Jackie Coogan

Actor

Born October 26, 1914 in Los Angeles, California, USA

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.

Filmography

The Real Charlie Chaplin

Self (archive footage)

Jackie Coogan: The First Child Star

Self (archive footage)

Chaplin Today: The Kid

Self (archive footage)

Lon Chaney: A Thousand Faces

Self (archive footage)

The Addams Family Album

Uncle Fester (archive footage)

Hollywood Scandals and Tragedies

(archive footage) (uncredited)

The Prey

Lester Tile

Unknown Chaplin

Self

The Escape Artist

Magic Shop Owner

Hollywood’s Children

Self

Dr. Heckyl and Mr. Hype

Sgt. Fleacollar

The Kids Who Knew Too Much

Mr. Klein

Hollywood

Self

Human Experiments

Sheriff Tibbs

When the West Was Fun: A Western Reunion

Self

Flying High

Halloween with the New Addams Family

Uncle Fester

Sherlock Holmes in New York

Haymarket Hotel Proprietor

Won Ton Ton: The Dog Who Saved Hollywood

Stagehand 1

The Manchu Eagle Murder Caper Mystery

Detective Chief Anderson

Lucy Gets Lucky

Gus Mitchell

The Specialists

Roger

Movin' On

The Phantom of Hollywood

Jonathan

The Addams Family

Uncle Fester (voice)

Cahill: United States Marshal

Charlie Smith

Police Story

Barnaby Jones

Phil Rooney

Cool Million

Merrill Cossack

Scooby-Doo Meets The Addams Family

Uncle Fester (Voice)

The Brian Keith Show

The New Scooby-Doo Movies

Uncle Fester (voice)

Emergency!

McMillan & Wife

The Jimmy Stewart Show

Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law

Zigler

The New Andy Griffith Show

Alias Smith and Jones

The Partridge Family

Max Pepper

Love, American Style

Uncle Harold

The Brady Bunch

Marcus Welby, M.D.

Vince Darrell

Marlowe

Grant W. Hicks

Here's Lucy

Kermit Bosworth

Adam-12

Harry Rustin

Hawaii Five-O

Horace Sibley

The Name of the Game

Connie Hart

The Outsider

Rusty

The Shakiest Gun in the West

Matthew Basch

Rogue's Gallery

Funeral Director

Ironside

Clown Alley

Clown

Family Affair

A Fine Madness

Mr. Fitzgerald

I Dream of Jeannie

Suleiman

The Wild Wild West

Mayor Cecil Pudney

Girl Happy

Sgt. Benson

John Goldfarb, Please Come Home!

Father Ryan

The Addams Family

Uncle Fester

Burke's Law

Bert Crowley

The Lucy Show

Lieutenant Ruggles

The Virginian

Bodey

When the Girls Take Over

Captain Toussaint

The Dick Powell Show

Shopkeeper

The Legend of Rudolph Valentino

Self (archive footage)

The Andy Griffith Show

George Stevens

Outlaws

Sex Kittens Go to College

Wildcat MacPherson

Mr. Lucky

Joe Azevedo

Hawaiian Eye

Mack Stanley

Lock-Up

The Big Operator

Ed Brannell

The Beat Generation

Jake Baron

Lonelyhearts

Ned Gates

Night of the Quarter Moon

Desk Sergeant Bragan

77 Sunset Strip

Baldy Mike Hannigan (uncredited)

No Place to Land

Swede

Peter Gunn

The Space Children

Hank Johnson

High School Confidential!

Mr. A

Shirley Temple's Storybook

Marshal Rogers

Eighteen and Anxious

Harold 'Eager' Beaver

The Joker is Wild

Swifty Morgan

Perry Mason

Elwood P. 'Gunner' Grimes

The Buster Keaton Story

Elmer Case

Where's Charley?

Coach Sanderford

The Star Wagon

Hanus Wicks

The Proud Ones

Man on Make (uncredited)

Matinee Theater

Alfred Hitchcock Presents

George Bay

Gunsmoke

Marshal Stoudenaire

Escape from Terror

Agent Petrov

The Wonderful World of Disney

Mr. Klein

The Actress

Inopportune (uncredited)

Letter to Loretta

Woody Woods

Mesa of Lost Women

Dr Aranya

General Electric Theater

Marshal Stubb Snider

Cowboy G-Men

Outlaw Women

Piute Bill

The Red Skelton Show

Police Officer Hennesey

Varieties on Parade

Himself

Skipalong Rosenbloom

Buck Lovelace

Studio One

Jeffers

French Leave

Pappy Reagan

Kilroy Was Here

Pappy Collins

Screen Snapshots (Series 22, No. 10)

Self (archive footage)

Sky Patrol

Carter Meade

Million Dollar Legs

Russ Simpson

College Swing

Jackie

Love in September

Jackie

Sunkist Stars at Palm Springs

Self

Home on the Range

Jack Hatfield

Huckleberry Finn

Tom Sawyer

Estrellados

Self (Guest Appearance at Premiere)

Free and Easy

Jackie Coogan - at Premiere (uncredited)

The Circus: Premiere

Self

Buttons

Character Studies

Self (uncredited)

The Bugle Call

Billy Randolph

Johnny Get Your Hair Cut

Johnny O'Day

Old Clothes

Timothy Kelly

The Rag Man

Tim Kelly

Little Robinson Crusoe

Mickey Hogan

A Boy of Flanders

Nello

Meet Jackie Coogan

Himself

Long Live the King

Crown Prince Ferdinand William Otto

Circus Days

Toby Tyler

Daddy

Jackie Savelli / Jackie Holden

Oliver Twist

Seeing Stars

Self

Trouble

Danny, the Kid

Nice and Friendly

Boy

My Boy

Jackie Blair

Peck's Bad Boy

Henry Peck

The Kid

A Day's Pleasure

Smallest Boy (uncredited)

Skinner's Baby

The Baby (uncredited)