HIS face is familiar and his name will certainly ring a bell with many, but who is the real Cary Cooper? asks Karen Stephen

Professor Cooper is the man the media calls on when an expert opinion is needed.

This professor of psychology and health at the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST) is a wealth of knowledge and has the enviable gift of translating the most complex of explanations into the simplest text.

In short, he makes a journalist's job that much easier.

But how did this extremely laid back and personable 61-year-old end up in rainy Manchester instead of his home town of West Hollywood?

"Well," smiles Prof Cooper, as he leans back in his chair in one of UMIST's offices -- on a rainy day -- "it all started with a British lecturer inviting me to study at Leeds University.

"My best friend at the time was an English guy so I was a real Anglophile -- I loved anything English -- and I thought why not?"

So Prof Cooper found himself in Leeds in 1964 before moving to Sussex and eventually securing a lecturing post at university in Southampton.

He beavered away happily for six years until, out of the blue, he received a telephone call from Professor Roland Smith, who was then head of the management school at UMIST (he is now chairman of Manchester United plc).

Prof Cooper explains: "I picked up the phone and a northern voice said to me 'I think you should be in Manchester, why don't you come up and see us at UMIST?'

"I was assured it was only an informal chat and so didn't see any harm in going."

By the end of his overnight visit to Manchester, Prof Cooper had accepted a lecturing post at UMIST, called his wife to say they were moving up north and put his house in Southampton on the market.

That was in 1974 and over the past 28 years he has become one of the country's leading voices in psychology and health and behavioural science in the workplace. He also founded the British Academy of Management -- a body of professors dedicated to the above.

Aside from his present position as deputy vice-chancellor of UMIST -- and having penned more than 100 books on his subject -- he is a regular speaker on radio and television and his expertise is often quoted in national and regional newspapers.

This past week saw him appear on television discussing Britain's long working hours culture.

According to TUC figures, almost four million employees are working at least 48 hours a week.

"I find it unbelievable to think that a number of employers in this country still believe you need to spend all your life at work to prove you can do the job.

"It's utter nonsense. It's all about time management. You can have a guy who organises his workload and gets all his jobs done and goes home to his family at 4.00.

"Then there's the other guy who runs around like a headless chicken and sits in front of his computer, shuffling papers and basically doing nothing, yet stays at the office until after 7.00 in a bid to show his bosses he's committed to the job.

"Come on, this is the age of technology. Why on earth don't we make it work for us? Staying at the office for no other reason than trying to impress the boss isn't doing anyone any good.

"And it's certainly counter-productive."

He points out: "I usually get to my office at 7.45am and I'm out of here by 4.30pm. I work hard, very hard, when I'm here but I have a wife and family and I enjoy spending time with them."

And Prof Cooper certainly lives by his rules.

An avid Manchester City supporter, he hardly misses a game after being introduced to the team when he first joined UMIST.

"My kids (aged 29, 27, 19 and 16) are all fans too, so its a family thing. We even need to know the scores when we're on holiday."

He admits to calling Manchester home, after all he's been here almost 30 years, but still visits his 90-year-old mother in West Hollywood each year.

"I guess I miss the sunshine," he smiles, "but Manchester's my home now. It's where my wife and kids are."

And does this busy man ever think of retiring?

"Not really," he says. "I set up a UMIST-based company a couple of years ago along with a fellow lecturer. It's a business psychology company called Roberts and Cooper Ltd and right now we employ 16 people so, although we're in the early stages, it's going great. Retirement seems a long way off.

"I'll always have my books to write. And of course my family to enjoy."

As we close our interview, I have to ask about the name. How many times has he been called Gary Cooper?

"Lots," he laughs. "You see, when I was born my mother loved Cary Grant so she named me after him.

"It was just unfortunate that our family surname was Cooper.

"Still, I suppose it's a talking point. And I do come from Hollywood after all."