hardly mentioned.
Although Cooper sometimes seems like a character from a 19th Century Kipling novel, he was an ardent technologist who championed advances in motion picture technology throughout his career, including advances in sound, color, widescreen formats (e.g., Cinerama), and 3D color television. Sadly, many of his efforts were thwarted by other Hollywood executives unwilling to take risks.
Given Cooper’s whirlwind life, it’s a wonder he remained married to the same woman (actress Dorothy Jordan) for 40 years. They had three children together, although this book doesn't concern itself with Cooper's family life. Cooper also fathered an illegitimate son with another woman in Poland while serving with the Kosciuszko Squadron in the 1920s, but he returned to the U.S. and never established a relationship with the boy, who became bestselling Polish writer and translator Maciej Słomczyński.
Author Vaz steers clear of political controversy. Cooper's fierce anti-communist stance, particularly after the disappointing defeat of Chiang by the Chinese communists led by Mao in 1949, led him to support the despicable Senator Joseph McCarthy, a lying drunkard whose demagogic, reckless, and unsubstantiated accusations destroyed numerous people's careers unjustifiably and who slandered the patriotism of countless opponents purely for political gain. McCarthy (and his malevolent lawyer Roy Cohn, who later mentored corrupt real estate developer Donald Trump) represents everything evil about American politics, so it's not surprising that Vaz hardly touched upon Cooper's anti-communist activities during the Red Scare period. Readers might not find that period of Cooper's life so honorable. Although not mentioned in the book, Cooper later supported Barry Goldwater's campaign in the 1964 presidential election.
July 27, 2017
Merian C. Cooper led a life more adventurous than the films he wrote and directed. One episode alone is enough to make him a spectacularly interesting person, but he had several important chapters in his life. Early on, he flew as an aviator with the U.S. Army Air Service and the as a bomber pilot with the Kosciuszko squadron fighting for Polish Independence in 1918-1921. He was captured by Bolshevik Cossacks under Marshal Budenny when his plane was shot down in Eastern Galicia. He would have been shot on the spot but for the fact that he was wearing the flying togs of Pvt. F.M. Mosher. He would have rotted in the Lubyanka prison, but for the intervention of Baltimore socialite, journalist and spy Marguerite Harrison, also a prisoner in the Lubyanka. Harrison smuggled letters out of the prison to Cooper's family in Jacksonville, Florida to let them know that he was alive, not missing presumed dead. She also smuggled food to him to keep him alive.
After his escape, Cooper felt so indebted to this wonderful and interesting woman that he allowed her to travel with him and his cameraman Edward Schoedsack to the wilds of Western Persia (now Iran) to make the 1925 epic documentary, Grass. This film followed the migration of the remote and ancient Bakhtiari tribe of 50,000 souls travelling from Turkey to Iran. They crossed rivers using inflated goat hides, and climbed over 12,000 ft mountains, sometimes barefooted, to reach the elusive green fields so desperately needed by their cattle.
During these adventures, Marguerite part of the crew, Cooper envisioned a film about dinosaurs and ancient peoples, with a gigantic gorilla in the center of the tale. This film story eventually developed into the movie King Kong, with Marguerite Cooper as the model for the character Ann, the beauty who faced off against the Beast. There are other adventures and chapters to Merian Coopers adventures around the world and in Hollywood, California. This reviewer would not dream of divulging any further spoilers to ruin the experience for any reader. It is sufficient to say that this book represents one of the great adventure and explorer tales of the 20th century. Merian C. Cooper is undoubtedly one of the most interesting individuals to have lived in this or any other era. BTW, Peter Jackson pays a tremendous homage to Merian Cooper and Edward Schoedsack in his rendition of King Kong (2005) The heroic and dauntless Schoedsack had many near death experiences (as far back as 1917 and 1925) and it is a miracle that any of these people survived their ordeals.
After his escape, Cooper felt so indebted to this wonderful and interesting woman that he allowed her to travel with him and his cameraman Edward Schoedsack to the wilds of Western Persia (now Iran) to make the 1925 epic documentary, Grass. This film followed the migration of the remote and ancient Bakhtiari tribe of 50,000 souls travelling from Turkey to Iran. They crossed rivers using inflated goat hides, and climbed over 12,000 ft mountains, sometimes barefooted, to reach the elusive green fields so desperately needed by their cattle.
During these adventures, Marguerite part of the crew, Cooper envisioned a film about dinosaurs and ancient peoples, with a gigantic gorilla in the center of the tale. This film story eventually developed into the movie King Kong, with Marguerite Cooper as the model for the character Ann, the beauty who faced off against the Beast. There are other adventures and chapters to Merian Coopers adventures around the world and in Hollywood, California. This reviewer would not dream of divulging any further spoilers to ruin the experience for any reader. It is sufficient to say that this book represents one of the great adventure and explorer tales of the 20th century. Merian C. Cooper is undoubtedly one of the most interesting individuals to have lived in this or any other era. BTW, Peter Jackson pays a tremendous homage to Merian Cooper and Edward Schoedsack in his rendition of King Kong (2005) The heroic and dauntless Schoedsack had many near death experiences (as far back as 1917 and 1925) and it is a miracle that any of these people survived their ordeals.
March 12, 2019
A fantastic biography of the creator of King Kong. But Merian C. Cooper was so much more than that.
Pilot, soldier, adventurer, humanitarian, inventor, writer, director, producer, prisoner-of-war and a thousand other things I am forgetting to add just now.
This highly readable, and highly researched, biography is the first ever written on this titan of the 20th Century and it is long overdue.
Highly recommended.
December 3, 2024
Good biography of someone you probably never heard of. Writing could have been tighter and the epilogues were totally unnecessary.
November 29, 2011
Merian C. Cooper was a Manly Man. This isn't meant as ironic commentary and the caps are intentional because this thought kept creeping into my brain as I read each chapter of Mark Cotta Vaz's biography. Forever known as the creator of KING KONG, that fact could almost be a footnote compared to his exploits as a flying ace in both World Wars, explorer of exotic lands, head of RKO Studios, producer of some of John Ford's greatest films (including THE SEARCHERS AND THE QUIET MAN), developer of Cinerama and pioneer of modern day air travel at Pan-Am Airways. In each case, Cooper had the swagger of a two-fisted pulp action hero with the moxie to back it up. Cotta Vaz sometimes bogs Cooper's saga down with unnncessary details and drags the ending out a bit, but for the most part gives Cooper the respect he truly deserves.
In retrospect, I find it ironic that Peter Jackson wrote the introduction to LIVING DANGEROUSLY considering what he failed to with his remake of KING KONG. While his 2005 film isn't the botch effort as the 1976 version (mainly because Jackson is a better director than journeyman John Guillermin and he didn't have to put up with Dino De Laurentis), the bottom line was that he blew it. One of his major blunders was his take on Carl Denham, the character Merian C. Cooper pretty much based upon himself. Jackson made him spineles and rather weasely, elevating the Jack Driscoll role into the action-hero mode. Denham turned out to be just another cheap huckster and the casting of Jack Black in the part surely didn't help matters. If Jackson stayed true to the spirit of Cooper, he would have been able to stay out of the shadow of the original instead of the overblown video game he ended up with. After all these years, Cooper's KONG is still King.
Cotta Vaz is reverential almost to a fault. There's no reason to really comment on Cooper's politics (a fervent Commie fighter, he even supported Joe McCarthy)without bringing one's own agenda into the fray. He lets the man speak for himself and perhaps that's for the best, even when he delves into the heartbreaking abandonment of Copper's firstborn, a son born out of wedlock.
Ultimately, I've concluded that they don't make Manly Men like Merian C. Cooper anymore. In this day and age, he wouldn't fit in. Then again, the world wouldn't fit in with him either, just like King Kong himself.
In retrospect, I find it ironic that Peter Jackson wrote the introduction to LIVING DANGEROUSLY considering what he failed to with his remake of KING KONG. While his 2005 film isn't the botch effort as the 1976 version (mainly because Jackson is a better director than journeyman John Guillermin and he didn't have to put up with Dino De Laurentis), the bottom line was that he blew it. One of his major blunders was his take on Carl Denham, the character Merian C. Cooper pretty much based upon himself. Jackson made him spineles and rather weasely, elevating the Jack Driscoll role into the action-hero mode. Denham turned out to be just another cheap huckster and the casting of Jack Black in the part surely didn't help matters. If Jackson stayed true to the spirit of Cooper, he would have been able to stay out of the shadow of the original instead of the overblown video game he ended up with. After all these years, Cooper's KONG is still King.
Cotta Vaz is reverential almost to a fault. There's no reason to really comment on Cooper's politics (a fervent Commie fighter, he even supported Joe McCarthy)without bringing one's own agenda into the fray. He lets the man speak for himself and perhaps that's for the best, even when he delves into the heartbreaking abandonment of Copper's firstborn, a son born out of wedlock.
Ultimately, I've concluded that they don't make Manly Men like Merian C. Cooper anymore. In this day and age, he wouldn't fit in. Then again, the world wouldn't fit in with him either, just like King Kong himself.
October 26, 2010
There's a big story here. Cooper, apparently, lived a life lifted straight from his swashbuckling, jungle-clearing, ace-piloting movies. There's no shortage of romantic material here; where the shortcoming is, is in the telling. Vaz focuses on the life of Cooper outside of his most famous film, but I found that choice strange and a little disappointing: most readers will be familiar almost exclusively with the film, and would probably appreciate a little more inside information on its making. Instead, this comes off as the story of a intrepid yet undistinguished explorer who just happened to make movies for a living. The "Kong" films are unique products of their time, rich in social implication and cultural impact, but frustratingly, none of this is explored in any depth. The story just trundles along, meaning nothing, intending nothing, other than to chronicle the making of a single film...which it never explicates the significance of.
A frustrating, underwhelming effort.
A frustrating, underwhelming effort.
June 8, 2012
Vaz’s book on Cooper was entertaining as well as informative. While one did need an understanding of basic world history to follow the overall story which took in the First World War, the Russo-Polish War, Interwar Persia and South Pacific, Second World War China, as well as many aspects of American history, the overall biography was one that showed just how much the United States and the world changed in the early 20th century. Well worth the read even if the reader is not all that interested in King Kong.
April 15, 2008
With the fever pitch surrounding all things Kong thanks to Peter Jackson's remake, probably anyone who cares already saw the Merian C. Cooper documentary "I Am Kong" which pretty much goes over everything in this book so it might be a little redundant in terms of a read. The life Cooper lead is nothing short of remarkable and its interesting to note darke aspects of his character, like the fact that he was rabidly pro McCarthy.
June 2, 2011
Really, really enjoyed this. Merian Cooper lived many lives--fighter pilot, POW, filmmaker, visionary. . . Engagingly written, fascinating subject, and exhaustive research that doesn't get bogged down in the details. Gave me new respect for King Kong (a movie I already admired for its technologocial breakthroughs), but that's such a small part of his life.
Well worth the read.
Well worth the read.
February 3, 2011
Really good. Well researched and very interesting. It'd be hard to make Merian Cooper not sound interesting, but the trick Vaz pulls off so well is keeping it humming. Cooper did so much stuff with his life, it'd be easy to either plod along or get bogged down. I never felt like Vas did that. Hard to believe this is all true...
December 31, 2020
I really wanted this book to be better. Cooper was a very interesting person and participated in some amazing adventures. The book is well researched and provides plenty of references. The writing struggles a bit to engage the reader. I finished it and am glad I did, but found myself less interested as the book progressed.
June 16, 2007
A vivid and thorough account of the life of the extraordinary adventurer, fighter pilot, movie mogul, author and creator of King Kong -- Merian C. Cooper, with an introduction by director Peter Jackson.
November 18, 2010
King Kong was my grandfather's favorite movie but it pales in comparison with the real life exploits of its director.
A very enjoyable read, fighter pilot,explore,director and dreamer extraordinaire.
A very enjoyable read, fighter pilot,explore,director and dreamer extraordinaire.
November 8, 2010
Merian C. Cooper did a lot more than make "King Kong," which is what I remembered him for. His exploits as a pilot in World War I were exciting and dangerous - more so than his movies. Netflix carries two of his most famous silent movies, "Grass" and "Chang." They are definitely work checking out.
February 14, 2016
read SOMETIME in 2006
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