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Coogan, Jackie

Jackie was born into a family of vaudevillains where his father was a dancer and his mother had been a child star. On the stage by four, Jackie was touring at the age of five with his family in Los Angeles. While performing on the stage, he was spotted by Charlie Chaplin who then and there planned a movie that would star him and Jackie. To test Jackie, Chaplin first gave him a small part in 'A Day's Pleasure (1919)' which proved that he had a screen presence. The movie that Chaplin planned that day was 'The Kid (1921)', where The Tramp would raise Jackie and then lose him. The movie was very successful and Jackie would play a child in a number of movies and tour with his father on the stage. By 1923, when he made 'Daddy', he was one of the highest paid stars in Hollywood. He would leave First National for MGM where they put him into 'Long Live the King (1923)'. By 1927, at the age of 13, Coogan had grown up on the screen and his career was starting to turn down. His popular film career would end with the classic tales of 'Tom Sawyer (1930)' and 'Huckleberry Finn (1931)'. In 1935, his father died and his mother married Arthur Bernstein, who was his business manager. When he wanted the money that he made as a child star in the 20's his mother and stepfather refused his request and Jackie filed suit for the approximately $4 million that he had made. Under California Law, at the time, he had no rights to the money he made as a child and he was awarded only $126,000 in 1939. Because of the public uproar, the California Legislature passed "The Child Actors Bill", also known as the "Coogan Act", which would set up a trust fund for any child actor and protect his earnings. In 1937, Jackie would marry Betty Grable and the marriage would last three years. During World War II, he would serve in the Army and return to Hollywood after the war. Unable to restart his career, he worked in 'B' movies, mostly in bit parts and usually playing the heavy. It was in the 50's that he started appearing on Television and he would act as many shows as he could. By the sixties, he would be in two completely different Television Series, but both were comedies. The first one was "McKeever & the Colonel" where he played Sgt. Barnes in a military school from 1962-63. The second series was the classic "The Addams Family" where he played Uncle Fester opposite Gomez and Morticia from 1964-66. After that, he would continue making appearances on a number of television shows and a handful of movies. - Author: Tony Fontana
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Wycherly, Margaret

Margaret Wycherly was born in London, England on October 26, 1881. She predominately a stage actress and still did stage work even after she had performed in films. Her first film came late in life when she appeared in THE FIGHT in 1915. She was 34 years old. Not until 1929, did audiences get a glimpse of Margaret in THE THIRTEENTH CHAIR. Playing largely character roles didn't seem to bother Margaret. One of the finest performances she ever turned in was as Gary Cooper's mother in SERGEANT YORK in 1941. Later she turned in stellar performances in THE YEARLING (1946) and FOREVER AMBER (1947). She did appear in the new medium of television in 1948 with the "The Philco Television Playhouse". After a small role in THE PRESIDENT'S LADY in 1953, Margaret retired at the age of 72. Three years later on June 6, 1956, Margaret died. She was 75. This British born actress is best remembered as the mother in her best two film roles, 'Sgt. York' opposite Gary Grant and 'White Heat' opposite James Cagney who closes out the film screaming "Made it, Ma! Top of the world!" as he goes to a fiery death. Born in 1898 Margaret spent her early acting days on the stage touring across England, and later working with stock theatre companies in the US, before making the move to Broadway. There she starred in two memorable plays, 'Tobacco Road' a successful commercial play, and 'The Thirteenth Chair' which proved to be a critical success. Her performances caught the attention of the studios and she wound up reprising her role in the 'Thirteenth Chair' in the 1929 film adaptation opposite Bela Lugosi.She would return to the stage, but go Hollywood starting in 1934 with the film 'Midnight', and appear in 17 move films, the most notable being 'Sgt. York' for which she earned an Academy nomination for best Supporting Actress. - Author: Denny Jackson Keith Burnage webmaster@sgt-york.co,
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