Obit: Jackie Cooper, 88

[bpatrick]

My local paper reports this morning that former child actor and
sitcom star Jackie Cooper has died of old age at 88. Cooper first
became famous for the movie "Skippy" in the early 1930s; he's
probably best remembered by some of you as Perry White in the
"Superman" movies with Christopher Reeve. For the purposes of
this board, Cooper had two practically back-to-back hit sitcoms,
"The People's Choice" (with Cleo the basset hound whose observations
were voiced by Mary Jane Croft and which aired from 1955-58) and
"Hennesey" (1959-62); in the '70s he starred in the short-lived drama
"Mobile One". Somebody correct me on this, but I think he ran Columbia
Pictures Television for a time; I know he directed episodes of many shows
from various studios over the years.

Robert Metz, in his 1970s book about CBS, recalls Cooper approaching Jim
Aubrey with an idea for a show about a county agent in New Mexico, "Calhoun".
The lead character lived near Los Alamos, and part of the concept was the tension
between the presence of scientists with IQs in excess of 180 and Native Americans
living much as their ancestors did centuries ago. Aubrey didn't think much of it.
(In fact, Metz thought the idea was ahead of its time, that someone like Earl Hamner
could have taken it, put in some humor, and had a hit like "The Waltons".)
But Metz described Cooper as someone whose long suit was "naive sincerity".
Be that as it may, Cooper was always enjoyable to watch and I can only hope that
he was as nice a guy as he appeared to be (even gruff Perry White was played with
a sense of humor).

 

[wbhist]

Somebody correct me on this, but I think [Cooper] ran Columbia Pictures Television for a time; I know he directed episodes of many shows from various studios over the years.

He did - but in the latter half of the 1960's, when it was called Screen Gems. It was during his time there that such now-classic shows as Bewitched, I Dream of Jeannie, The Monkees and The Flying Nun were in production and on the air in their original network runs - in fact, I read that it was Cooper, himself, who greenlighted The Monkees for production, overriding other Screen Gems execs who were against making such a show, especially since it would be in color.

 

[Cincinnati Kid]

It seems as though, Jackie Cooper spent almost his entire life involved with motion pictures or television. He always looked so youthful. RIP.

 

[wbhist]

Jackie Cooper . . . always looked so youthful. RIP.

After he reached middle age, and years thereafter, I thought he bore a very slight facial resemblance to the late WCBS-TV (New York) news anchor Jim Jensen, with a certain cragginess to his features.

 

[Braves2005]

Don't forget his role as Jackie in The Little Rascals as well. I think that he was the most popular of the Rascals up until Spanky, Alfalfa, Buckwheat, Porky and Darla came along. It is also surprising that Jackie Cooper and Robert Blake were the only two Rascals who made it to adulthood and who had much bigger careers than the others who either died young or fell into hard times or in some cases both.

I wished that both The People's Choice and Hennesey were on DVD since I have never seen these shows before. Seems like that after the late 1960's these shows were dropped from syndication for some reason or another. I always wanted to see Cooper in those shows.

 

[Bob1370]

Interesting how the press reports emphasized his work as a child star, when his adult life as a sitcom performer and later as a behind-the-scenes producer, director and executive had greater impact on popular culture. He ought to be remembered for his role in bringing a lot of light, but witty and entertaining, programming to our TV screens over the last 60 years.

 

[LKellerIII]

Jackie Cooper also guest startted in many episodic TV dramas from 60s until 1990.

 

[wbhist]

Interesting how the press reports emphasized his work as a child star, when his adult life as a sitcom performer and later as a behind-the-scenes producer, director and executive had greater impact on popular culture. He ought to be remembered for his role in bringing a lot of light, but witty and entertaining, programming to our TV screens over the last 60 years.

Absolutely. Indeed, Cooper was one of only a small handful of ex-child stars who made it in the business into adulthood (and even prospered) - yet contrast the coverage on his death with that of, say, Elizabeth Taylor or Roddy McDowall when they passed away. Even to a lesser extent, the other ex-child star Jackie - Coogan - who in his much younger days worked in silent films with Charlie Chaplin, then had a whole new career beginning in the 1960's as "Uncle Fester" on The Addams Family, for which most people would remember him today.

 

[FreddyE1977]

often confused with Jackie Coogan (Uncle Fester from The Addams Family),
who was also a child star in the early Hollywood era

 

[bpatrick]

Interesting how the press reports emphasized his work as a child star, when his adult life as a sitcom performer and later as a behind-the-scenes producer, director and executive had greater impact on popular culture. He ought to be remembered for his role in bringing a lot of light, but witty and entertaining, programming to our TV screens over the last 60 years.

Absolutely. Indeed, Cooper was one of only a small handful of ex-child stars who made it in the business into adulthood (and even prospered) - yet contrast the coverage on his death with that of, say, Elizabeth Taylor or Roddy McDowall when they passed away. Even to a lesser extent, the other ex-child star Jackie - Coogan - who in his much younger days worked in silent films with Charlie Chaplin, then had a whole new career beginning in the 1960's as "Uncle Fester" on The Addams Family, for which most people would remember him today.

Some time back I mentioned that a lot of us baby boomers remember "The People's Choice" as much for Cleo as for Jackie Cooper, but he was nevertheless right at home as the small-town mayor Socrates "Sock" Miller. And his co-star on "Hennesey," Abby Dalton, went straight from there to playing Joey Bishop's TV wife.

If you can find Arthur Shulman and Roger Youman's 1966 picture book of the early years of television, "How Sweet It Was,"
there's a picture of Cooper as one of the Little Rascals and it is indeed in the pre-Spanky/Alfalfa/Buckwheat/Darla/Robert Blake era. And oh yes, Blake used his real name: Mickey Gubitosi. (You can tell it's pre-Spanky because his predecessor, Fat Joe Cobb, is in the picture; he went on to make a pretty decent living as a car dealer in LA.)

As for the other Jackie--Coogan--yes, I agree most people think of Uncle Fester when they think of him but he was responsible for something a lot more important: a California law that puts the earnings of child actors into a trust fund until they are 21; Coogan's parents ran through his money and left him practically broke as a young man. I don't know what all he did before "The Addams Family" (I know he was a regular on "Pantomime Quiz" in the '50s, but I suspect he played mostly character parts).

 

[Corky Marlowe]

As for the other Jackie--Coogan--yes, I agree most people think of Uncle Fester when they think of him but he was responsible for something a lot more important: a California law that puts the earnings of child actors into a trust fund until they are 21; Coogan's parents ran through his money and left him practically broke as a young man.

If I'm not mistaken, the Coogan Laws also regulated how many hours child performers could work, and required them to have teachers on set. Back to topic: The Screen Gems "S From Hell" wasn't Cooper's idea, was it?

 

[wbhist]

The Screen Gems "S From Hell" wasn't Cooper's idea, was it?

Can't say for sure - but it took effect in '65, around the time he became the head of that outfit.

 

[RadioStarOne]

Does Jackie Cooper's death mean that Robert Blake is the last Little Rascal living? I can't think of any that are still around.

 

[FreddyE1977]

As for the other Jackie--Coogan--yes, I agree most people think of Uncle Fester when they think of him but he was responsible for something a lot more important: a California law that puts the earnings of child actors into a trust fund until they are 21; Coogan's parents ran through his money and left him practically broke as a young man.

If I'm not mistaken, the Coogan Laws also regulated how many hours child performers could work, and required them to have teachers on set. Back to topic: The Screen Gems "S From Hell" wasn't Cooper's idea, was it?

The ultimate effect of the Jackie Coogan Laws is that nowadays a child actor almost always has to go to
court and become Emancipated before he/she is allowed to work. The studios just don't want to mess with
it any other way.

The Law of Unintended Consequences. Yet another good lesson to our legislators how they cannot
actually solve all problems by sitting down and passing laws.

 

[LKellerIII]

As for the other Jackie--Coogan--yes, I agree most people think of Uncle Fester when they think of him but he was responsible for something a lot more important: a California law that puts the earnings of child actors into a trust fund until they are 21; Coogan's parents ran through his money and left him practically broke as a young man.

If I'm not mistaken, the Coogan Laws also regulated how many hours child performers could work, and required them to have teachers on set. Back to topic: The Screen Gems "S From Hell" wasn't Cooper's idea, was it?

The ultimate effect of the Jackie Coogan Laws is that nowadays a child actor almost always has to go to
court and become Emancipated before he/she is allowed to work. The studios just don't want to mess with
it any other way.

The Law of Unintended Consequences. Yet another good lesson to our legislators how they cannot
actually solve all problems by sitting down and passing laws.

I guess I should let that pass, but I have to comment. No doubt, legislators write and pass plenty of bad laws, and "The Law of Unintended Consequences" can be applied to many of them.

I know people love to hate government, and especially Congress. But historically, your final sentence is just wrong. In particular, laws passed by Congress often have the effect of solving - or at least improving many societal problems. Does the Civil Rights Act of 1964 mean anything to you? Does racism still exist? Without a doubt. But can African Americans and other minorities still be forced to use separate facilties, denied access to hospitals and hotel rooms, or sit at the back of the bus. No.

Another example - the Voting Rights Act of 1965. No additional explanation necessary there, I hope.

Child labor laws, in general, are yet another example of good legislation that solved a very real problem.

 

[Ultimajock]

As for the other Jackie--Coogan--yes, I agree most people think of Uncle Fester when they think of him but he was responsible for something a lot more important: a California law that puts the earnings of child actors into a trust fund until they are 21; Coogan's parents ran through his money and left him practically broke as a young man.

If I'm not mistaken, the Coogan Laws also regulated how many hours child performers could work, and required them to have teachers on set.

The ultimate effect of the Jackie Coogan Laws is that nowadays a child actor almost always has to go to
court and become Emancipated before he/she is allowed to work. The studios just don't want to mess with
it any other way.

The Law of Unintended Consequences. Yet another good lesson to our legislators how they cannot
actually solve all problems by sitting down and passing laws.

...Pamelyn Ferdin claims that one of the loopholes in the Coogan Laws since the '60s (at least) is that the trust fund relates specifically to child performers whose income is primarily from a single series. Although Ferdin was a regular on several different series -- Blondie, Curiosity Shop, The Paul Lynde Show, Lassie, Star Academy and a few Hanna-Barbera Saturday morning cartoons -- her association with all of those series were one or two seasons apiece at the longest and the majority of her income came from the massive level of guest appearances she did on other series. Thus, when she turned 18, Ferdin claims she never got a trust fund payment...

...getting back to Cooper, in his book P.S. Jack Paar: An Entertainment (and probably in his earlier books as well), Paar claimed that he and Cooper shared tents whenever the two would entertain for troops in the Pacific Theater during World War Two...

 

[Kurt Toy]

Any other Rascals [Our Gang] members besides Cooper and Robert Blake who enjoyed great success post LR-OG?

 

[wbhist]

Any other Rascals [Our Gang] members besides Cooper and Robert Blake who enjoyed great success post LR-OG?

I think one who came closest in that regard was Darla Hood, who up to her death in 1979 enjoyed some success as a voiceover artist, perhaps most notably as the voice of the mermaid in commercials for Chicken of the Sea tuna. She also had a supporting role in the 1959 movie The Bat, which also starred Agnes Moorehead and Vincent Price.

 

[landtuna]

Does Jackie Cooper's death mean that Robert Blake is the last Little Rascal living? I can't think of any that are still around.

Wikipedia lists the following 'Our Gang' members as still living as of May 4, 2011:

Robert Blake
Jean Darling
Marianne Edwards
Mildred Kornman
Sidney Kibrick
Leonard Landy
Dickie Moore
Jackie Lynn Taylor
Jerry Tucker
Jack Hanlon
Dick Jones
Billy Naylor
Peggy Lynch
Peggy Ahern
Lassie Lou Ahern
Priscilla Montgomery
Valerie Lee
Edith Fellows
Hugh Chapman
Leon Tyler
Annie Ross
Joy Wurgaft
Patsy Barry
Jackie Horner
Clyde Willson
Philip Hurlic
Payne Johnson
Laura June Kenny
Patsy Britten
Darryl Hickman
Dwayne Hickman
Donnie "Beezer" Smith
Dickie Jackson

Most of these were secondary or temporary players. There are very few players from the pre-MGM 'Our Gang' shorts still living.

"Little Rascals" was a name given to the series when broadcast on TV in the 50's. The official name for the series pre-MGM (1938) was "Hal Roach's Our Gang" and the very first episode (1922) was called "Our Gang".

Hal Roach died a few years ago at the age of 100 having lived longer than virtually all his players and most of his contemporaries. He created the series after having sat in his office one afternoon watching a group of children playing in a lot across the street.

Hal Roach Studios was known as the "Happy Studio" due to its lengthy list of comedy stars including Laurel & Hardy and many others.

Joe Cobb, the original "fat kid" and silent player Jackie Condon both worked as adults in the accounting department of an L.A. aerospace company for many years. Jackie died in 1977 of cancer and Joe a few years ago.

Here is a photo of some of the better known players as kids and adults:

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y133/landtuna/grown_color.jpg