Bradley Cooper remembers that worrying dad Charles may have died on the Phillies game

Bradley Cooper opens up about his close relationship with his father, Charlie Cooper, Who died in 2011 at the age of 71 after being diagnosed with lung cancer.

“My dad was someone I idolized,” says Cooper, 50, in the new PBS documentary CareThe which he also seemed to produce. “I used to dress like him when I was little in kindergarten and made fun of because I wanted to wear a little suit and tie.”

Cooper says to look at his stockbroker Dad go from a strong and healthy man to someone who eventually needed hospice care was a transformative experience.

“Like most people, I didn’t even think about care until my dad was diagnosed,” he says in the movie. The documentary, he notes, was a way of focusing on the frequently-Unsung network of people who have to rise for their loved ones.

“Going from (dressing like him) to giving him a bath is a pretty traumatic thing … He was at a point where he needed a lot of care,” says Cooper. “I was lucky enough to be there for him, and I really favored the help we got.”

The new documentary, which is now flowing at PBS, is Told by Uzo Aduba And follows both families who need care as well as the challenges they face and try to advice and coordinate the help they need.

There also shines a light on health care provider – for, as Rosalynn Carter quoted as saying in the film, “there are only four kinds of people in the world. Those who have been caregivers. Those who are currently caregivers. Those who will be caregivers. And those who will do so needs care. ”

In the film, Cooper adds the assistants who helped his father, “These are heroic people who are health care providers, period. Their ability to focus and give themselves is something I stand in reverence for.”

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Cooper also participated in a show of the film at the UN on June 12 where he shared an anecdote about one of the last events he could participate with his father: a Philadelphia Phillie game.

“The only thing I learned was humor, comedy in everything,” he said about being able to embrace fun moments in the midst of all the grief.

He recalled how his father took so long in the bathroom, during the game – when father and son also had to sit in Dugout together – that Cooper started panic that he had actually died there.

“I never liked being late for anything, so they come late on the pitch. I was like, will be – will he die in the bathroom at Stadion?” Cooper told laughter. “So that’s what my brain just did, went into the memory of anxiety … Remember him in the bathroom.”

“But,” he added, “that’s what you do to do.”

Care Now flows on PBS. Producers encourage viewers to share their own stories on #caregivingpbs and #shareyourcaregiving story