Buzz Cooper




Buzz Cooper, played by Justin Deas, joined Guiding Light in 1993 and has been a stable of Guiding Light since. Buzz is a man whose heart is in the right place but sometimes gets himself over his head much to the anger, annoyance and sometimes amusement of his family. He grew up in Springfield as the heir apparent to the Fifth Street Diner and shortly after High School Buzz was sent to fight the war in Vietnam but due to a gun blast, his face was scarred which resulted in his getting plastic surgery. He faked his death and instead of returning to Springfield to raise his children, Franklin A. Cooper Jr., and Harley Davidson Cooper, he lived in various states. He met a woman named Sylvie and together they had a daughter whom they named Lucy Cooper.

After Sylvie died, Buzz and Lucy pretty much lived out of their suitcases and Buzz worked at whatever job he could do, from Real Estate Salesman, Rodeo Caller and even a Movie Extra. Eventually he made his way back to Springfield shortly after the birth of his second granddaughter Marina Cooper by his son Frank but instead of being welcomed with open arms, he received nothing but hostility. In fact, his family thought he was an impostor until he called Nadine "Deenie" which was her nickname in High School. He did apologize because he admitted that he hated the fact that he couldn't provide for his family but he felt at that time that they were better off without them. So for the next couple of years, the family was relatively happy. However, he got himself into a major jam when he met a British Jewel Thief named Jenna Bradshaw. He had a girlfriend named Randi but when he met Jenna, he was smitten.

She was everything that he wanted in a woman, beautiful, desirable and very cunning in the sense that she wanted power and success and when she thought that she was the rightful owner of Spaulding Enterprises, she allowed herself to marry Roger Thorpe even though he didn't love her. When Buzz realized that she had no legitimate claim to the Spaulding Fortune, he did the honorable thing and told the family for which they were immensely grateful. However, he lost Jenna for a very long time but as the saying goes, good things come to those who wait. They eventually renewed their relationship and started a Beauty Cream Lotion Business, but in reality the patent belonged to his daughter in law Eleni. Shortly afterwards, he got himself into another situation when he stole money from a con man named Pauly. He got off with community service but he still needed money to pay back a lot of bills that he had so he and Nadine decided to go on a Game Show and they won first prize.

However, they had to renew their vows in Las Vegas to prove that they were legitimately married and although Nadine wanted to go to Santo Domingo for a quickie divorce, Buzz stayed with her more out of guilt because he was trying to make up for the past but deep down he still loved Jenna. What he didn't know at that time was that Jenna was pregnant with his child and although Nadine knew, she didn't say anything because of her fear of losing Buzz. (Nadine is living proof that you can repeat the same mistakes if you keep making them). Eventually, the two decided to leave Springfield but when Buzz realized that Jenna still loved him, he rushed back to Springfield to find Jenna but it was too late, she had left the town on the night of The Cedars Charity Ball.

Once again, he allowed his personal feelings to get in the way and since it was nearly Xmas, he was at an all-time low. His family didn't want him around, he didn't have a home, he lost a good paying job at Hampton Speakes Club, The Towers, and since all the Xmas Jobs were filled he was virtually penniless, to make matters worse was that he used up a precious favor from The Spauldings on Jenna to prevent her from being sued in a nasty lawsuit. He and Nadine finally divorced but one day when he took a drive, he met a woman named "Rebecca" who lived in the Amish town of Goshen. What he didn't realize was that "Rebecca" was actually Reva Shayne Lewis Lewis Lewis Spaulding, one of the most memorable characters to ever live in Springfield. He met her and he was smitten and several months later they married much to the anguish of Reva's first love Josh Lewis.

Their marriage lasted less than a year and in late 1996, they divorced and in rage he went to Josh Lewis's house to confront him and although Josh felt guilty about once again being indirectly responsible for an innocent person's feelings being hurt, he knew then that his marriage to Annie had to end, one way or another. The months went on and although Buzz was depressed, he did have some comfort in knowing that Jenna was back in Springfield with a child, whom she named Henry Bradshaw, eventually Buzz realized that this child was his which made him happy and when he and Jenna got married while she was in labour, they were blessed with a second child.

Things were going well..everyone believed that Ian was Buzz's son. However, Holly Reade found out the truth and confronted Jenna. Jeffrey was outside the door and overheard everything. He demanded to see his son immediately. Fearing for her son, Jenna offered to drive Jeffrey to him and then purposely crashed the car. The wreck killed Jeffrey instantly. An injured Jenna asked Buzz to take care of the children just before dying in her husband's arms. Still healing from the devastation of losing his wife, Buzz is just now beginning to put his life back together. After losing the Fifth Street Diner in a fire accidentally started by his granddaughter Susan "Daisy" LeMay and her friend Max, he won the British Lottery and bought Springfield's popular restaurant, Company. He remodeled and changed the name to "Petulia's" in honor of Jenna...it was his nickname for her.

He remains close to his family. Harley and her husband, Phillip Spaulding, recently gave him another grandchild, Alan Cooper Spaulding. Frank and his wife Eleni are still in Springfield with their daughter Marina, while Lucy left town with her husband, Alan-Michael Spaulding. As for his romantic life, he has recently begun dating his good friend Selena Davis, while helping her recover from a serious fall that left her paralyzed from the waist down.

Last updated 03/15/01. E-mail me with any comments or suggestions at addip@isholf.is.