John Leslie "
Jackie"
Coogan (October 26, 1914 – March 1, 1984) was an American actor who began his movie career as a
child actorThe term child actor is generally applied to a child acting in motion pictures or television, but also to an adult who began his or her acting career as a child; to avoid confusion the latter is also called a former child actor...
in
silent filmA silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially spoken dialogue. The idea of combining motion pictures with recorded sound is nearly as old as film itself, but because of the technical challenges involved, synchronized dialogue was only made practical in the late 1920s with...
s. Many years later, he became known as Uncle Fester on
The Addams Family (TV show, 1964-1966). In the interim, he shocked the United States by suing his mother and stepfather over his squandered film earnings and provoked California to enact the first known legal protection for the earnings of child performers.
Hollywood
Jackie Coogan was born in
Los Angeles, CaliforniaLos Angeles is the largest city in the state of California and the second largest in the United States. Often abbreviated as L.A. and nicknamed The City of Angels, Los Angeles has an estimated population of 3.8 million and spans over in Southern California...
, to John Henry Coogan, Jr. (also known as "Big Jack" or "Jack, Sr.") (1886-1935), the son of John Henry Coogan Sr. (1853-1932), and Lilian Rita Dolliver Coogan (1892-1977, birth also has been listed at 1895). He began his acting career as an infant in both
vaudevilleVaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
and film, with an uncredited role in the 1917 film
Skinner's Baby.
Charlie ChaplinSir Charles Spencer Chaplin, KBE was an English comedic actor and film director. Chaplin became one of the most famous actors as well as a notable filmmaker, composer and musician in the early to mid Classical Hollywood era of American cinema.Chaplin acted in, directed, scripted, produced and...
discovered him in a
Los AngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the municipality of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123.445 inhabitants...
vaudeville house, doing the
shimmyA shimmy is a dance move in which the body is held still, except for the shoulders, which are alternated back and forth. When the right shoulder goes back, the left one comes forward. It may help to hold the arms out slightly bent at the elbow, and when the shoulders are moved, keep the hands in...
, 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 ChaplinSir Charles Spencer Chaplin, KBE was an English comedic actor and film director. Chaplin became one of the most famous actors as well as a notable filmmaker, composer and musician in the early to mid Classical Hollywood era of American cinema.Chaplin acted in, directed, scripted, produced and...
's irascible sidekick in the film classic
The KidThe Kid is a 1921 silent dramedy film by Charlie Chaplin that featured Jackie Coogan, as his adopted son and sidekick . It was a huge success, and was the second-highest grossing film in 1921, behind The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.-Plot summary:The Little Tramp finds an abandoned baby in an...
(1921) and for the title role in
Oliver TwistOliver Twist is a 1922 silent film adaptation of Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist featuring Lon Chaney as Fagin, and Jackie Coogan as Oliver. Directed by Frank Lloyd.- Synopsis :Oliver's mother, a penniless outcast, died giving birth to him...
, directed by
Frank LloydFrank Lloyd was an Academy Award-winning film director, scriptwriter and producer...
, the following year. He was also one of 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 unavailable, but
Turner Classic MoviesTurner Classic Movies is a cable television channel featuring commercial-free classic movies, mostly from the Turner Entertainment and MGM, United Artists, RKO and Warner Bros. film libraries...
recently presented
The Rag Man with a new score. Coogan was famous for his pageboy haircut and his
The Kid outfit of oversized overalls and cap, which was widely imitated, including by the young
Scotty BeckettScott Hastings "Scotty" Beckett was an American child actor. He is best remembered for his parts in the Our Gang and Rocky Jones, Space Ranger series.-Early career:...
in the
Our GangOur Gang, also known as The Little Rascals or Hal Roach's Rascals, was a series of American comedy short films about a group of poor neighborhood children and the adventures they had together. Created by comedy producer Hal Roach, Our Gang was produced at the Roach studio starting in 1922 as a...
films.
He was tutored until the age of ten, after which he attended
Urban Military AcademyUrban Military Academy was a boarding and day school in Hollywood, California, for boys between the ages of six and fifteen, founded in 1905 by Mary McDonnell and at the time it opened "the only private school for boys in the City." Its commandant was Major Harry Lee Black, who in 1928 helped...
and other prep schools, and then several colleges, including the
University of Southern CaliforniaThe University of Southern California is a private, nonsectarian, research university located in the University Park neighborhood in Los Angeles, California, USA...
. In 1932 he left
Santa Clara UniversitySanta Clara University is a private, co-educational Jesuit-affiliated university located in Santa Clara, California. Chartered by the state of California and accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, it operates in collaboration with the Society of Jesus , whose members founded...
because of poor grades.
Tragedy struck on May 4, 1935 when Coogan's father was killed in a car crash in San Diego County that also claimed the life of Coogan's best friend
Junior DurkinJunior Durkin, born Trent Bernard Durkin , was an American film actor from New York, New York. Durkin began his acting career in theater while a child. He entered films in 1930, and played the role of Huckleberry Finn in Tom Sawyer , and Huckleberry Finn...
, a child actor best known as Huckleberry Finn in two films of the early 1930s. The accident took place just short of Coogan's twenty-first birthday; he was the sole survivor of the accident.
Jackie Coogan has his hand and foot prints in concrete out front of Grauman's Chinese Theater (now Mann's Chinese Theater), Ceremony #19, on December 12, 1931 (his former wife Betty Grable, Ceremony #68, on February 15, 1943 also). He also has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in front of 1654 Vine Street, just south of Hollywood Blvd.
Coogan Bill
As a child star, Coogan earned an estimated $3 to 4 million, but the money was taken by his mother, Lilian, and stepfather, Arthur Bernstein, for extravagances such as fur coats, diamonds, and cars. He sued them in 1938 (at age 23), but after legal expenses, he only received $126,000 of the approx. $250,000 left. When Coogan fell on hard times, Charlie Chaplin gave him some financial support.
The legal battle did, however, bring attention to child actors and resulted in the state of
CaliforniaCalifornia is the most populous state in the United States, and the third largest by area. California is the second most populous sub-national entity in the Americas, behind only São Paulo, Brazil...
enacting the
California Child Actor's Bill, sometimes known as the
Coogan Bill or the
Coogan Act. This requires that the child's employer set aside 15% of the child's earnings in a trust, and codifies such issues as schooling, work hours and time-off. Jackie's mother and stepfather attempted to soften the situation by pointing out that the child was having fun and thought he was playing. However, virtually every child star from Baby Peggy on has stated that they were keenly aware that what they were doing was work.
World War II
Coogan enlisted in the US Army in March 1941. After the attack on
Pearl HarborPearl Harbor is a harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...
, he requested a transfer to US Army Air Forces as a
gliderMilitary gliders have been used by the military of various countries for carrying troops and heavy equipment to a combat zone, mainly during the Second World War...
pilot because of his civilian flying experience. After graduating from glider school, he was made a
Flight OfficerThe title Flight Officer is a military rank previously used by the United States and Commonwealth Nations. The term is also used to describe job title positions as aircrew members.- Aircrew function :...
and he volunteered for hazardous duty with the
1st Air Commando GroupThe 1st Air Commando Group was a United States Army Air Forces group of fighters, bombers, transports, military gliders and small planes operating in the South-East Asian Theatre of World War II. They were part of the U.S. Tenth Air Force providing close air support for the British Fourteenth Army...
. In December 1943, the unit was sent to India. He flew British troops, the
ChinditsThe Chindits were a British India "Special Force" that served in Burma and India in 1943 and 1944 during the Burma Campaign in World War II...
, 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.
Television
After the war, Coogan returned to acting, taking mostly character roles and appearing on television. He guest starred as Corbett in two episodes of
NBCThe National Broadcasting Company is an American television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices in Burbank,California...
's
The OutlawsThe Outlaws is a 50-episode NBC Western television series, starring Barton MacLane as U.S. marshal Frank Caine, who operated in a lawless section of Oklahoma Territory about Stillwater. The program aired new one-hour episodes from September 29, 1960, to May 10, 1962...
with
Barton MacLaneBarton MacLane was an American actor, playwright, and screenwriter. Although he has appeared in many classic films from the 1930s through the 1960s, he was known for his recurring role as General Martin Peterson on the 1960s television comedy series I Dream of Jeannie.-Career:MacLane was born in...
, which aired from 1960-1962. In the 1960-1961 season, he guest starred in the episode "The Damaged Dolls" of the
syndicatedIn broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows to multiple individual stations, without going through a broadcast network. It is common in countries where television is scheduled by networks with local affiliates, particularly in the United States...
crime drama
The Brothers BrannaganThe Brothers Brannagan is a syndicated American crime drama television series that aired for thirty-nine black and white episodes between September 24, 1960, and July 15, 1961.-Synopsis:...
.
Coogan had a regular role in a 1962-1963 NBC series,
McKeever And The ColonelMcKeever and the Colonel is a situation comedy that was broadcast on NBC television in the United States from 1962-1963. Its setting was a military academy, Westfield. Dick Powell's Four Star Television produced the series....
. He finally found his most famous television role as
Uncle FesterUncle Fester, or Fester Addams, is a member of the fictional Addams Family. He was played by Jackie Coogan in the original television series, by Christopher Lloyd in the first two feature films, and by Patrick Thomas in the third, Addams Family Reunion...
in
ABCThe American Broadcasting Company is an American television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. It first broadcast on television in 1948...
's
The Addams FamilyThe Addams Family is an American television series based on the characters in Charles Addams' New Yorker cartoons. The 30-minute series was shot in black-and-white and aired for two seasons in 64 installments on ABC from September 18, 1964 to April 8, 1966...
(1964-1966), for which he is fondly remembered by a whole new generation of fans. He appeared as a police officer in the
Elvis PresleyElvis Aaron Presley was an American singer and actor. A cultural icon, he is commonly known simply as Elvis and is also sometimes referred to as The King of Rock 'n' Roll or The King....
comedy
Girl HappyGirl Happy is a 1965 musical romantic comedy in the beach party film style, starring Elvis Presley.-Plot:Rusty Wells and his band are just about ready to leave Chicago for their annual spring break trip to Fort Lauderdale. That is, until Big Frank extends their stay at his club...
in 1965. He had a role in the 1969 movie
Marlowe.
In addition to
The Addams Family, he appeared a number of times on the
Perry MasonPerry Mason is an American TV series produced by Paisano Productions that ran from 1957 to 1966. Perry Mason was played by actor Raymond Burr. The title character is a fictional Los Angeles, California, defense attorney who originally appeared in detective fiction by Erle Stanley Gardner...
series, and once on
Emergency!Emergency! is a television series, combining the medical drama and action-adventure genres, that was produced by Mark VII Limited and distributed by Universal Studios. It debuted as a midseason replacement on January 15, 1972, on NBC, replacing the short-lived series The Good Life, and ran until...
as a junkyard owner who tries to bribe the paramedics, who have come to inspect his property for fire safety. He also was featured in an episode of
The Brady BunchThe Brady Bunch is an American television sitcom. starring Robert Reed, Florence Henderson, and Ann B. Davis, which revolves around a large blended family...
("Fender Bender"),
Here's LucyHere's Lucy is Lucille Ball's third network television sitcom. It ran on CBS from 1968 to 1974.-Background:Though The Lucy Show was still hugely popular during the previous season, finishing in the top five of the Nielsen Ratings , Ball opted to end that series at the end of that season and create...
and
The Brian Keith ShowThe Brian Keith Show, originally entitled The Little People, is an NBC television series starring Brian Keith and Shelley Fabares as Sean and Anne Jamison, father-and-daughter pediatricians living in Hawaii who operate a health clinic and also engage in private practice. The sitcom aired from...
, and he continued to guest star on television (including multiple appearances on
The Partridge FamilyThe Partridge Family was an American television sitcom about a widowed mother and her five children who embarked on a music career. The family lived in San Pueblo, a small fictional town in Northern California...
,
The Wild Wild WestThe Wild Wild West is an American television series that ran on CBS for four seasons from September 17, 1965 to April 4, 1969....
and
Hawaii Five-OHawaii Five-O is an American television series that starred Jack Lord in the lead role for a fictional Hawaii state police department. The show ran for 12 seasons, from 1968 to 1980. The twelfth season was repackaged into syndication under the title McGarrett.-Overview:The CBS television network...
) until his retirement in the middle 1970s.
Marriages and children
- Betty Grable
Betty Grable was an American dancer, singer, and actress.Her iconic bathing suit photo made her the number-one pin-up girl of the World War II era. It was later included in the Life magazine project "100 Photos that Changed the World"...
, married on November 20, 1937, divorced on October 11, 1939
- Flower Parry, married on August 10, 1941, divorced on June 29, 1943
- One son, John Anthony Coogan (writer/producer 3D digital & film), born March 4, 1942 in Los Angeles, California.
- Ann McCormack, married on December 26, 1946, divorced on September 20, 1951
- One daughter, Joann Dolliver Coogan born April 2, 1948 in Los Angeles, California.
- Dorothea Odetta Hanson, aka. Dorothea Lamphere, best known as Dodie, married on April 1952, they were together until his death
- One daughter, Leslie Diane Coogan, born November 24, 1953 in Los Angeles, California. Her son is the actor Keith Coogan
Keith Coogan is an American actor and the grandson of Jackie Coogan, the world's first child film star.-Biography:Coogan was born Keith Eric Mitchell. He began acting in 1975...
, who was born January 13, 1970. He began acting in 1975. Two years after his grandfather's death in 1986 he changed his name to Keith Coogan from Keith Eric Mitchell. He played the oldest son in Adventures in BabysittingAdventures in Babysitting is a American comedy film written by David Simkins, directed by Chris Columbus, and starring Elisabeth Shue, Bradley Whitford, Maia Brewton, Anthony Rapp, Penelope Ann Miller, Keith Coogan, and a brief cameo by blues singer/guitarist Albert Collins...
.
- One son, Christopher Fenton Coogan, born July 9, 1967 in Riverside County, California. He died in a motorcycle accident in Palm Springs, California, on June 29, 1990.
Death and burial
Coogan died of
cardiac arrestA cardiac arrest, also known as cardiopulmonary arrest or circulatory arrest, is the abrupt cessation of normal circulation of the blood due to failure of the heart to contract effectively during systole....
in 1984 (March 1 at approx. 1:30pm) at the age of 69 in Santa Monica (Santa Monica Medical Center), CA. Oddly the only major biography of Jackie Coogan in 2003 by Diana Serra Cary "Baby Peggy" states on page 229 that he died in Palm Springs, CA (his death certificate states Santa Monica, CA., he was at a Santa Monica clinic having kidney dialysis treatment in the morning when he had a heart attack and was transported to Santa Monica Medical Center / Hospital where he died). His residence at the time of his death was Palm Springs, CA, with his 4th wife, "Dodie". However, Jackie was staying with his daughter Leslie in Malibu at the time of his passing. He was buried in
Culver CityCulver City is a city in western Los Angeles County, California. As of the 2000 census, the city had a population of 38,816. The community is mostly surrounded by the city of Los Angeles, but also has a border with unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County...
's
Holy Cross CemeteryHoly Cross Cemetery is a Catholic cemetery at 5835 West Slauson Avenue in Culver City, California, operated by the Los Angeles Archdiocese.Opened in 1939, Holy Cross is . It contains—among others—the graves and tombs of show business professionals...
.
Filmography
- Skinner's Baby (Uncredited, 1917)
- A Day's Pleasure
A Day's Pleasure is Charlie Chaplin's fourth film for First National Films. It was created at the Chaplin Studio. It was a quickly made two-reeler to help fill a gap while working on his first feature The Kid. It is about a day outing with his wife and the kids and things don't go smoothly. Edna...
(1919)
- The Kid
The Kid is a 1921 silent dramedy film by Charlie Chaplin that featured Jackie Coogan, as his adopted son and sidekick . It was a huge success, and was the second-highest grossing film in 1921, behind The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.-Plot summary:The Little Tramp finds an abandoned baby in an...
(1921)
- Peck's Bad Boy (1921)
- My Boy
"My Boy" is the title of a popular song from the early 1970s. The music was composed by Jean Bourtayre and Claude Francois, and the lyrics were translated into English by Phil Coulter and Bill Martin.-Richard Harris version:...
(1921)
- Nice and Friendly (1922)
- Trouble (1922)
- Oliver Twist
Oliver Twist is a 1922 silent film adaptation of Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist featuring Lon Chaney as Fagin, and Jackie Coogan as Oliver. Directed by Frank Lloyd.- Synopsis :Oliver's mother, a penniless outcast, died giving birth to him...
(1922)
- Daddy (1923)
- Circus Days (1923)
- Long Live the King (1923)
- A Boy of Flanders (1924)
- Little Robinson Crusoe
Little Robinson Crusoe is a 1924 film starring Jackie Coogan. The film was directed by Edward F. Cline and written by Willard Mack.-Plot:...
(1924)
- Hello, 'Frisco (1924)
- The Rag Man
The Rag Man is a 1925 film starring Jackie Coogan. The film was directed by Edward F. Cline, and written by Willard Mack. This was the first Jackie Coogan movie made entirely under the MGM banner .-Plot:...
(1925)
- Old Clothes
Old Clothes is a 1925 MGM silent film, starring Jackie Coogan and Joan Crawford.This was the first film in which Miss Crawford was credited with her new name — Joan Crawford...
(1925)
- Johnny Get Your Hair Cut
Johnny Get Your Hair Cut is a 1927 comedy film directed by B. Reeves Eason and featuring Harry Carey.-Cast:* Jackie Coogan - Johnny O'Day* Harry Carey* James Corrigan - Pop Slocum* Maurice Costello - Baxter Ryan* Bobby Doyle - Bobby Dolin...
(1927)
- The Bugle Call (1927)
- Buttons (1927)
- Tom Sawyer
Tom Sawyer is a 1930 American drama film directed by John Cromwell. The screenplay by Grover Jones, William Slavens McNutt, and Sam Mintz is based on the 1876 novel The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain....
(1930)
- Huckleberry Finn (1931)
- Girl Happy
Girl Happy is a 1965 musical romantic comedy in the beach party film style, starring Elvis Presley.-Plot:Rusty Wells and his band are just about ready to leave Chicago for their annual spring break trip to Fort Lauderdale. That is, until Big Frank extends their stay at his club...
(1965)
External links