Jackie Coogan, the renowned child star, was born into a family of vaudevillians, with his father being a dancer and his mother having been a child star. By the tender age of four, Jackie was already performing on stage, and by five, he was touring with his family in Los Angeles, California.
His remarkable talent did not go unnoticed, as he was spotted by the legendary Charles Chaplin, who then and there conceptualized a film featuring Jackie and himself. To test Jackie's screen presence, Chaplin initially cast him in a small role in "A Day's Pleasure" (1919),which proved to be a resounding success. This led to the production of "The Kid" (1921),where the Tramp would raise Jackie and subsequently lose him, marking a significant milestone in Jackie's career.
As his fame grew, Jackie became one of the highest-paid stars in Hollywood by 1923, starring in films such as "Daddy" (1923) and "Long Live the King" (1923). However, by 1927, at the tender age of 13, Jackie's career began to experience a downturn, and his popularity gradually waned. His final notable film appearances were in the classic tales of "Tom Sawyer" (1930) and "Huckleberry Finn" (1931).
In 1935, Jackie's life took a dramatic turn when his father passed away, and his mother remarried Arthur Bernstein, who would later become his business manager. When Jackie requested the substantial sum of money he had earned as a child star in the 1920s, his mother and stepfather refused, prompting Jackie to file a lawsuit. Unfortunately, under California law at the time, Jackie had no rights to the money he had made as a child, and he was awarded a mere $126,000 in 1939. The public outcry that ensued led to the passage of the Child Actors Bill, also known as the Coogan Act, which aimed to establish a trust fund for child actors and protect their earnings.
In 1937, Jackie married the renowned actress Betty Grable, but their union lasted only three years. During World War II, Jackie served in the Army and returned to Hollywood after the war. Despite his best efforts, he struggled to revive his career, instead finding work in B-movies, often playing the heavy. The 1950s saw Jackie transition to television, where he appeared in numerous shows. In the 1960s, he starred in two notable television comedy series: "McKeever and the Colonel" (1962-1963),where he played Sgt. Barnes in a military school, and "The Addams Family" (1964-1966),where he portrayed Uncle Fester. Following his appearances on these shows, Jackie continued to make guest appearances on television and in a few films. Unfortunately, his life came to an abrupt end in 1984 due to a heart attack.
