Marilyn Cooper Dies
Marilyn Cooper Dies
MamasDoin'Fine
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/28/08
#1Marilyn Cooper Dies
Posted: 4/23/09 at 9:06am
The wonderful musical theatre actress, Marilyn Coper, has died aged 75.
She appeared many times on Broadway including 'I Can Get It For You Wholesale!' with Barbra Streisand and 'Woman Of The Year' with Lauren Bacall.
I had the pleasure of seeing her in 'Woman Of The Year' in New York and also in Boston as Mother in 'Bye Bye Birdie' with Tommy Tune and Anne Reinking.
A great performer has been lost. Such a sweetheart at the stage door that Sunday at 'Birdie'.
The classic 'The Grass Is Always Greener' from 'Woman Of The Year'
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQpE15e4Zbo
R.I.P x
Updated On: 4/23/09 at 09:06 AM
WestVillage
Broadway Star Joined: 7/20/05
#2re: Marilyn Cooper Dies
Posted: 4/23/09 at 9:24am
Such sad news. I first saw her in Two by Two, and her performance in Woman of the Year ... one scene, one song (and the Tony) ... is legendary. RIP.
Updated On: 4/23/09 at 09:24 AM
#2re: Marilyn Cooper Dies
Posted: 4/23/09 at 9:24amShe was brilliant in WOMAN OF THE YEAR simply by doing nothing. She also did a brilliant turn on CHEERS as Lilith's mother. Loved her.
Cheyenne Jackson tickled me. AFTER ordering SoMMS a drink but NOT tickling him, and hanging out with Girly in his dressing room (where he DIDN'T tickle her) but BEFORE we got married. To others. And then he tweeted Boobs. He also tweeted he's good friends with some chick on "The Voice" who just happens to be good friends with Tink's ex. And I'm still married. Oh, and this just in: "Pettiness, spite, malice ....Such ugly emotions... So sad." - After Eight, talking about MEEEEEEEE!!! I'm so honored! :-)
MamasDoin'Fine
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/28/08
#3re: Marilyn Cooper Dies
Posted: 4/23/09 at 9:27am
And the Tony goes to....
'you can have my husband'
'I've already had your husband'
Updated On: 4/24/09 at 09:27 AM
#4re: Marilyn Cooper Dies
Posted: 4/23/09 at 9:36amWhat a wonderful, warm, funny, funny actress. Rest in peace.
WOSQ
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/18/03
#5re: Marilyn Cooper Dies
Posted: 4/23/09 at 9:44am
Everybody knew Coopie because she always worked, and she always worked because everybody knew her. Broadway, off, tours, stock, everywhere.
She was on time, knew her lines, nailed her laughs, hit the notes and there was no drama.
"If my life weren't funny, it would just be true. And that would be unacceptable."
--Carrie Fisher
#6re: Marilyn Cooper Dies
Posted: 4/23/09 at 9:54am
I got to see her in Woman of the Year....so funny!
RIP
"Carson has combined his passion for helping children with his love for one of Cincinnati's favorite past times - cornhole - to create a unique and exciting event perfect for a corporate outing, entertaining clients or family fun."
"In Oz, the verb is douchifizzation." PRS
"In Oz, the verb is douchifizzation." PRS
#7re: Marilyn Cooper Dies
Posted: 4/23/09 at 9:59am
RIP, Ms.Cooper. I still laugh whenever I listen to her lines in "The Grass Is Always Greener." What comic brilliance.
She played the original Rosalia in WEST SIDE STORY too and Agnes in the original cast of GYPSY, she was also a replacement Gooch in MAME, she must have been a hoot!
We've lost a great one, but her memory and the laughter she gave us will live on.
"Some people can thrive and bloom living life in a living room, that's perfect for some people of one hundred and five. But I at least gotta try, when I think of all the sights that I gotta see, all the places I gotta play, all the things that I gotta be at"
#8re: Marilyn Cooper Dies
Posted: 4/23/09 at 10:13am
Marilyn was my neighbor for many many years until she recently moved to the Actor's Fund home in NJ. She was quite a character, and someone I always enjoyed spending time with. Watching her slow decline was heart-breaking.
RIP, dear friend.
2016 These Paper Bullets (1/02) Our Mother's Brief Affair (1/06), Dragon Boat Racing (1/08), Howard - reading (1/28), Shear Madness (2/10), Fun Home (2/17), Women Without Men (2/18), Trip Of Love (2/21), The First Gentleman -reading (2/22), Southern Comfort (2/23), The Robber Bridegroom (2/24), She Loves Me (3/11), Shuffle Along (4/12), Shear Madness (4/14), Dear Evan Hansen (4/16), American Psycho (4/23), Tuck Everlasting (5/10), Indian Summer (5/15), Peer Gynt (5/18), Broadway's Rising Stars (7/11), Trip of Love (7/27), CATS (7/31), The Layover (8/17), An Act Of God (8/31), The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (8/24), Heisenberg (10/12), Fiddler On The Roof (11/02), Othello (11/23), Dear Evan Hansen (11/26), Les Liaisons Dangereuses (12/21) 2017 In Transit (2/01), Groundhog Day (4/04), Ring Twice For Miranda (4/07), Church And State (4/10), The Lucky One (4/19), Ernest Shackleton Loves Me (5/16), Building The Wall (5/19), Indecent (6/01), Six Degrees of Separation (6/09), Marvin's Room (6/28), A Doll's House Pt 2 (7/25) Curvy Widow (8/01)
#9re: Marilyn Cooper Dies
Posted: 4/23/09 at 10:39am
My thoughts are with her friends and family.
http://www.playbill.com/news/article/128548.html
"Winning a Tony this year is like winning Best Attendance in third grade: no one will care but the winner and their mom."
-Kad
"I have also met him in person, and I find him to be quite funny actually. Arrogant and often misinformed, but still funny."
-bjh2114 (on Michael Riedel)
-Kad
"I have also met him in person, and I find him to be quite funny actually. Arrogant and often misinformed, but still funny."
-bjh2114 (on Michael Riedel)
Dollypop
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/15/03
#10re: Marilyn Cooper Dies
Posted: 4/23/09 at 11:04am
I saw her in many productions but her Lucy Schmeeler in ON THE TOWN (with Bernadette Peters) was an absolute comic gem. No other actress in the role came close to her hilarious take on the it.
May she rest in peace.
"Long live God!" (GODSPELL)
Ed_Mottershead
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/20/05
#11re: Marilyn Cooper Dies
Posted: 4/23/09 at 11:11amSo sad. I saw her in Woman of the Year several times and she stopped the show every time. And her mother in Bye Bye Birdie was absolutely one of the funniest things I've ever experienced in a theatre. Hope she left us knowing how much joy and laughter she brought to so many people. RIP.
BroadwayEd
MamasDoin'Fine
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/28/08
#12re: Marilyn Cooper Dies
Posted: 4/23/09 at 12:33pmIt has been reported that Mr Laurents wrote Agnes into 'Gypsy' around her talents?
#13re: Marilyn Cooper Dies
Posted: 4/23/09 at 1:37pm
A wonderful talent with an enviable career.
Thanks for the great performances, Marilyn!
#14re: Marilyn Cooper Dies
Posted: 4/23/09 at 2:23pm
Thanks for posting! I have always wanted to see that.
Didn't she play someone in the original cast of WSS?
nmartin
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/3/05
WishingOnlyWounds2
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/25/08
#16re: Marilyn Cooper Dies
Posted: 4/23/09 at 5:20pmMay she R.I.P
2008: Feb. 18- Rent, Feb. 19- Curtains, April 18- Xanadu, April 22- Wicked, April 26- Legally Blonde, May 31- Wicked, June 13- The Little Mermaid, June 28- Wicked and Young Frankenstein, July 2- The Little Mermaid, July 6- A Chorus Line and Legally Blonde, August 16- Xanadu, September 13- Legally Blonde and 13, September 28- Xanadu and Spring Awakening, Oct. 12-GYPSY and [title of show], Oct. 19- Hairspray & Legally Blonde, Nov. 9- Wicked and 13, Dec. 14-13, Dec. 26- Billy Elliot, 2009: Jan 1- Shrek, Jan 2- 13 and Wicked, Jan 4- 13, Feb 17- In The Heights, Feb 19- Billy Elliot, Feb 22- Sweeney Todd (tour), March 28- Mary Poppins, April 4- Mamma Mia!, April 15- Jersey Boys (on tour), April 25- next to normal & 9 to 5
May 1- Billy Elliot, May 3- Spelling Bee (tour), May 8- Chicago, May 21- Wicked, June 6- Everyday Rapture, June 23- The Wiz, June 25- Hair July 15- Shrek, August 9- Wicked, September 7- Rock of Ages, October 11- Next To Normal, October 23- The Marvelous Wonderettes, November 7- Ragtime November 29- Dreamgirls, December 25- Billy Elliot, December 30- Finian's Rainbow, 2010: January 9- Bye Bye Birdie, January 16- Memphis February 17- The Phantom of The Opera, February 18- God of Carnage, March 7- Billy Elliot, March 31- American Idiot
#17re: Marilyn Cooper Dies
Posted: 4/23/09 at 5:56pmSaw her in "Woman Of The Year" here in LA back in 1983. She was hysterical! Only in 1 scene, and stole the show every night. What a talent!
#18re: Marilyn Cooper Dies
Posted: 4/23/09 at 10:30pmI had the honor of seeing Ms. Cooper as Agnes Gooch in a production of "Mame" with Patrice Munsel way back in 1978! May she rest in peace.
#19re: Marilyn Cooper Dies
Posted: 4/24/09 at 1:34am
I had never heard of her until I saw "Woman of the Year".
It was my first trip to New York and "WOTY" was our "Saturday Night" show. I was the brother of an old movie buff from forever and was really excited about seeing Lauren Bacall.
Well, the show wasn't that great, especially compared to the other shows we had seen that weekend ("Pirates of Penzance" with Linda Rondstadt and Kevin Kline and the original "42nd Street"). But when Marilyn Cooper opened her mouth to speak in that scene, even before she began to sing, it was as if someone had opened a window in a smoke-filled room. She was so incredible!
I've been a fan of her's ever since.
The world has lost Comic Royalty.
And I am saddened.
"A coherent existance after so many years of muddle" - Desiree' Armfelt, A Little Night Music
"Life keeps happening everyday, Say Yes" - 70, Girls, 70
"Life is what you do while you're waiting to die" - Zorba
MamasDoin'Fine
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/28/08
#20re: Marilyn Cooper Dies
Posted: 4/24/09 at 4:04am
Ed, I agree with you and her performance as the mother in 'Birdie'!
That entrance from upstage centre and that walk to the front- huge fur coat and orthopedic sneakers!
Comic perfection.
'Mae Peterson, the incarnation of a Jewish mother joke at its most nightmarish, faultlessly deadpanned by Marilyn Cooper, wearing a mink coat and orthopedic shoes? ' New York Times March 15th 1992
What a shame it never made it to Broadway as then many more would have been able to catch one of her last roles. 
Updated On: 4/24/09 at 04:04 AM
MamasDoin'Fine
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/28/08
#21re: Marilyn Cooper Dies
Posted: 4/24/09 at 4:16am
http://theatreaficionado.blogspot.com/2009/04/marilyn-cooper-1936-2009.html
Updated On: 4/24/09 at 04:16 AM
MamasDoin'Fine
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/28/08
#22re: Marilyn Cooper Dies
Posted: 4/24/09 at 4:24am
Alice 1982
'It's All In The Game'
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dssmJ66tyg
MamasDoin'Fine
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/28/08
#23re: Marilyn Cooper Dies
Posted: 4/24/09 at 4:26am
'The Grass Is Always Greener' performed with Raquel Welch
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqPLNRNLvbA&feature=related
#24re: Marilyn Cooper Dies
Posted: 4/24/09 at 2:48pmWhat a loss, but what memories Marilyn Cooper left us. I first saw her as Agnes, The Hollywood Blonde, in the original production of GYPSY. Then I saw her in I CAN GET IT FOR YOU WHOLESALE in 1962 where her considerable singing talents were in evidence. I missed WOMAN OF THE YEAR, but made a special trip to Philadelphia to see the Tommy Tune version of BYE BYE BIRDIE. Ms. Cooper as Albert's mother was absolutely hilarious, as others have mentioned. She was very gracious at the stage door of Philadelphia's Forrest Theatre where she signed my miniature poster of GYPSY. And I believe she was in one of the ENCORES! productions. We will miss her.
"Madam Rose...and her daughter...Gypsy!"
Videos