He began his screen career with Gaumont as a director, where he made talking pictures. He then went to Solax, in Fort Lee, New Jersey, where he directed Solax’s first 12 pictures, according to an early report. From there he went to Famous Players, All Star, Kinemacolor, Reliance, and Universal (Her Friend the Burglar). At one time or another he was on the screen with Ethel Barrymore (in The Nightingale), Jane Cowl, and Mary Pickford.
By 1914 he was playing in pictures for Thanhouser in New Rochelle. During the last week of May 1915 his status was elevated to that of a Thanhouser stock company member. Earlier, he had worked on a project basis as needed. In 1915 and 1916 he was seen in numerous Falstaff comedies. At one time he and fellow Thanhouser comedian Frank E. McNish were designated by Lloyd F. Lonergan, Thanhouser scriptwriter, as the team of “Oscar and Conrad.” Under this name, the duo appeared in Falstaff films in 1916. Although he was known as an actor, he did direct at least one film, a Falstaff subject, Making the Major a Mayor.
A 1916 directory noted that he was 5’6” tall and had dark hair and blue eyes. He remained in films and on stage through the early 1930s. Claude Hamilton Cooper died of a heart attack on July 20, 1932 in Laurelton, New York. At the time he lived at 222-22 141st Road. His widow Antoinette survived him.
