[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 148 (2002), Part 9]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 12014-12015]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 AN AMERICAN COWBOY LEGEND: BEN COOPER

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JAMES A. BARCIA

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 26, 2002

  Mr. BARCIA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the 
voluminous and noteworthy acting career of Ben Cooper, a performer 
whose work in the Western genre has informed and entertained 
generations of youngsters about the history and the myths of the Old 
West. Many fans may recognize that Ben has always had a special place 
in his heart for the Western, but perhaps not everyone knows that he 
met his wife, Pamela, while working on the ``Wagon Train'' series with 
Ward Bond.

[[Page 12015]]

  While Ben is perhaps best known for his role in the non-western 
drama, ``The Rose Tattoo,'' he made his mark in many terrific Westerns, 
including ``Johnny Guitar,'' with Joan Crawford and Sterling Hayden. He 
also had prominent roles in ``Jubilee Trail,'' ``The Last Command,'' 
``Outlaw's Son,'' and as Johnny Shattuck in ``Duel at Apache Wells.'' 
In 1965, Ben starred with Audie Murphy in ``Gunfight at Comanche 
Creek'' and ``Arizona Raiders.''
  Before moving to Hollywood, Ben was already an extremely successful 
performer with 3,200 radio broadcasts and 250 live television shows 
under his belt. His first film credit was for his work in the Republic 
Studios film, ``The Thunderbirds.'' While the bulk of Ben's big-screen 
work was in the 1950s and 1960s, his career has covered more than fifty 
years, including two 1971 Westerns, ``One More Train to Rob'' and 
``Support Your Local Gunfighter,'' in which he played Colorado Magee. 
Over the years, Ben appeared in various movies and had many guest 
appearances on hit television shows, including ``Kung Fu: The Legend 
Continues,'' ``The Fall Guy,'' ``Bonanza,'' and ``The Rifleman.'' He 
also had a longrunning part in ``The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo'' 
with Claude Akins from 1979 to 1981.
  In the 1960s, Ben formed Celebrity Speakers, a group that booked 
actors on the lecture circuit. Ben's belief that the magnificent and 
hard-working character actors cast as sidekicks, saddle tramps, bank 
robbers and in other essential supporting roles were equally capable of 
acting as goodwill ambassadors for Hollywood has given us all a better 
understanding of film-making.
  Finally, Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in applauding 
Ben Cooper for exhibiting the true spirit of the American cowboy-hero. 
Whether Ben wore a white or a black Stetson, his characters were 
memorable and we should tip our collective hats to Ben Cooper, another 
legendary hero of the Old West.

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