Edna Mae Cooper

Edna Mae Cooper
Born(1900-07-19)July 19, 1900
Baltimore, Maryland, US
DiedJune 27, 1986(1986-06-27) (aged 85)
Woodland Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, US
Other namesEdna May Cooper, Edna Mae Brown
Occupation(s)Silent film actress, aviator
SpouseKarl Brown

Edna Mae Cooper (July 19, 1900 – June 27, 1986),[1] also seen as Edna May Cooper, was an American actress of the silent era. She appeared in dozens of films between 1911 and 1929. She was also involved in aviation, setting an endurance record in 1931 with fellow pilot Bobbi Trout.

Early life

Cooper was born in Baltimore, Maryland, and raised in Long Beach, California, the daughter of Mary Mae Cooper.[2] She earned a pilot's license at Parks Air College in St. Louis in 1930.[3][4]

Career

Film

Cooper is known for her performances in Men, Women, and Money (1919), Grounds for Divorce (1925), and The Ten Commandments (1956). In 1927 she complained about another silent film actress, Edna May, concerned that they might be confused with each other.[5]

Aviation

Cooper announced that she was leaving films for aviation in 1930.[6] In 1931, co-pilots Cooper and Bobbi Trout set the world's refueling endurance record, with a flight over the airport in Los Angeles.[7] They first attempted the flight on January 1, 1931, but due to technical problems they had to abort the flight. At their next attempt, they were successful in flying straight for 122 hours and 50 minutes, despite windy and rainy conditions.[8][9] They ended the run on January 9, 1931, in difficult weather, with engine problems.[10] Trout and Cooper appeared together at the Sacramento Auto Show in February 1931, with the plane they used to set the record, the Lady Rolph.[11]

In March 1931, Cooper went missing from Santa Monica, and was discovered a week later in a hotel in Monterey, registered under an alias, injured and confused.[12][13] She had bruises and a head injury.[14] The doctor on her case linked her condition to her aviation stunt, telling newspapers that it was probably "a cumulative exhaustion" that "sapped her nervous strength".[15]

Trout and Cooper's 1931 record earned them decorations from several governments, and still stood in 1949. Cooper was a friend to Amelia Earhart.[3] In 1937, she and her son drove from Los Angeles to New York in under four days, seeking another record.[16]

Later activities

In 1934, Cooper's leg was injured when a lighting fixture fell on her while she was shopping for shoes.[17][18] In 1935, she was in the news for a property dispute over an apartment she owned.[19] In 1936, she told a reporter that she was writing about show business.[20] Cooper was injured in a serious car accident in December 1940, and spent much of the next five years recovering. After 1945, she visited churches and hospitals to tell inspirational stories of her recovery, with a presentation titled "The Life of Christ", involving religious music and imagery.[3][21] She sold Christmas cards, and sought investor funding to bring her production to military hospitals in Hawaii, Japan, Korea, and Germany in 1950.[22] She was a member of the American Legion Auxiliary.[23]

Filmography

Personal life

Copper's husband was Karl Brown, a cinematographer, screenwriter, and director. They had a son, Karl, and later divorced.[25][26] Cooper died in 1986, probably in her eighties, in the Woodland Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles, California.[27][28]

References

  1. ^ Cooper's birth year is inconsistently reported in sources; for example, her age is 13 in the 1910 census, but 35 in the 1940 census, neither of which would correspond to the 1900 birth year on her gravestone.
  2. ^ 1910, 1920, 1930, and 1940 United States censuses, via Ancestry.
  3. ^ a b c Fowler, Guy (November 29, 1949). "All in a Day". Valley Times. p. 11. Retrieved July 15, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Miss Cooper a Former Pupil of Earle Ovington, S.B. Flier". The Morning Press. August 18, 1931. p. 5. Retrieved July 15, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Edna May May Keep Her Name". The Los Angeles Times. November 17, 1927. p. 17. Retrieved July 15, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Actress Deserts Films for Flying, Proposes to Girdle Globe in Plane". The Fresno Bee. May 15, 1930. p. 1. Retrieved July 15, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Two Women Will Try for Endurance Record; Edna May Cooper and Bobbie Trout Plan Refueling Flight". The Boston Daily Globe. December 31, 1930. p. 13. Retrieved July 15, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Flyers Survive Real Threat". Evening Star. January 7, 1931. p. 2. Retrieved July 15, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Little Sleep for Endurance Flyers; Edna May Cooper Tells of Their Experiences". The Boston Globe. January 8, 1931. p. 25. Retrieved July 15, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "2 Girl Endurance Aviators Forced to Make Landing". The Daily Illini. January 10, 1931. p. 1. Retrieved July 15, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Sacramento Auto Show to Open Doors Tuesday Night with Imposing Exposition". The Sacramento Union. February 15, 1931. p. 26. Retrieved July 15, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Edna May Cooper, Flyer, Found Hurt, Memory Gone, in Hospital at Monterey". Los Angeles Evening Express. March 2, 1931. pp. 1, 6. Retrieved July 15, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Search for Aviatrix is Successful". El Paso Times. March 3, 1931. p. 1. Retrieved July 15, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "Edna May Cooper Recalls How She Lost Her Memory". Oakland Tribune. March 4, 1931. p. 2. Retrieved July 15, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ "Girl Flier Lost Six Days Found in Hotel Injured". Star Tribune. March 3, 1931. pp. 1, 5. Retrieved July 15, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ "Aviatrix Sets Auto Mark; Edna May Cooper Shatters Old Time Mark to New York". The Los Angeles Times. August 22, 1937. p. 75. Retrieved July 15, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ^ "Aviatrix Hurt; Freak Accident in Store Indicates Air Safer than Land". Los Angeles Evening Citizen News. September 22, 1934. p. 9. Retrieved July 15, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ^ "Aviatrix Victor in Damage Suit". Los Angeles Evening Citizen News. May 16, 1936. p. 10. Retrieved July 15, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ^ "Aviatrix Wins Eviction Fight Patience Test". Los Angeles Evening Citizen News. October 5, 1935. p. 9. Retrieved July 15, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. ^ "Edna May Cooper, Aviatrix, Actress, Has Turned Writer". Press-Telegram. September 21, 1936. p. 9. Retrieved July 15, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. ^ "'Life of Christ' to be Presented at Valley Church". Los Angeles Evening Citizen News. July 11, 1946. p. 18. Retrieved July 15, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  22. ^ Fowler, Guy (November 7, 1950). "All in a Day". Valley Times. p. 7. Retrieved July 15, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  23. ^ "Unit 307 Celebrates Birthday". Valley Times. March 28, 1946. p. 7. Retrieved July 15, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  24. ^ a b c d "Edna Mae Cooper". bfi.org.uk. Archived from the original on July 16, 2017. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
  25. ^ "Screen Actress and Endurance Flier is Listed as Missing". The Times-Tribune. February 26, 1931. p. 18. Retrieved July 15, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  26. ^ "Karl Browns Honeymoon". The Los Angeles Times. November 18, 1949. p. 43. Retrieved July 15, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  27. ^ "Karl Brown, 93, Hollywood Pioneer In Cinematography". The New York Times. March 30, 1990. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
  28. ^ "Cooper, Edna Mae (1900–1986)". encyclopedia.com. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
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