Actor-director-producer Bradley Cooper is featured in a documentary about caregiving that premiers at 9 pm ET on June 24 on PBS.
The global number is startling: In a worldwide population of 8.2 billion, about 1 billion people serve as unpaid caregivers. One of them is actor-director-writer-producer Bradley Cooper.
In 2011, when audiences were chortling at his shenanigans in the “Hangover’’ film series, and People magazine named him the “Sexiest Man Alive,’’ Cooper became caregiver to his ailing father, retired Merrill Lynch stockbroker Charles Cooper.
After his father died two years later, Cooper moved to Los Angeles to be near his mother, Gloria Campano Cooper, for whom he now is caregiver.
As an executive producer, Cooper has lent his celebrity and artistic skills to “Caregiving,’’ a two-hour documentary about the challenges and rewards of caregiving that focuses on the experiences of six paid and unpaid caregivers in the United States.
“The caregiving experience I had with my father inspired this documentary. During his battle with lung cancer, I came face to face with the overwhelming realities of taking care of a loved one,’’ he says in the film.
Globally, the number of caregiving volunteers is startling: In a worldwide population of 8.2 billion, about 1 billion people serve as unpaid caregivers.
‘Caregivers Need Care, Too
In the documentary, Cooper says he was lucky to be able to care for his father, but he relied on help from others, as well.
“Caregivers are heroic people,” Cooper adds. “Their ability to focus and give all of themselves is something I stand in awe of. I came to appreciate how we need to care for caregivers better.”
“Caregiving’’ is a joint production of Cooper’s company, Lea Pictures, and PBS station WETA, Washington, in association with Ark Media.
Don’t Ignore Mental Health
Tom Chiodo, an executive producer of “Caregiving’’ for WETA, said help for caregivers can come in several forms. He spent most of his career in New York, but in recent years, moved to California to be a caregiver for family members, including his son.
“More resources would help, obviously, and more support for the basic needs of caregivers. As a parent, you don’t think of yourself as a caregiver, you’re a parent, but something as obvious as blocking out a time of your own for your own mental health would help,’’ Chiodo said.
‘There Are Only Four Kinds of People’
To promote the documentary, Chiodo has been on the road, often appearing with mental health/caregiver activist Josh Carter, grandson of the late President Jimmy Carter and Rosalyn Carter, whom Chiodo quoted:
“There are only four kinds of people in the world: those who have been caregivers, those who are caregivers, those who will be caregivers and those who will need caregiving,’’ Rosalyn often noted.
She founded the Rosalyn Carter Institute for Caregivers in 1987, it’s located in Americus, Ga., about 10 miles north of the Carters’ longtime home, in Plains, Georgia.
Chiodo relays that when he was was recently in Alabama, an audience member asked Josh how caregivers could be helped. “He said, ‘How about folding a basket of laundry?’‘’
5.4 Million Kids Are Caregivers
Within the magnitude of the caregiving effort, there are the individual stories. documentary visits the Florida home of 14-year-old Jacob, who shares caregiving responsibilities of his mother with his father.
The film says between 53 million to 105.6 million United States adults provide unpaid caregiving, and 5.4 million children and adolescents in the U.S. are direct caregivers.
“As a parent-caregiver, you make compromises, you figure it out. I love my son so naturally I would do this,” says Chiodo. “But I look at young people like Jacob and I imagine all the things that are going through his mind, caring for his mom, and having a great attitude. That kid will be fine in life!’’
More Stories
“Caregiving’’ also highlights the experiences of a paid home health aide named Zulma, who has a lengthy commute from her home and family to care for Sherril, a patient with multiple sclerosis. Zulma has become like family to Sherril.
There’s also the story of the young man in his 30s who put his career on hold to care for his son and his wife, a cancer patient who suffered a debilitating stroke.
“When we were making the documentary, we saw people who had had figure out how to survive,” says Chiodo. “Maybe that’s because there’s a stigma around caregiving. We need to address that, so that a caregiver can say ‘I need time off at work,’ and not worry about losing their job.’’
“Caregiving’’ is part of “Well Beings,’’ a multiplatform campaign begun by WETA in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, to address critical public health needs.
“Our mission is to raise awareness of this important issue, to educate the public about it, and to rescue caregiving from discrimination, by changing the national discourse,’’ Chiodo says.
Cooper Also Advocates for Disease Efforts
After his father’s death, Bradley Cooper became an activist for cancer research and treatment, and he has campaigned for better awareness and understanding of Alzheimer’s disease. Cooper was executive producer for several Stand Up to Cancer TV fundraisers, which led to a meeting with Chiodo, which led to discussing how WETA and Lea Pictures could tell the story of caregiving.
“I came to appreciate how we need to care for caregivers better. It is my hope that ‘Caregiving’ will provide affirmation and support for those who do this profoundly meaningful and increasingly vital work,’’ Cooper said in a press release.
A caregiver for her mother, award-winning actress Uzo Aduba is the film’s narrator.
The documentary is also available to stream on PBS.org and the PBS App.
In a four-decade career in journalism, Eleanor O’Sullivan has reviewed many books on best practices for financial advisors, has written for Financial Advisor and the USA Today network, and was movie critic for the Asbury Park Press. Read more of her articles here.
