Gary Cooper didn't like people who were "ego-driven", according to his daughter Maria Cooper Janis

She recalled: "Jimmy Stewart was one of my father's closest friends. Bing Crosby was one of my father's closest friends. Bing Crosby was also a good pal, and Ingrid Bergman and Audrey Hepburn became family friends.

"My father didn't like people who were ego-driven. He was bored by self-absorbed people."

Maria – the only daughter of Gary and his wife and Veronica Balfe – explained that her parents always had a love for each other, despite the Oscar-winning star briefly leaving the family home when his relationship with 'The Fountainhead' co-star Patricia Neal.

She told the US version of Closer magazine: "When my father walked out, my mother was not one of those outraged, screaming wives. She went out and made her own life. [My parents] never stopped loving each other."

Maria explained how she "has nothing but wonderful memories" of growing up and praised Gary's qualities.

She said: "He was a decent, kind, honest, loyal man who treated women with respect."

Maria also recalled how she travelled everywhere with her parents and had fond memories of tennis lessons with them.

She explained: "It was the three Coopers. I was given tennis lessons very early on but they took lessons, too. We would all play."

Maria believes that she can still feel Gary's "spirit" almost six decades on from his death at the age of 60.

She said: "I miss my father's physical presence. He had a tremendous sense of humour and he loved to have a good time, but I can still feel his spirit."