Jackie Coogan
John Leslie Coogan (October 26, 1914 – March 1, 1984), known professionally as Jackie Coogan, was an American actor who began his movie career as a child actor in silent films. Many years later, he became known as Uncle Fester on 1960s sitcom The Addams Family. In the interim, he sued 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. Coogan enlisted in the U.S. Army in March 1941. After the attack on Pearl Harbor that December, he requested a transfer to Army Air Forces as a glider pilot because of his civilian flying experience. Graduating the Advanced Glider School with the Glider Pilot aeronautical rating and the rank of Flight Officer, he volunteered for hazardous duty with the 1st Air Commando Group. In December 1943, the unit was sent to India. He flew British troops, the Chindits, under General Orde Wingate on March 5, 1944, landing them at night in a small jungle clearing 100 miles (160 km) behind Japanese lines in the Burma Campaign. After the war, Coogan returned to acting, taking mostly character roles and appearing on television. From 1952 to 1953, he played Stoney Crockett on the syndicated series Cowboy G-Men. He guest-starred on NBC's The Martha Raye Show. He appeared, too, as Corbett in two episodes of NBC's The Outlaws with Barton MacLane, which aired from 1960–1962. In the 1960–1961 season, he guest-starred in the episode "The Damaged Dolls" of the syndicated crime drama The Brothers Brannagan. In 1961, he guest-starred in an episode of The Americans, an NBC series about family divisions stemming from the Civil War. He also appeared in episode 37, titled "Barney on the Rebound", of The Andy Griffith Show, which aired October 31, 1961. He had a regular role in a 1962–63 NBC series, McKeever and the Colonel. He finally found his most famous television role as Uncle Fester in ABC's The Addams Family (1964–1966). He appeared as a police officer in the Elvis Presley comedy Girl Happy in 1965. He appeared four times on the Perry Mason series, including the role of political activist Gus Sawyer in the 1963 episode "The Case of the Witless Witness", and TV prop man Pete Desmond in the final episode, "The Case of the Final Fadeout", in 1966. He was a guest several times on The Red Skelton Show, appeared twice on The Brady Bunch ("The Fender Benders" and "Double Parked"), I Dream of Jeannie (as Jeannie's uncle, Suleiman – Maharaja of Basenji), Family Affair, Here's Lucy, and The Brian Keith Show, and continued to guest-star on television (including multiple appearances on The Partridge Family, The Wild Wild West, Hawaii Five-O, and McMillan and Wife) until his retirement in the mid 1970s. Description above from the Wikipedia article Jackie Coogan, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Known For
Credits
- 2024 · Child Star as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
- 2020 · Showbiz Kids as Self (archive footage)
- 2015 · Jackie Coogan: The First Child Star as Self (archive footage)
- 2004 · The 50 Worst Movies Ever Made as Dr. Aranya (archive footage)
- 2003 · Chaplin Today: 'The Kid' as Self (archive footage)
- 2000 · Lon Chaney: A Thousand Faces as Self (archive footage)
- 1983 · The Prey as Lester Tile
- 1983 · Unknown Chaplin as Self
- 1982 · The Escape Artist as Magic Shop Owner
- 1982 · Hollywood’s Children as Self
- 1980 · Dr. Heckyl and Mr. Hype as Sgt. Fleacollar
- 1980 · The Kids Who Knew Too Much as Mr. Klein
- 1980 · Hollywood as Self
- 1979 · Human Experiments as Sheriff Tibbs
- 1979 · When the West Was Fun: A Western Reunion as Self
- 1978 · Flying High as
- 1977 · Halloween with the New Addams Family as Uncle Fester
- 1976 · Sherlock Holmes in New York as Haymarket Hotel Proprietor
- 1976 · Won Ton Ton: The Dog Who Saved Hollywood as Stagehand 1
- 1975 · The Manchu Eagle Murder Caper Mystery as Detective Chief Anderson
- 1975 · Lucy Gets Lucky as Gus Mitchell
- 1975 · The Specialists as Roger
- 1974 · Movin' On as
- 1974 · The Phantom of Hollywood as Jonathan
- 1973 · The Addams Family as Uncle Fester (voice)
- 1973 · Cahill: United States Marshal as Charlie Smith
- 1973 · Police Story as
- 1973 · Barnaby Jones as Phil Rooney
- 1972 · Cool Million as Merrill Cossack
- 1972 · The Brian Keith Show as
- 1972 · The New Scooby-Doo Movies as Uncle Fester (voice)
- 1972 · Emergency! as
- 1971 · McMillan and Wife as
- 1971 · McMillan and Wife as Howard Sparks
- 1971 · The Jimmy Stewart Show as
- 1971 · Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law as Zigler
- 1971 · The New Andy Griffith Show as
- 1971 · Alias Smith and Jones as
- 1969 · Love, American Style as Uncle Harold
- 1969 · Love, American Style as Motel Owner
- 1969 · The Brady Bunch as
- 1969 · Marlowe as Grant W. Hicks
- 1968 · Here's Lucy as Kermit Bosworth
- 1968 · Adam-12 as Harry Rustin
- 1968 · Hawaii Five-O as Horace Sibley
- 1968 · Hawaii Five-O as Jerry Howe
- 1968 · Hawaii Five-O as Frank
- 1968 · The Outsider as Rusty
- 1968 · The Shakiest Gun in the West as Matthew Basch
- 1968 · Rogue's Gallery as Funeral Director
- 1967 · Ironside as
- 1967 · Ironside as Buster Logan
- 1967 · Ironside as Sam McGoff
- 1966 · Clown Alley as Clown
- 1966 · Family Affair as
- 1966 · A Fine Madness as Mr. Fitzgerald
- 1965 · I Dream of Jeannie as Suleiman
- 1965 · The Wild Wild West as
- 1965 · The Wild Wild West as Mayor Cecil Pudney
- 1965 · Girl Happy as Sgt. Benson
- 1965 · John Goldfarb, Please Come Home! as Father Ryan
- 1964 · The Addams Family as Uncle Fester
- 1963 · Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre as
- 1963 · Burke's Law as Bert Crowley
- 1963 · Vacation Playhouse as Finnegan
- 1962 · The Lucy Show as Lieutenant Ruggles
- 1962 · McKeever and the Colonel as Sgt. Barnes
- 1962 · The Virginian as Bodey
- 1962 · When the Girls Take Over as Captain Toussaint
- 1961 · The Dick Powell Show as Shopkeeper
- 1961 · The Legend of Rudolph Valentino as Self (archive footage)
- 1960 · The Andy Griffith Show as George Stevens
- 1960 · Outlaws as
- 1960 · Sex Kittens Go to College as Wildcat MacPherson
- 1959 · Mr. Lucky as
- 1959 · Hawaiian Eye as Mack Stanley
- 1959 · Lock-Up as
- 1959 · The Big Operator as Ed Brannell
- 1959 · The Beat Generation as Jake Baron
- 1959 · Lonelyhearts as Ned Gates
- 1959 · Night of the Quarter Moon as Desk Sergeant Bragan
- 1958 · 77 Sunset Strip as Baldy Mike Hannigan (uncredited)
- 1958 · No Place to Land as Swede
- 1958 · Peter Gunn as
- 1958 · The Space Children as Hank Johnson
- 1958 · High School Confidential! as Mr. A
- 1958 · Shirley Temple's Storybook as Marshal Rogers
- 1957 · Eighteen and Anxious as Harold 'Eager' Beaver
- 1957 · The Joker is Wild as Swifty Morgan
- 1957 · Perry Mason as Elwood P. 'Gunner' Grimes
- 1957 · Perry Mason as Pete Desmond
- 1957 · Perry Mason as Gus Sawyer
- 1957 · Perry Mason as Ron Litten
- 1957 · The Buster Keaton Story as Elmer Case
- 1956 · Forbidden Area as The Cook
- 1956 · The Proud Ones as Man on Make (uncredited)
- 1955 · Matinee Theater as
- 1955 · Alfred Hitchcock Presents as George Bay
- 1955 · Gunsmoke as Marshal Stoudenaire
- 1955 · Escape from Terror as Agent Petrov
- 1954 · The Wonderful World of Disney as Mr. Klein
- 1953 · The Actress as Inopportune (uncredited)
- 1953 · Letter to Loretta as Woody Woods
- 1953 · Letter to Loretta as Snuff Carter
- 1953 · Mesa of Lost Women as Dr Aranya
- 1953 · General Electric Theater as Marshal Stubb Snider
- 1952 · Cowboy G-Men as
- 1952 · Outlaw Women as Piute Bill
- 1951 · Varieties on Parade as Himself
- 1951 · Skipalong Rosenbloom as Buck Lovelace
- 1948 · Studio One as Jeffers
- 1948 · French Leave as Pappy Reagan
- 1947 · Kilroy Was Here as Pappy Collins
- 1942 · Screen Snapshots (Series 22, No. 10) as Self (archive footage)
- 1939 · Sky Patrol as Carter Meade
- 1939 · Million Dollar Legs as Russ Simpson
- 1938 · College Swing as Jackie
- 1936 · Sunkist Stars at Palm Springs as Self
- 1936 · Love in September as Jackie
- 1935 · Home on the Range as Jack Hatfield
- 1931 · Huckleberry Finn as Tom Sawyer
- 1930 · Tom Sawyer as Tom Sawyer
- 1930 · Estrellados as Self (Guest Appearance at Premiere)
- 1930 · Free and Easy as Jackie Coogan - at Premiere (uncredited)
- 1928 · The Circus: Premiere as Self
- 1927 · Buttons as Buttons
- 1927 · Character Studies as Self (uncredited)
- 1927 · The Bugle Call as Billy Randolph
- 1927 · Johnny Get Your Hair Cut as Johnny O'Day
- 1925 · Old Clothes as Timothy Kelly
- 1925 · The Rag Man as Tim Kelly
- 1924 · Hello, 'Frisco as Jackie Coogan
- 1924 · Little Robinson Crusoe as Mickey Hogan
- 1924 · A Boy of Flanders as Nello
- 1924 · Meet Jackie Coogan as Himself
- 1923 · Long Live the King as Crown Prince Ferdinand William Otto
- 1923 · Circus Days as Toby Tyler
- 1923 · Daddy as Jackie Savelli / Jackie Holden
- 1922 · Oliver Twist as Oliver Twist
- 1922 · Seeing Stars as Self
- 1922 · Trouble as Danny, the Kid
- 1922 · Nice and Friendly as Boy
- 1921 · My Boy as Jackie Blair
- 1921 · Peck's Bad Boy as Henry Peck
- 1921 · The Kid as The Kid
- 1919 · A Day's Pleasure as Smallest Boy (uncredited)
- 1917 · Skinner's Baby as The Baby (uncredited)