Mark was a father to me in every way that matters, and my business partner for twenty years. This collection, and this page, are for him — for the guy who could make you laugh and teach you something in the same sentence, and who never once let a rainy day slow him down.
Regards, Bradley Cooper

His Life

Mark served in Vietnam, where he carried a pen as often as he carried anything else — sketching the guys around him, the trucks, the rain, whatever caught his eye. He came home and built a career at Control Data Institute, the kind of steady work that let him be generous with everyone around him for the rest of his life.

He and his wife Christa spent time on the road together — camping, RV travel, chasing the next stop. He never missed a round of golf or a Friday night of Canasta with his lifelong friends Mike and Liz. He was known, above all, for his capers: elaborate, well-plotted pranks he pulled on family and friends for decades, the kind of thing people still bring up at dinner.

He was married to Christa for 57 years. He was a devoted supporter of the Wounded Warrior Project, and a Vietnam veteran who never stopped looking out for the guys who served alongside him.

The Artist Behind the Ink

Long before any of this, Mark was drawing. These three pieces came off his pen in Vietnam — folded up, carried around, held onto for over fifty years. They became the MSS Collection: three shirts, printed straight from his original hand.