Elizabeth Cooper


Elizabeth Cooper, also known by the stage names Chabing and Dimples, was a Filipina film actress, vaudeville dancer, and singer. In addition to her movie career, Cooper was also known for being the mistress of U.S. General Douglas MacArthur.
Born in Manila, she was famous for the first onscreen kiss in Philippine cinema for the movie, Ang Tatlong Hambog. In the 1930s, she met General Douglas MacArthur and became his paramour when she was around the age of 16 and he was in his 50s. He arranged for her to follow him to Washington, D.C.
While serving as Army Chief of Staff in the 1930s, MacArthur filed a libel action against a journalist at The Washington Post, Drew Pearson. When Pearson added Cooper to his list of witnesses to be deposed, MacArthur dropped the suit. MacArthur subsequently paid Cooper $15,000 to leave Washington, the money allegedly delivered by his aide, Dwight Eisenhower. However, she did not return to the Philippines, and after a few failed attempts in Hollywood and a hairdressing shop in the Midwest, she died by suicide in 1960.

Early life

Cooper's precise date of birth is unclear. Her death certificate lists her date of birth as January 15, 1914, but she may have been born as early as 1909 or 1912. Cooper herself provided various dates of birth over the course of her life, ranging from 1909 to 1921. It is likely that her parents were Isaac Cooper, an American-born firefighter and veteran of the Philippine–American War, and Protacia Rubin, a Filipino woman. They married around 1908 and lived in Manila before relocating to the continental United States in 1916. The pair separated soon after; in 1919, Protacia Rubin and Isabel Cooper moved back to Manila. Upon her return to the Philippines, Rubin married American soldier Thomas Bernard Ryan; it is likely that she did so without divorcing Cooper. Ryan contracted tuberculosis and died at sea in 1925 while traveling to the United States to seek treatment.
At age 12 or 13, Isabel Cooper dropped out of school and became a bodabil performer under the guidance of Luis Borromeo, who gave her the stage name "Dimples". Given her stepfather's illness, it is likely that the revenue from Isabel's performances served as the primary source of income for the family.

Film career

Isabel appeared in a few B-grade Filipino films starting in 1925, under the screen name "Chabing". Two of her films were Miracles of Love and Ang Tatlong Hambog. In the latter film, Cooper made history with Luis Tuason when they performed the very first kissing scene in a Philippine film. She was just around 12 years old at the time.
She did not act in any Filipino films after 1930, although the 1941 Tagalog film Ikaw Pala is sometimes wrongly attributed to her. "Ikaw Pala" had another actress named Cresencia Aligada acting in it in a supporting role; Aligada also went by the screen name "Dimples," hence the mistaken identity.
After her 1934 break-up with MacArthur, Cooper attempted to find roles in Hollywood, landing some smaller bit roles under the stage name "Chabing" including The Chinese Ring, The Art of Burlesque, and I Was an American Spy.

Relationship with Douglas MacArthur

In 1930, at the age of 16, Cooper met the American General Douglas MacArthur, then commander of all U.S. troops in the Philippines. MacArthur's marriage had ended a year earlier. Cooper became his mistress in Manila, a fact the 50-year-old MacArthur hid from his 80-year-old mother. In Manila, the teenage Cooper lived in Paco.
Five months after they first met, MacArthur returned to the United States; while he intended to bring her to Washington, he could not risk scandal by traveling with her, so he bought her a ticket on a ship to arrive after him. She arrived in Washington and ended up ensconced in an apartment in Georgetown, Washington, D.C. MacArthur later moved her to the Chastleton Hotel. According to one biographer of MacArthur, William Manchester, MacArthur "showered with presents and bought her many lacy tea gowns, but no raincoat. She didn't need one, he told her; her duty lay in bed."
In 1933, when the secret affair threatened to become public, MacArthur brought it to an end, reportedly giving her $15,000 and a ticket back to the Philippines. She did not use the ticket and never returned to the Philippines. In 1934, the 20-year-old Cooper moved to the Midwestern United States, where she owned a hairdressing salon, before moving to Los Angeles several years later.
Cooper tried to find work as an actress in Hollywood; however, the only roles that she could manage were those as an extra, such as a geisha and a Filipina nurse in films. In 1946, she was one of Rex Harrison's concubines in Anna and the King of Siam. In Unconquered, she was an unidentified and uncredited Native American.

Death

In 1960, Cooper died by suicide by overdosing on barbiturates. She was 46 years old. She was buried on July 5, 1960, in Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California.

Filmography

  • 1925 Miracles of Love
  • 1926 Ang Tatlong Hambog
  • 1927 Fate or Consequence
  • 1947 The Chinese Ring
  • 1950 The Art of Burlesque
  • 1951 ''I Was an American Spy''