Jan 19 2009
Tragedy:
In January 1978 Wyatt Cooper, passed away during heart bypass surgery after suffering several heart attacks during the holidays in 1977. Anderson was only 10, and his older brother, Carter Vanderbilt Cooper, only 12. Less than ten years later, on July 23, 1988, Carter a committed suicide jumping from the terrace of Gloria Vanderbilt’s Manhattan apartment, while Vanderbilt stood mere feet away begging him to stop. The death was later believed to have been a sleepwalking incident caused by insomnia and stress from a recent breakup mixed with allergy drug, Proventil. Both deaths had a profound effect on Cooper — personally and professionally. It has been reported that his brother’s passing was what inspired him to pursue a career in journalism.
