Jackie Coogan
John Leslie (Jackie) Coogan (
October 26,
1914 â€"
March 1,
1984) was an
American actor who began his movie career as a
child actor in
silent films.
Coogan was born in
Los Angeles, California and began his acting career as an infant in both
vaudeville and film, with an uncredited role in the
1917 film
Skinner's Baby.
Charlie Chaplin discovered him in a vaudeville house, doing the "
shimmy," a popular dance at the time, on the stage. His father, Jack Coogan, Sr. was also an actor. The boy was a natural mimic, and delighted Chaplin with his abilities in this area. As a child actor, he is best remembered for his role as
Charlie Chaplin's irascible sidekick in
The Kid (
1921) and for the title role in
Oliver Twist by
Frank Lloyd the following year. His scene in
The Kid where he is taken away from the tramp character played by Chaplin and thrown into the back of a truck by the social service agents is one of the most famous scenes in cinema. He was also the first star to get heavily merchandised, with peanut butter, stationery, whistles, dolls, records and figurines just being a sample of the Coogan merchandise. He also travelled internationally to huge crowds. Many of his early films are lost or just unavailable, but Turner Classic Movies recently presented
The Rag Man with a new score. Coogan was famous for his pageboy haircut and his
The Kid (
1921) outfit of oversized overalls and cap, which was widely imitated, including by the young
Scotty Beckett in the
Our Gang films.
As a child star, Coogan earned as much as $4 million, but the money was taken by his mother and step-father. He sued them in
1935, but only received $126,000. The legal battle did, however, bring attention to child actors and resulted in the state of
California enacting the
California Child Actor's Bill, sometimes known as the
Coogan Bill or the
Coogan Act. This requires that parents set aside 15% of the child's earnings in a trust.
Coogan enlisted in the
US Army in
March 1941. After the attack on
Pearl Harbor, he requested a transfer to
US Army Air Forces as a glider pilot because of his civilian flying experience. After graduating from glider school, he was made a Flight Officer and he volunteered for hazardous duty with the 1st Air Commando Group. In
December 1943, the unit was sent to India. He flew British troops, the
Chindits, under General
Orde Wingate on
5 March 1944, landing them at night in a small jungle clearing 100 miles behind Japanese lines in the
Burma campaign.
After the war, Coogan returned to acting, taking mostly character roles and appearing on television. His most famous TV role was as
Uncle Fester in
The Addams Family (
1964) television series.
#Betty Grable, married on 20 November 1937, divorced on 11 October 1939#Flower Parry, married on 10 August 1941, divorced on 29 June 1943##1 son, John Anthony Coogan (film & video writer/producer).#Ann McCormack, married on 26 December 1946, divorced on 20 September 1951##1 daughter, Joan Dolliver Coogan.#Dorothy Lamphere, married on
April 1952, they were together until his death##1 daughter. Grandson is actor
Keith CooganCoogan died of a
heart attack in
1984 at the age of 69. He was buried at
Holy Cross Cemetery.
Jackie Coogan: The World's Boy King: A Biography of Hollywood's Legendary Child Star,
Diana Serra Cary, Scarecrow Press, 2003, ISBN 0810846500
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Find-A-Grave profile for Jackie Coogan
