Harry Cooper (portrayed by Karl Hardman in the 1968 version and Tom Towles in the 1990 remake) is a character in Night of the Living Dead.
Biography[]
Night of the Living Dead (1968)[]
Cooper, his wife Helen and their daughter Karen had come under attack by zombies, who overturned their car on the interstate and bit Karen on the arm. They eventually found their way to the farmhouse, where they met Tommy and Judy. They took shelter in the basement of the house, as a way of keeping hidden from the zombies outside the property. They remained there until nightfall, when they decided to go upstairs and investigate the noises emanating from the first floor. They found Barbara and Ben, scaring the former, but alerting the latter, who was carrying a rifle.
As Tommy attempted to calm the frightened Barbara, Harry looked about, ready to kill anything that came from the screams. He then saw Ben enter, armed with his rifle before going to the radio. It was then that Ben asked them why they didn't come up sooner and Harry responded that they didn't know what was going on and that the girl screaming would've resulted in them coming in after her. He then added that it sounded like the place was being ripped apart, which totally contradicts what Tommy said about being able to hear very little from the basement. He then tells them that they should all go back down the basement, where it's safer, only for Ben to say otherwise, as he already boarded up the windows and doors. Harry then tells Ben that the zombies turned over their car and that sooner or later, the place is going to be crawling with them if they find out they're inside. Ben then walks into the kitchen, where zombies grab at him from the openings in the window, leading to him killing them and Harry continuing to make a point about being in the basement. He even attempts to take Barbara with him, but Ben tells him off, as well as telling him everything upstairs will not be coming down with them, including food.
Believing him insane, Harry begins fighting with Ben, only for Ben to tell him to go down into the basement where he can be "Boss down there", while he was boss upstairs. Before Harry goes downstairs, Tommy tells Judy to come up with him and then he locks the door. Once downstairs, he tells his wife that there are 2 other people upstairs and that Tommy and Judy joined them, while also informing her the place is boarded up tight. He also mentions that the radio explained that it isn't just happening at their location either, which causes Helen to start arguing with him. It's then Tommy yells to Cooper from upstairs, saying they found a television, which enables Helen to get them to head upstairs while Judy watched over their daughter. Harry then criticizes the fact that the boarded windows are weak spots before asking his wife for a cigarette and then Helen tells him to make himself useful.
As Tommy and Ben bring the Television in from upstairs and hook it up, Harry tells Barbara to watch and learn what's going on, as he doesn't want anyone's death on his head. This leads to Ben telling him off once more and leave her alone. Listening intently with everyone, Cooper learns that the bodies of the recently deceased have been returning to life and attacking the living, while also wondering how they were going to get out with everyone. He then begins working with the people upstairs to escape, while also being assigned the task of tossing Molotov cocktails outside the window upstairs to deter the incoming zombies. Once the cocktails were done, Harry recommends that they bring Barbara downstairs for the time being before heading upstairs and in position to put the plan in motion. Harry replies when Ben asks if he's ready, only for him to give the order, tossing several cocktails outside before Ben and Tommy go outside. He then gives them the all-clear before going downstairs, only for Judy to leave with Ben and Tommy, despite Harry's objections.
Harry then watches from the window, as the truck moves to the pump and the torch Ben brought, sets the gasoline on the ground ablaze and eventually, leading to the explosion that kills Tommy and Judy. When Ben runs back to the house, he hesitates for a moment before unlocking the door and letting him back in, then aiding him in barricading the door. For his hesitation, Ben beats Harry and tells him that he should feed him to those things. Following this, Harry tends to his wounds, while also looking for an alternate escape route, including their car, but it was at least a mile from their current location and also telling Ben that their daughter was bitten on the arm. This results in Ben worrying about what kinds of disease the zombies carry, while also wondering about her condition otherwise. It's then Barbara begins rambling about "Johnny having the keys", indicating she has a car. Before anything however, Harry looks outside the window with Ben before watching the television again. The power then goes out, resulting in Harry plotting to get ahold of Ben's rifle, however he doesn't have long to wait as the zombies try their luck at breaking in and he grabs hold of the rifle away from Ben, demanding Helen to get back in the basement.
Both Ben and Harry begin fighting over the rifle, leaving Harry shot in the abdomen and moving slowly to the basement, where he meets his demise at the hands of his own daughter, now a zombie. He is then found with his forearm taken off and being eaten by his zombified daughter.
Night of the Living Dead (1990)[]
Night of the Living Dead 3D (2006)[]
Unlike the previous iterations of Harry Cooper, the one shown in the 2006 film is referred to as Henry Cooper. This version also owns the farm and is married to Hellie Cooper and is the stepfather of her daughter Karen. He grows and sells marijuana, which he keeps under wraps. He also gets aid from a local college student named Ben, as well as his farmhand Owen. On the night of the incident where the zombies began their rampage, Ben brings Barbara to the house, where they discuss the situation with Henry, who refuses to call the cops, as he's illegally growing and selling drugs. It's then that Owen is bitten, while trying to go out and get both Tom and Judy, who are having sex in the barn and even as far as witnessing Ben kicking a zombie away from the front door. Following the deaths of Judy and Tom at the hands of the horde outside, Henry retrieves his Colt Single Action Army pistols from his safe before beginning their search for his missing stepdaughter. It's then shown Karen has become infected and slowly comes down the steps, which leads her to bite her stepfather, despite his best efforts to protect her from Ben.
It's then that Gerald Tovar Jr. comes to the house and explains to them the situation and that he's been both storing dead bodies and both experimental and medical materials in his mortuary for the last 2 years since his father died. It's then that they also learn that people being bitten by zombies come back fast, which includes Owen, who comes back following succumbing to his bite and eventually, Henry will become one as well. When Barb, Gerald and Ben leave the house however, Hellie and Henry remain behind and rather let them be eaten by zombies outside, both commit suicide.
Personality[]
1968[]
Out of all the survivors at the farmhouse, Harry is easily the one that is hated by most. In his initial meeting with Ben, it showed that he wasn't afraid to voice his opinions, even if they were reacted to negatively. He seems to think he knows what he's doing and easily believes himself to be always right, such as going into the basement of the house to keep from being attacked. There does seem to be some friction between him and his wife as well, as Helen indicated they didn't enjoy living together, which means their marriage was failing.
1990[]
Much like his original counterpart, the Harry Cooper from the 1990 film remains consistent. He is definitely easily the most hated one, however even more so than his original counterpart. An example of this was shown when he uses quite a bit of profanity, as well as sarcasm when he speaks at times. He's also shown to be easily angered and physically abuses his wife when they're down in the basement with their dying daughter. Despite this however, Harry still does care for his family, going as far as to close the upstairs off from the basement as a way of protecting them from the hordes of zombies outside. He was shown to be rather forceful when obtaining the Henry Repeater from Barbara and when his daughter became a zombie, he went out of his way to shoot Ben as a means of protecting her, even though there was no way to revert what she had become. He also didn't wish to aid the others on the 1st floor, even going as far as to keep his wife from aiding the survivors from holding up and barricade the windows and doors.
2006[]
Trivia[]
- Harry Cooper's daughter is one of the most famous Night of the Living Dead characters.