JACKIE COOGAN: THE ORIGINAL CHILD STAR

Charlie Chaplin discovered Jackie Coogan in the Orpheum Theatre, a vaudeville house in Los Angeles, on the stage doing the shimmy, a then-popular dance. Coogan's father was also an actor, as was his younger brother, Robert. Coogan was a natural mimic and delighted Chaplin with his abilities. Chaplin cast him in a small role in "A Day's Pleasure" (1919). The following year, Chaplin cast Coogan as the abandoned child raised by his Tramp character in the silent comedy-drama "The Kid" (1921). In 1922, Coogan was cast in the title role in "Oliver Twist", directed by Frank Lloyd. Coogan was one of the first stars to be heavily merchandised. Peanut butter, stationery, whistles, dolls, records, and figurines were among the Coogan-themed merchandise on sale. He was tutored until the age of 10, when he entered Urban Military Academy and other prep schools.

As a child star, Coogan earned an estimated $3 to $4 million. When he turned 21 in October 1935, his fortune was believed to be well intact. His assets had been conservatively managed by his father, who had died in the car accident five months earlier. However, Coogan found that the entire amount had been spent by his mother and stepfather, Arthur Bernstein, on fur coats, diamonds and other jewelry, and expensive cars. Bernstein had been a financial advisor for the family and married Coogan's mother in late 1936. Coogan's mother and stepfather claimed Jackie enjoyed himself and simply thought he was playing before the camera. She insisted, "No promises were ever made to give Jackie anything," and claimed he "was a bad boy." Coogan sued them in 1938, but after his legal expenses, he received just $126,000 of the $250,000 remaining of his earnings. When he fell on hard times and asked Charlie Chaplin for assistance, Chaplin handed him $1,000 without hesitating.

The legal battle focused attention on child actors and resulted in the 1939 enactment of the California Child Actor's Bill, often referred to as the "Coogan Law" or the "Coogan Act". It required that a child actor's employer set aside 15% of the earnings in a trust (called a Coogan account), and specified the actor's schooling, work hours, and time off.

Coogan continued to act throughout his life, later earning renewed fame in middle age portraying a bumbling Uncle Fester in the 1960s television series "The Addams Family". After suffering from heart and kidney ailments, Coogan died of heart failure on March 1, 1984, at the age of 69, in Santa Monica, California. Coogan had a long history of heart trouble and hypertension and had previously suffered several strokes. He had been undergoing kidney dialysis when his blood pressure dropped. Coogan was taken to Santa Monica Hospital, where he died from cardiac arrest.At Coogan's request, his funeral was open to the public and was attended by several fans. John Astin, Coogan's co-star from The Addams Family, delivered the eulogy...

THE QUOTES OF CHARLIE CHAPLIN

The great Charlie Chaplin was a brilliant if at times troubled man, but he has some wonderful quotes that deserve to be remembered...

                                          

“Life is a beautiful magnificent thing, even to a jellyfish.”


“You'll never find a rainbow if you're looking down”

“A man's true character comes out when he's drunk.”

“We think too much and feel too little.”

“Your naked body should only belong to those who fall in love with your naked soul.”

“My pain may be the reason for somebody's laugh.
But my laugh must never be the reason for somebody's pain.”

“Failure is unimportant. It takes courage to make a fool of yourself”


“Life is a tragedy when seen in close-up, but a comedy in long-shot.”


“Like everyone else I am what I am: an individual, unique and different, with a lineal history of ancestral promptings and urgings; a history of dreams, desires, and of special experiences, all of which I am the sum total.”


“Life is a play that does not allow testing. So, sing, cry, dance, laugh and live intensely, before the curtain closes and the piece ends with no applause.”

HOLLYWOOD SCANDALS: CHARLIE CHAPLIN AND HIS WOMEN

Long before Leonardo DiCaprio was dating only models half his age, silent film actor Charlie Chaplin was busy wooing women way younger than him. He was married four times in total, and all of his wives were young, to say the least. In 1918, when he was 29, he married a 16-year-old teen named Mildred Harris; they were divorced by 1920. Then in 1924, he married 16-year-old Lita Grey, which only lasted three years. Basically, these marriages lasted just long enough for them to become legal adults. Gross.

Chaplin took a little break from walking down the aisle for the next decade or so. Then in 1936, he wed actress Paulette Goddard, who was at least in her 20s (though he was in his 40s by then). That one didn’t stick either. The fourth time was apparently the charm: In 1943, when Chaplin was 53, he married an 18-year-old named Oona O’Neill. She was a legal adult, so that was a step in the right direction, although the age gap had progressed substantially by this point; the man was old enough to be her grandfather. They stayed married until his death in 1977.

If that isn’t scandal enough for you, Chaplin was also banned from the U.S. in 1952 due to communist leanings and did not return until 1972 to collect an honorary Oscar. The tabloids must have loved him!