JACKIE COOGAN
Name: John Leslie 'Jackie' Coogan
Born: 26 October 1914 Los Angeles, California
Died: 1 March 1984 Santa Monica, California
John Leslie (Jackie) Coogan (October 26, 1914 – March 1, 1984) was an American
actor who began his movie career as a child actor in silent film.
Coogan was born in Woburn, Massachusetts, to John Henry Coogan, Jr., and Lilian
Rita Dolliver Coogan. He 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 film classic The Kid (1921) and for the title role in
Oliver Twist, directed 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[citation needed]. 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 outfit of
oversized overalls and cap, which was widely imitated, including by the young
Scotty Beckett in the Our Gang films.
Name: John Leslie 'Jackie' Coogan
Born: 26 October 1914 Los Angeles, California
Died: 1 March 1984 Santa Monica, California
John Leslie (Jackie) Coogan (October 26, 1914 – March 1, 1984) was an American
actor who began his movie career as a child actor in silent film.
Coogan was born in Woburn, Massachusetts, to John Henry Coogan, Jr., and Lilian
Rita Dolliver Coogan. He 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 film classic The Kid (1921) and for the title role in
Oliver Twist, directed 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[citation needed]. 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 outfit of
oversized overalls and cap, which was widely imitated, including by the young
Scotty Beckett in the Our Gang films.