Figure 1.--Silent films could easily be made into versions that could be sold in foreign countries. This was a French poster advertising Jackie Coogan and Cgharlie Chaplain in "The Kid". |
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Jackie Coogan was a regular attraction at age 4 in an Annette Kellerman revue. Annette Kellerman was quite a sensation in early 20th century America. She was a long distance swimmer that became notorious because of her scandalous 1907 arrest for indecent exposure. Film star and producer Charlie Chaplin noticed Jacki at the Annette Kellerman revue in Los Angeles. He was very impressed with Jacki. He used Jackie in the two
reeler "A Days Pleasure" (1919) to get him used to the camera and movie making. Chaplin then made Javki the co-star of his first feature length film, "The Kid" (1921). Looking back, Chaplin wrote, "What attracted me to the boy was a whimsical, wistful quality, a genuineness of feeling. Jackie later wrote, "Chaplin created a whole picture around me and became the best playmate any kid could have. When we weren't shooting the film we were having fun playing hide-and-seek, hopscotch, or sometimes baseball." The bright eyed little ragamuffin in a tattered cap and oversized trousers won the hearts of movie audiences from the start. His career as an international child star was phenomenal from the start and his every move was reported in the world press. Amazingly, Jackie remained a very unaffected child. Even the most cynical reporters had to admit he was unspoiled and honest. At the time there were no restrictions on how children were handled. One director reportedly threatened to shoot his dog to get him to cry. His popularity waned as he grew up. The turning point was probably symbolized in a news making hair-cutting ceremony at 12, when the famous rumpled bob was shorn to the clicking of cameras.
Jackie Coogan was a regular attraction at age 4 in an Annette Kellerman revue. Annette Kellerman was quite a sensation in early 20th century America. She was a long distance swimmer that became notorious because of her scandalous 1907 arrest for indecent exposure. She was trying to popularize wearing a one-piece swimsuit with tights instead of the standard bloomers. She certainly raised many eyebrows at the time. Eventually her swimwear became accepted and even used at Miss America contests. Besides selling swimwear, Ms. Kellerman put together entertaiment troops. The Annette Kellerman Diving Girls, for example, consisted of six girls and four boys. I am not sure just what the Annette Kellerman revue comsisted of which Jackie was a member.
Film star and producer Charlie Chaplin noticed Jackie at the Annette Kellerman revue in Los Angeles. He was very impressed with Jackie. We are not sure just what he saw, but he was clearly dead on. At the time, Chaplin and friend Mary Picford were among the hottest properties in Hollywood. He used Jackie in the two reeler "A Days Pleasure" (1919) to get him used to the camera and movie making. It is at this time that Chaplin, Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks formed United Arists to give them more control over their movie making. One of the first results was 'The Kid' with Jackie. The two would produce a box office blockbuster, arguably Chaplin's greatest film..
Chaplin then made Javki the co-star of his first feature length film, The Kid (1921). Looking back, Chaplin wrote, "What attracted me to the boy was a whimsical, wistful quality, a genuineness of feeling. Jackie later wrote, "Chaplin created a whole picture around me and became the best playmate any kid could have. When we weren't shooting the film we were having fun playing hide-and-seek, hopscotch, or sometimes baseball."
The bright eyed little ragamuffin in a tattered cap and oversized trousers won the hearts of movie audiences from the start. His career as an international child star was phenomenal from the start and his every move was reported in the world press. He was nicely dressed by his parents. I saw one still of him at 6 in a great sailor suit. He was a natural with his trade-mark bangs for Nello in the movie "A Boy of Flanders" (1924). He also dressed as a little Dutch girl. One reviewer thought that he was beginning to lose his naturalness and adopt stagey mannerisms. ["The new ...."] He was received by such diverse institutions as the League of Nations and the Pope.
Some time in the 1920s, I'd say about 1925 he had an audience with the Pope. He was outfitted in the most ridiculous sissy suit with short pants and still wore long curls. (Notable as he was quite bald as an adult.) Jackie's salary was among Hollywood's highest: he received a $0.5 million bonus just for switching from First National to Metro, with a contract calling for wages of $1 million plus a percentage of the profits in 2 years. His parents gave him a $6.25 weekly allowance.
Amazingly, Jackie remained a very unaffected child. Even the most cynical reporters had to admit he was unspoiled and honest. At the time there were no restrictions on how children were handled. One director reportedly threatened to shoot his dog to get him to cry.
His popularity waned as he grew up. The turning point was probably symbolized in a news making hair-cutting ceremony at 12, when the famous rumpled bob was shorn to the clicking of cameras, and MGM promptly seized the opportunity to produce "Johnny Get Your Hair Cut" (1927), which showed Jackie before and after the big event. It was to be his last role as a child star which is a little strange as he still looked rather boyish. He made no movies in either 1928 or 1929. He made a brief screen comeback in "Tom Sawyer" (1930), his first talkie, and in
"Huckleberry Finn" (1931) in which he still looked boyish even though he was 16 and 17 years old respectively.
"The new picture," Time (April 21, 1924).
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