Maxine Cooper facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Maxine Cooper Gomberg
Born	(1924-05-12)May 12, 1924 Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Died	April 4, 2009(2009-04-04) (aged 84) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Resting place	Mount Sinai Memorial Park
Occupation	Actress activist photographer
Years active	1948-1980
Spouse(s)	Sy Gomberg (1957–2001; his death)
Children	3

Gladys Maxine Cooper Gomberg (born May 12, 1924 – died April 4, 2009) was an American actress, activist, and photographer. She was famous for playing Velda in the 1955 movie Kiss Me Deadly. This film is known as a "film noir classic."

Early Life and Learning

Maxine Cooper was born in Chicago, Illinois, in 1924. Her parents were Richard and Gladys Cooper. Her dad worked for General Electric. Maxine first became interested in acting while studying at Bennington College in Vermont. She then moved to the Pasadena Playhouse in California. There, she finished her drama education.

Starting Her Acting Career

In 1946, after World War II, Maxine traveled to Europe. She performed for American soldiers as part of the USO. She entertained troops across Europe with other actors like Veda Ann Borg and Ellen Corby.

Maxine stayed in Europe for over five years. She acted in plays and TV shows for the BBC. Some of her BBC TV shows included I Killed the Count (1948) and You Can't Take It with You (1947). She often performed at the Café de Paris in London.

She returned to the United States in the 1950s. Maxine appeared in many TV shows. These included The Twilight Zone (1959) and Dragnet. She also appeared twice on Perry Mason.

Starring in Kiss Me Deadly

Maxine Cooper made her first movie in 1955. It was a thriller called Kiss Me Deadly. The movie was based on a book by Mickey Spillane. Director Robert Aldrich chose Maxine for the role. He had seen her act in a play called Peer Gynt. Aldrich also cast Maxine in two other movies: Autumn Leaves (1956) and What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962).

In Kiss Me Deadly, Maxine played Velda. Velda was a trusted secretary to detective Mike Hammer, played by Ralph Meeker. For a long time, the original ending of the movie was missing. It showed Velda and Mike watching an explosion. In the 1990s, a film editor found the real ending. No one knows why it was changed before.

Later Life and Activism

Maxine married Sy Gomberg in 1957. He was a screenwriter and producer. She stopped acting in the early 1960s to raise her family.

Maxine and Sy Gomberg became very active in Hollywood. They helped organize actors, writers, and studio leaders. These groups marched with Martin Luther King Jr. in Montgomery, Alabama, during the 1960s. Maxine also fought against the Hollywood blacklists. These lists were made by the House Un-American Activities Committee. She also led protests against nuclear weapons and the Vietnam War.

Maxine briefly returned to acting in the 1970s. She appeared as herself in the 1975 TV movie Fear on Trial. This movie was about John Henry Faulk, a TV host who was blacklisted in the 1950s.

Later in her life, Maxine became a photographer. Her photos were used in a book by Howard Fast. The book was called The Art of Zen Meditation. The Los Angeles Times newspaper praised her photographs in 1977.

Death

Maxine and Sy Gomberg were married until he died in 2001. He was 82 years old. Maxine Cooper Gomberg passed away on April 4, 2009. She was 84 and died from natural causes at her home in Los Angeles.

Film and TV Roles