CLANCY COOPER
July 23rd, 1906 -- June 14th, 1975

Above: Clancy Cooper (right) goes into action along with Kane Richmond in HAUNTED HARBOR (Republic, 1944).

With a solid, muscular build and a strong, square-jawed face, Clancy Cooper at first sight always seemed like just an ordinary workman, cabbie, or tough. But behind his stern face and gruff voice, Clancy, both in his serials and in real life, hid a sparkling sense of humor and a naturally friendly disposition. Though Cooper had a varied career in both stage and film, he really only played two bona-fide sidekick parts in serials. But in one of those roles, he created possibly the most interesting, three-dimensional sidekick in cliffhangers, and for that he deserves a feature article on this site.

Clancy was born in Idaho, of Irish ancestry. He seems to have decided on an acting career quite early in life; he graduated from Carnegie Tech Drama School in 1935, and journeyed to New York where he formed his own theatrical company. Despite his roughneck appearance, Clancy was a serious, professional actor and director, who gained the respect of all his Broadway co-workers. Cooper's Broadway success brought him to Hollywood around 1939, but, as had happened with many other accomplished stage actors, he was not given the attention he deserved by the movie studios and never achieved major success in films, though he worked steadily in the field for twenty years. His second screen role was in the serial FLYING G-MEN (Columbia, 1939), in a small bit as a truck driver; he also managed another brief appearance in the cliffhanger SKY RAIDERS (Universal, 1941) where he played a crooked pilot who tangled with hero Donald Woods at the end of one chapter. Then, the following year, he earned serial immortality with his part in THE SECRET CODE (Columbia, 1942). A wartime cliffhanger that is always counted as one of Columbia's best efforts, SECRET CODE starred Paul Kelly as a police detective named Dan Barton, who got himself thrown off the force in disgrace in order to enable him to infiltrate a gang of Nazi saboteurs. Cooper was Pat Flanagan, Dan's fellow detective and lifelong friend. Flanagan was heart-broken at Dan's dishonor and apparent collusion with the Nazis but dutifully attempted to carry out his orders to arrest his old friend. Dan, however, managed to convince Pat of his true motives, and the two of them set out to smash the Nazi spies, with the help of a masked commando outfit they had designed earlier. Barton donned this guise whenever it became necessary to thwart the spies without risking his position in their gang, and Flanagan kept the costume in safe-keeping for his friend and shuttled it to and from the scene of the action whenever it was needed. In addition, Pat did a stellar job of keeping his fellow cops off of Dan's trail while all the time pretending to be zealously pursuing his friend. It is impossible to overpraise Cooper's performance as Flanagan. Clancy evoked sympathy for the character when he thinks his friend Dan has betrayed his country; provided loyal backup for hero Kelly and even chastised him for endangering himself; and furnished great comedy with the clever alibis and excuses he used to exasperate and befuddle the other police detectives. Matched against the equally strong performances of Kelly, heroine Anne Nagel, and villain Trevor Bardette, Cooper's characterization more then held its own and became one of the major contributing factors of THE SECRET CODE'S greatness.

Above: Clancy Cooper (second from left) looks on with dismay as his friend Paul Kelly (center) picks a fight with government agent George Lynn (far left) in THE SECRET CODE (Columbia, 1942). Unknown to Cooper, Lynn and Kelly have staged this disagreement to enable Kelly to gain the confidence of a Nazi spy ring. Though the card says Chapter 15, this scene is from the first chapter of the serial.

Cooper's other serial sidekick role did not give him the opportunity to create a character the caliber of Pat Flanagan, but he gave it all the talent at his disposal. HAUNTED HARBOR (Republic, 1944), was a classic serial, but not a real showcase for Clancy, who played Yank, first mate of Captain Jim Marsden (Kane Richmond). When Marsden was framed for a murder committed by the piratical villain Carter (Roy Barcroft), Yank and Tommy (Marshall Reed) broke their skipper out of jail and sailed with him to Pulamati Island to apprehend Carter and break up a mysterious plot that involved a sunken ship with a fortune in gold. Cooper took part in some terrific action scenes and got a few opportunities to display his unique blend of humor and toughness, but for the most part he was a background figure. He did add something to each scene he appeared in, though, and certainly lent visual credence to the part of the tough-guy sailor he played.

Above: Clancy Cooper (far right) and Dale Van Sickel (far left, back to camera) help Kane Richmond as he prepares to dive into HAUNTED HARBOR (Republic, 1944).

Clancy's final serial appearance was the uncredited role of a police sergeant in MYSTERY OF THE RIVERBOAT (Universal, 1944). He continued to work steadily in movies, invariably playing cops, army sergeants, cab drivers, farmers, and other solid, down-to-earth types. He had a regular recurring role on the TV Western THE LAWMAN, as Timmo McQueeney, and made guest appearances on other shows, including MAVERICK and THE ADVENTURES OF RIN TIN TIN. He retired from acting in 1962, and in 1975 died of a heart attack while driving.

A dramatically trained actor like Clancy Cooper might easily have felt that doing serials was beneath him. Cliffhanger fans are lucky that he did not, and that he chose to bring his skill and talent to the chapter films, where, in THE SECRET CODE, he delivered a sidekick portrayal that forever stands alone.

Above: Beal Wong is shown in the right hand bottom corner of this ad for THE SECRET CODE (Columbia, 1942), Paul Kelly as the Black Commando is shown masked (to the left) and unmasked (to the right). Finally, in the top right hand corner, is that grand old pro, Clancy Cooper.