Saturday Night Live Tv Tome

There is very sad news to report today: Jesse Lanier Cooper, the 17-year-old son of Oscar winner Chris Cooper and his wife, "Sopranos" co-star Marianne Leone, died at the family's Kingston home Monday night.

Jesse, the couple's only child, died of natural causes related to his cerebral palsy, family spokeswoman Cara Tripicchio said.

"They are fantastic people and our hearts go out to them," Tripicchio said. "It's very, very unfortunate."

The Coopers have been tireless advocates for special needs kids in the Boston area since moving here in 1994. The couple relocated from the New York area to the South Shore because they believed Massachusetts had the more progressive educational opportunities for children with cerebral palsy.

"My wife did her research and found out Massachusetts was about 20 years ahead of other states in terms of mainstreaming kids with disabilities into public schools," Cooper said last year.

Even with that, the couple "really had to fight" for resources for their son, said Cooper, who won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as an orchid thief in "Adaptation."

Jesse was eventually mainstreamed into classes at Silver Lake Regional High School, where he earned a place on the honor roll. The boy's success was due, in large part, to the dedication and sacrifices made by his parents.

Born three months prematurely, Jesse developed a cerebral hemorrhage and severe cerebral palsy. The boy's disability required that his parents prepare special meals, employ tutors and therapists and attend to him several times during the course of a night.

But as he got older, Jesse learned to communicate via computer and although he used a wheelchair he learned to ride horses and took up water sports at camps for handicapped kids.

"Like many husbands, I was reluctant to have a child, but Jesse has instilled in us what's really important," Cooper said in an interview in 2002. "He seems so normal to us, now. And what a great teacher: His patience is extraordinary and, because he's so limited, he's very, very, focused. . . . He's filled my emotional life."

As a result of their experiences with Jesse, the Coopers became champions for kids with special needs in the Boston area, raising funds for a host of programs including Parents for Residential Reform, Accessport, Handi Kids Summer Camp and the state Department of Social Services.

At the time of Jesse's death, the Coopers were in pre-production on "Conquistadora," a film written by Leone.

It is the true story of Mary Somoza, the feisty mother of twins with cerebral palsy who fights to get her children the best possible education. Patricia Clarkson will play Somoza while Cooper has a small part as an attorney.

A memorial service is scheduled for Jesse Saturday in Duxbury.

Eavesdropping

WE HEAR:

- That Tom Brady and his galpal, Bridget Moynahan, were inundated with autograph hounds during a romantic dinner at Venezia in Dorchester. So much so that she made the two-time Super Bowl MVP leave before their food came.

- That ubercorporate cheese Jack Welch will read for the audio edition of his new business bible, "Winning." The titan's tome, which he's writing with bride Suzy Wetlaufer Welch, late of the Harvard Business Review, will be out in April. HarperCollins is publishing.

- That 45 cases of Dom Perignon and Cristal, as well as some $200- a-bottle Dom Perignon Oenotheque 1990 Vintage left over from Dubya's dad's tenure, have been ordered up by the Ritzy pair of Ritz-Carlton hotels in Washington, D.C., for veddy pricey, private GOP inauguration bashes. Also, $44,000 worth of Maine lobster, $30,000 of domestic caviar and $80,000 in prime Texas boeuf are on the marvy menu. Yee haa.

- That "Ocean's Twelve" cutie Matt Damon and his Miami lovely, Luciana Barroso, made the gambling scene in Sin City over the New Year's holiday. And on the first day of 2005, the partying pair hosted a dinner at Fix at the Bellagio for a posse of pals, including Damon's "Stuck On You" co-star, Eva Mendes. You may remember that Eva did the Auld Lang Syne thing with Matt in Vegas in 2004. How cozy.

- That Boston bigwig George Cloutier, who rang in the New Year at his Palm Beach digs with a posse of pals including WCVB-TV news madonna Natalie Jacobson and Boston Capital man-about-town Richard DeAgazio, handed out pineapples to his departing guests. Who does he think he is? SpongeBob Square Pants?

- That the Loomers, a rockin' group of PARTNERS+Simons ad guys, are throwing a record release party for "Shine" Jan. 27 at Skybar in Somerville. The new project features a few cuts recorded live last fall at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, where the boys competed in the "Battle of the Corporate Bands."

Southie workout

Finally, ex-city film commissioner Kevin Chapman, who is enjoying a booming acting career in La-La, just wrapped a flick with Al Pacino called "Two for the Money" about sports gambling.

The movie, which also stars Rene Russo, Matthew McConaughey and Jeremy Piven, is the story of a former college football star who, after a career-ending injury, goes to work for a sports bookie.

Kevin, who hails from Dorchester, plays "Southie," a guy who works for the bookie, played by Pacino. (Read about Pacino in "The Merchant of Venice" in the Boston Sunday Herald.)

Southie? Isn't that typecasting?

"Call it what you want," Chapman cracked. "I call it work. Hee, hee."

Drop dimes to the Inside Track at trackgals@bostonherald.com or call 617-619-6488.

Caption: MARIANNE LEONE AND CHRIS COOPER

Caption: CASTING CALL? Teeny teen songbird JoJo signs that cast of a young fan at the Orange Bowl Beach Bash in Miami the other day. The Foxboro homegal performed at the college pigskin fest with Ashlee SImpson and her honey, Ryan Cabrera, and singin' cowboy Trace Adkins. Everyone was, of course, Bowl(ed) over! Photo by WireImage.com

Caption: SEAL-ED WITH A KISS: Supermodel Heidi Klum and British pop star Seal are reportedly engaged. Photo by Splashnews.com

Copyright 2005
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.

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