[citation needed] Cooley attended Northwestern Military Academy in Highland Park, Illinois,[1] and graduated from the University of Minnesota.

He began as a stage actor[2] and later worked for American, Ince, Selig, and Universal studios before going to Famous Players–Lasky.

[1] Cooley married Elizabeth Bates on Christmas Day, 1919,[1] and they divorced in July 1934.

[4][5] He claimed to be a direct descendant of Aaron Burr, the third Vice President of the United States.

This article about a United States film actor born in the 1890s is a stub.