Hollywood Child Stars
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Jackie Cooper was born John Cooper in Los Angeles, California, to Mabel Leonard, an Italian-American stage pianist, and John Cooper. Through his mother, he was the nephew of actress Julie Leonard, screenwriter Jack Leonard, and (by marriage) director Norman Taurog. Jackie served with the Navy in the South Pacific toward the end of World War II. Then, quietly and without publicity or fanfare, compiled one of the most distinguished peacetime military careers of anyone in his profession. In 1961, as his weekly TV series Hennesey (1959) was enhancing naval recruiting efforts, accepted a commission as a line officer in the Naval Reserve with duties in recruitment, training films, and public relations. Holder of a multi-engine pilot license, he later co-piloted jet planes for the Navy, which made him an Honorary Aviator authorized to wear wings of gold-at the time only the third so honored in naval aviation history. By 1976 he had attained the rank of captain, and was in uniform aboard the carrier USS Constellation for the Bicentennial celebration on July 4. In 1980 the Navy proposed a period of active duty at the Pentagon that would have resulted in a promotion to rear admiral, bringing him even with Air Force Reserve Brigadier General James Stewart. Fresh on the heels of a second directing Emmy, he felt his absence would impact achieving a long-held goal of directing motion pictures, and reluctantly declined. (The opportunity in films never materialized.) Holds Letters of Commendation from six secretaries of the Navy. Was honorary chairman of the U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation and a charter member of VIVA, the effort to return POW-MIAs from Vietnam. Upon retirement in 1982, he was decorated with the Legion of Merit by Navy Secretary John F. Lehman Jr.. Other than Stewart, no performer in his industry has achieved a higher uniformed rank in the U.S. military. (Glenn Ford was also a Naval Reserve captain, and director and Captain John Ford was awarded honorary flag rank upon his 1951 retirement from the Naval Reserve).- Actor
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Billie Thomas was an African-American child actor who was best-known for appearing in the "Our Gang" film series from 1934 to its end in 1944.
Born and raised in Los Angeles, Thomas auditioned for an "Our Gang" role when he was three years old. He was cast as a background player in the short films "For Pete's Sake!", "The First Round-Up", and "Washee Ironee", all from 1934.
With the short film "Mama's Little Pirate" (1935), Thomas became the third actor to portray the character "Buckwheat", who had at first been depicted as a bowed-pigtailed female character at first, portrayed by Carlena Beard (1929-1972) and Willie Mae Walton (1918-2018); Thomas was effectively cross-dressing for the role. Buckwheat eventually became a more masculine character, and was first credited as male in "The Pinch Singer" (1936). He gained an entirely-new costume for "Pay as You Exit" (1936), where he played a slave in search of a master. Thomas kept this new look--overalls, striped shirt, oversized shoes, and a large, unkempt Afro--for the duration of playing this role, until 1944.
Thomas performed in "Our Gang" for 10 years. During this time, he was only absent for a single film, "Feed 'em and Weep" (1938), because he was ill. His character was paired with that of Eugene "Porky" Lee: they were "the little kids" who outsmarted "the big kids": George "Spanky" McFarland and Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer.
As a young child, Thomas had a speech impediment; this was transferred to his character and used as a comic device. Both Buckwheat and Porky spoke in "garbled dialogue" and pronounced "OK" as "O-tay!"
The series' original short films were produced by Hal Roach Studios, but production was taken over by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1938. From 1938 to 1944, MGM produced 52 "Our Gang" short films and Thomas was the only cast member to appear in all of them. He was the only holdover from the Hal Roach era to remain in the series until its end.
Thomas' team-up with Eugene Lee ended when Lee was replaced by new cast member Robert Blake. By 1940 Thomas had outgrown his speech impediment, and Buckwheat started speaking clearly as well. The series' final film was "Dancing Romeo" (1944), and Thomas was 12 years old during its production.
While Buckwheat became synonymous with the "pickaninny" stereotype of African-American children, Thomas himself was well-liked for being depicted as a playmate and equal to the white children of the series. "Our Gang" featured a desegregated cast during the Jim Crow Era.
Thomas largely retired from acting following the 1940s. He served in the United States Army from 1954 to 1956 and received both a National Defense Service Medal and a Good Conduct Medal. Following his discharge, Thomas was offered new acting roles but he rejected them. He viewed an acting career as "a rat race ... with no security". Instead, he chose a more modest career as a film lab technician for the Technicolor corporation.
In the summer of 1980, surviving "Our Gang" cast members appeared in the second annual meeting of the fraternal organization the Sons of the Desert (named after a Laurel and Hardy film). Thomas received a spontaneous standing ovation by 500 fans, and cried in response. On October 10, 1980, he suffered a heart attack and died. He was 49 years old.
Thomas was survived by his son William Thomas Jr. In 1992, the younger Thomas created the Buckwheat Memorial Scholarship for students of California State Northridge University. The scholarship was named in honor of his father and his best-known role.- Actress
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Mary Ann Jackson was born on January 14, 1923. She was one of the earliest child stars of the twenties and thirties. Although she was better known as one of the child performers from the famed "Our Gang" comedies that are still popular today, Mary Ann began her film career at the age of four in 1927's "Smith's Pony." Although she didn't make any full length motion pictures during 1928, Mary Ann more than made up for it the following year when she appeared in six major pictures such as "Bouncing Babies" and "Lazy Days." After eight films in 1930 and six in 1931, Mary Ann left the film world after "Little Daddy" at the age of eight.- Actor
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Actor, songwriter ("What Every Girl Should Know"), author and publisher, David Holt was educated at Long's Professional School and the Westlake College of Music in Hollywood. He was a child actor on the stage and in early films, and composed special material. Later he became the general manager and co-owner of a music-publishing company. Joining ASCAP in 1952, his chief musical collaborators included Johnny Mercer, Robert Wells, Sammy Cahn, Paul Francis Webster and Dok Stanford. His other popular-song compositions include "Anyone Can Fall in Love".- Actor
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Matthew 'Stymie' Beard was born on 1 January 1925 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He was an actor, known for Dogs Is Dogs (1931), Love Business (1931) and Free Wheeling (1932). He was married to Annie. He died on 8 January 1981 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Actor
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Jimmy Butler was born on 20 February 1921 in Akron, Ohio, USA. He was an actor, known for The Awakening of Jim Burke (1935), No Greater Glory (1934) and Battle of Greed (1937). He was married to Jean Fahrney. He died on 18 February 1945 in Théding, Moselle, France.- Actress
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One of the brightest, most tragic movie stars of Hollywood's Golden Era, Judy Garland was a much-loved character whose warmth and spirit, along with her rich and exuberant voice, kept theatre-goers entertained with an array of delightful musicals.
She was born Frances Ethel Gumm on 10 June 1922 in Minnesota, the youngest daughter of vaudevillians Ethel Marian (Milne) and Francis Avent "Frank" Gumm. She was of English, along with some Scottish and Irish, descent. Her mother, an ambitious woman gifted in playing various musical instruments, saw the potential in her daughter at the tender age of just 2 years old when Baby Frances repeatedly sang "Jingle Bells" until she was dragged from the stage kicking and screaming during one of their Christmas shows and immediately drafted her into a dance act, entitled "The Gumm Sisters," along with her older sisters Mary Jane Gumm and Virginia Gumm. However, knowing that her youngest daughter would eventually become the biggest star, Ethel soon took Frances out of the act and together they traveled across America where she would perform in nightclubs, cabarets, hotels and theaters solo.
Her family life was not a happy one, largely because of her mother's drive for her to succeed as a performer and also her father's closeted homosexuality. The Gumm family would regularly be forced to leave town owing to her father's illicit affairs with other men, and from time to time they would be reduced to living out of their automobile. However, in September 1935 the Gumms', in particular Ethel's, prayers were answered when Frances was signed by Louis B. Mayer, mogul of leading film studio MGM, after hearing her sing. It was then that her name was changed from Frances Gumm to Judy Garland, after a popular '30s song "Judy" and film critic Robert Garland.
Tragedy soon followed, however, in the form of her father's death of meningitis in November 1935. Having been given no assignments with the exception of singing on radio, Judy faced the threat of losing her job following the arrival of Deanna Durbin. Knowing that they couldn't keep both of the teenage singers, MGM devised a short entitled Every Sunday (1936) which would be the girls' screen test. However, despite being the outright winner and being kept on by MGM, Judy's career did not officially kick off until she sang one of her most famous songs, "You Made Me Love You," at Clark Gable's birthday party in February 1937, during which Louis B. Mayer finally paid attention to the talented songstress.
Prior to this her film debut in Pigskin Parade (1936), in which she played a teenage hillbilly, had left her career hanging in the balance. However, following her rendition of "You Made Me Love You," MGM set to work preparing various musicals with which to keep Judy busy. All this had its toll on the young teenager, and she was given numerous pills by the studio doctors in order to combat her tiredness on set. Another problem was her weight fluctuation, but she was soon given amphetamines in order to give her the desired streamlined figure. This soon produced the downward spiral that resulted in her lifelong drug addiction.
In 1939, Judy shot immediately to stardom with The Wizard of Oz (1939), in which she portrayed Dorothy, an orphaned girl living on a farm in the dry plains of Kansas who gets whisked off into the magical world of Oz on the other end of the rainbow. Her poignant performance and sweet delivery of her signature song, 'Over The Rainbow,' earned Judy a special juvenile Oscar statuette on 29 February 1940 for Best Performance by a Juvenile Actor. Now growing up, Judy began to yearn for meatier adult roles instead of the virginal characters she had been playing since she was 14. She was now taking an interest in men, and after starring in her final juvenile performance in Ziegfeld Girl (1941) alongside glamorous beauties Lana Turner and Hedy Lamarr, Judy got engaged to bandleader David Rose in May 1941, just two months after his divorce from Martha Raye. Despite planning a big wedding, the couple eloped to Las Vegas and married during the early hours of the morning on July 28, 1941 with just her mother Ethel and her stepfather Will Gilmore present. However, their marriage went downhill as, after discovering that she was pregnant in November 1942, David and MGM persuaded her to abort the baby in order to keep her good-girl image up. She did so and, as a result, was haunted for the rest of her life by her 'inhumane actions.' The couple separated in January 1943.
By this time, Judy had starred in her first adult role as a vaudevillian during WWI in For Me and My Gal (1942). Within weeks of separation, Judy was soon having an affair with actor Tyrone Power, who was married to French actress Annabella. Their affair ended in May 1943, which was when her affair with producer Joseph L. Mankiewicz kicked off. He introduced her to psychoanalysis and she soon began to make decisions about her career on her own instead of being influenced by her domineering mother and MGM. Their affair ended in November 1943, and soon afterward Judy reluctantly began filming Meet Me in St. Louis (1944), which proved to be a big success. The director Vincente Minnelli highlighted Judy's beauty for the first time on screen, having made the period musical in color, her first color film since The Wizard of Oz (1939). He showed off her large brandy-brown eyes and her full, thick lips and after filming ended in April 1944, a love affair resulted between director and actress and they were soon living together.
Vincente began to mold Judy and her career, making her more beautiful and more popular with audiences worldwide. He directed her in The Clock (1945), and it was during the filming of this movie that the couple announced their engagement on set on January 9, 1945. Judy's divorce from David Rose had been finalized on June 8, 1944 after almost three years of marriage, and despite her brief fling with Orson Welles, who at the time was married to screen sex goddess Rita Hayworth, on June 15, 1945 Judy made Vincente her second husband, tying the knot with him that afternoon at her mother's home with her boss Louis B. Mayer giving her away and her best friend Betty Asher serving as bridesmaid. They spent three months on honeymoon in New York and afterwards Judy discovered that she was pregnant.
On March 12, 1946 in Los Angeles, California, Judy gave birth to their daughter, Liza Minnelli, via cesarean section. It was a joyous time for the couple, but Judy was out of commission for weeks due to the cesarean and her postnatal depression, so she spent much of her time recuperating in bed. She soon returned to work, but married life was never the same for Vincente and Judy after they filmed The Pirate (1948) together in 1947. Judy's mental health was fast deteriorating and she began hallucinating things and making false accusations toward people, especially her husband, making the filming a nightmare. She also began an affair with aspiring Russian actor Yul Brynner, but after the affair ended, Judy soon regained health and tried to salvage her failing marriage. She then teamed up with dancing legend Fred Astaire for the delightful musical Easter Parade (1948), which resulted in a successful comeback despite having Vincente fired from directing the musical. Afterwards, Judy's health deteriorated and she began the first of several suicide attempts. In May 1949, she was checked into a rehabilitation center, which caused her much distress.
She soon regained strength and was visited frequently by her lover Frank Sinatra, but never saw much of Vincente or Liza. On returning, Judy made In the Good Old Summertime (1949), which was also Liza's film debut, albeit via an uncredited cameo. She had already been suspended by MGM for her lack of cooperation on the set of The Barkleys of Broadway (1949), which also resulted in her getting replaced by Ginger Rogers. After being replaced by Betty Hutton on Annie Get Your Gun (1950), Judy was suspended yet again before making her final film for MGM, entitled Summer Stock (1950). At 28, Judy received her third suspension and was fired by MGM, and her second marriage was soon dissolved.
Having taken up with Sidney Luft, Judy traveled to London to star at the legendary Palladium. She was an instant success and after her divorce from Vincente Minnelli was finalized on March 29, 1951 after almost six years of marriage, Judy traveled with Sid to New York to make an appearance on Broadway. With her newfound fame on stage, Judy was stopped in her tracks in February 1952 when she became pregnant by her new lover, Sid. At the age of 30, she made him her third husband on June 8, 1952; the wedding was held at a friend's ranch in Pasadena. Her relationship with her mother had long since been dissolved by this point, and after the birth of her second daughter, Lorna Luft, on November 21, 1952, she refused to allow her mother to see her granddaughter. Ethel then died in January 1953 of a heart attack, leaving Judy devastated and feeling guilty about not reconciling with her mother before her untimely demise.
After the funeral, Judy signed a film contract with Warner Bros. to star in the musical remake of A Star Is Born (1937), which had starred Janet Gaynor, who had won the first-ever Academy Award for Best Actress in 1929. Filming soon began, resulting in an affair between Judy and her leading man, British star James Mason. She also picked up on her affair with Frank Sinatra, and after filming was complete Judy was yet again lauded as a great film star. She won a Golden Globe for her brilliant and truly outstanding performance as Esther Blodgett, nightclub singer turned movie star, but when it came to the Academy Awards, a distraught Judy lost out on the Best Actress Oscar to Grace Kelly for her portrayal of the wife of an alcoholic star in The Country Girl (1954). Many still argue that Judy should have won the Oscar over Grace Kelly. Continuing her work on stage, Judy gave birth to her beloved son, Joey Luft, on March 29, 1955. She soon began to lose her millions of dollars as a result of her husband's strong gambling addiction, and with hundreds of debts to pay, Judy and Sid began a volatile, on-off relationship resulting in numerous divorce filings.
In 1961, at the age of 39, Judy returned to her ailing film career, this time to star in Judgment at Nuremberg (1961), for which she received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress, but this time she lost out to Rita Moreno for her performance in West Side Story (1961). Her battles with alcoholism and drugs led to Judy's making numerous headlines in newspapers, but she soldiered on, forming a close friendship with President John F. Kennedy. In 1963, Judy and Sid finally separated permanently, and on May 19, 1965 their divorce was finalized after almost 13 years of marriage. By this time, Judy, now 41, had made her final performance on film alongside Dirk Bogarde in I Could Go on Singing (1963). She married her fourth husband, Mark Herron, on November 14, 1965 in Las Vegas, but they separated in April 1966 after five months of marriage owing to his homosexuality. It was also that year that she began an affair with young journalist Tom Green. She then settled down in London after their affair ended, and she began dating disk jockey Mickey Deans in December 1968. They became engaged once her divorce from Mark Herron was finalized on January 9, 1969 after three years of marriage. She married Mickey, her fifth and final husband, in a register office in Chelsea, London, England on March 15, 1969.
She continued working on stage, appearing several times with her daughter Liza. It was during a concert in Chelsea, London, England that Judy stumbled into her bathroom late one night and died of an overdose of barbiturates, the drug that had dominated her much of her life, on June 22, 1969 at the age of 47. Her daughter Liza Minnelli paid for her funeral, and her former lover James Mason delivered her touching eulogy. She is still an icon to this day with her famous performances in The Wizard of Oz (1939), Meet Me in St. Louis (1944), Easter Parade (1948), and A Star Is Born (1954).- Actor
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American actor who achieved some success as a child and as a young adult, especially in B-Westerns and in television. The son of a Texas newspaper editor. Jones was a accomplished horseman from infancy. At the age of four he was billed as the World's Youngest Trick Rider and Roper. At the age of six, he was hired to perform riding and lariat tricks in the rodeo owned by western star Hoot Gibson. Gibson convinced young Jones and his parents that there was a place for him in Hollywood, and the boy and his mother went west. Gibson arranged for some small parts for the boy. His good looks, energy, and pleasant voice quickly landed him more and bigger parts. In both low-budget Westerns and in more substantial productions. In 1940 he had one of his most prominent roles, as the voice of Pinocchio (1940) in Walt Disney's animated film of the same name. Jones attended Hollywood High School and at 15, took over the role of Henry Aldrich on the hit radio show "The Aldrich Family." He learned carpentry and augmented his income with jobs in that field. He served in the Army in Alaska during the final months of World War II. Gene Autry, who had cast Jones in several Westerns before the war, now put him back to work in films. And later in television, on programs produced by Autry's company. Now billed as Dick Jones the handsome young man starred as Dick West. Where he was sidekick to the Western hero known as The Range Rider (1951), in a TV series that ran for 76 episodes in 1951 (and for decades in syndication). Then Autry gave Jones his own series Buffalo Bill, Jr. (1955)', which ran for 40 episodes. Jones continued working in films throughout the 50's and into the 60's. In 1966 he retired and entered the business world.- Actress
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Having toured the world with husband, Kajar the Magician's Show 'Magicadabr', Jean Darling settled in Dublin and became an author of dozens of short mysteries for Ellery Queen, Alfred Hitchcock, Mike Shayne Mystery Magazines and Horror Fantasy for Whispers Magazine, etc. In 1980 she became Aunty Poppy (named for her home State flower) writing and telling over 450 children's story on both RTE radio and TV. Jean has also written several radio plays broadcast on RTE.- Charlene Wyatt was born on 13 July 1930 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA. She was an actress, known for Under the Big Top (1938), Untamed (1940) and Valiant Is the Word for Carrie (1936). She died on 27 May 1969 in Visalia, Tulare County, California, USA.
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Juanita Quigley was born on June 24, 1931 in Los Angeles. At age 3, she began appearing in films in small roles as an extra child; these parts were often uncredited, but when Quigley did receive credit, it was under the name "Baby Jane." Her career changed when she played Baby Jessie Pullman in Imitation of Life (1934). The role made her famous, and in her very next film, The Man Who Reclaimed His Head (1934), she was given a large part and received fourth billing (still credited as "Baby Jane"). Over the next several years she had starring roles in many popular films. Around 1935, she dropped the pseudonym "Baby Jane" and began being credited by her real name. By 1938, she was one of the most famous child stars in Hollywood. But Quigley's career slowed down in the early 1940s; she was given smaller roles and appeared only as an extra in The Blue Bird (1940), Bachelor Daddy (1941), and Paper Bullets (1941). In 1943, she acted alongside her older sister, Rita Quigley, in Whispering Footsteps (1943). She made her last notable performances in 1944, in The Lady and the Monster (1944) and the classic film National Velvet (1944), in which she played the sister of Elizabeth Taylor and Angela Lansbury. Quigley left Hollywood in 1951. As an adult, she became a nun in the order of the Daughters of Mary and Joseph, but after several years in her convent, she decided that she had made a mistake, left the vocation, and married. In 1983, Quigley made her last film appearance as an uncredited extra in Porky's II: The Next Day (1983).- Actress
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The girl who one day would be known as "Winnipeg's Sweetheart" was born at Grace Hospital on December 4, 1921, as Edna Mae Durbin. In her early childhood there were no obvious signs that one day she would be a bigger box office attraction than Shirley Temple. Renamed Deanna Durbin for show business purposes, by age 21 she was the most highly paid female star in the world. Her major motion pictures were Three Smart Girls (1936), Mad About Music (1938) and That Certain Age (1938). By the time she was 18 her income was $250,000 a year. Her voice was often described as "natural and beautiful" and her version of "One Fine Day" from Madame Butterfly, became a classic. Deanna was a Hollywood star in every way. There were Deanna Durbin dolls and dresses. An engineering firm named its so-called dream home in her honor. Her first screen kiss was described in a headline story across the continent. What makes Deanna Durbin's story different is that she was never comfortable with adulation. When she was at the top of her career as Hollywood's leading actress and singer, she turned her back on that world for a life of seclusion. Her first two marriages had failed, and before she married her third husband, director Charles David, she set one condition: he had to promise that she could have what she yearned for - "the life of nobody". Her seclusion is incomplete. She lives in the French village of Neauphlé-le-Château, and for over 35 years has resisted every approach from film companies. Her husband has told journalists that "Mario Lanza pleaded with her for years to make a film with him. But she will never go back to that life." She granted only one interview since 1949 to film historian David Shipman in 1983.- Actress
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Janet Chapman was born on 18 April 1932 in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA. She was an actress, known for On Trial (1939), Heart of the North (1938) and Presenting Lily Mars (1943). She died on 13 June 2011 in Hemet, California, USA.- Actress
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Darla Hood was born in the small town of Leedey, Oklahoma on November 8, 1931. Hood began her association with "Our Gang" at the tender age of 2 1/2, as she stated on the The Jack Benny Program (1950). Her father, James Claude Hood Jr., a banker, and especially her mother, Elizabeth Davner Hood, prodded their daughter's musical talents with singing and dancing lessons in Oklahoma City. She made an unscheduled, impromptu singing debut at Edison Hotel in Times Square when the band-leader invited her onto the stage, and the crowd roared in appreciation. By sheerest coincidence, Joe Rivkin, (an agent of Hal Roach) spotted the four year old scene stealer, screen tested her & signed her to a long-term (7 year) contract at $75 weekly.
Darla went on to perform as the leading "Rascals" actress in 51 of the popular short films plus a television movie. She recalled finding her off-camera time on set as lonely as the boys tended to group together and play such "boys" games as baseball and football. At the beginning of her association with the "Little Rascals", she appeared opposite Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy in one of their handful of feature films, The Bohemian Girl (1936). Darla Hood's tenure as most popular "Little Rascals" actress, began in 1935's Our Gang Follies of 1936 (1935) and her finale, Wedding Worries (1941). Then, almost 40 years later, during the last four months of her life, she voiced her "Little Rascals" character with the animated off-screen special, The Little Rascals' Christmas Special (1979). She did not live to see it televised.
While very few of the "Our Gang" shorts were made during World War II due to the scarcity of film (a majority of them were saved for feature-length wartime propaganda films), by the time the series was to be finally revived in 1945, she had already outgrown her role. She had some trouble dealing with the inevitable transition into a teen actor and her career faltered badly. She graduated with honors from Fairfax High School (Hollywood). She found some work with Ken Murray's popular "Blackbirds" variety show on the Los Angeles stage as well as some behind-the-scenes work in the post-war years.
With her first husband, Robert W. Decker (whom she married when she was 17 years old), she formed the vocal group "Darla Hood and the Enchanters", which provided incidental background music for such classic films as A Letter to Three Wives (1949). She also made appearances in nightclubs and on television variety shows, The Ken Murray Show (1950), The Paul Whiteman's Goodyear Revue (1949), and she was also performed & or sang songs, on a few Merv Griffin's radio programs. Another successful outlet for her was in the field of voice-over work in cartoons and commercials "Chicken of the Sea" was her longest lasting commercial tenure, as the mermaid. She also did some "Campbell's Soup" commercials, at the same time, but fewer. In time, she became a well-oiled impressionist and trick voice artist.
In June of 1957, at the age of 25, she divorced her first husband after eight years of marriage and by whom she had her first two children (one son, Brett, and one daughter, Darla Jo). She promptly married her former manager, Jose Granson, a musical publisher. She and Granson had three children together. Hood remained small in show business until her untimely end, which came on Wednesday, June 13, 1979, when she died of congestive heart failure. She had recently had an appendectomy at Canoga Park Hospital, during which she received a blood transfusion. The transfusion caused her to contract acute hepatitis, which led to her heart failure. She passed away at a Hollywood hospital. Following her funeral, she was buried at Hollywood Memorial Park Cemetery, later renamed Hollywood Forever.- Actress
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Mitzi Green, also known as Mitze Green, was born Elizabeth Keno in The Bronx on October 22, 1920. At age 3, she began appearing in her parents' vaudeville act. In the early 1930s, she starred in several popular films with Paramount Pictures, including Tom Sawyer (1930) and Huckleberry Finn (1931). She became known as "Little Mitzi," and she was the first child star to sign for a multi-picture contract with Paramount. Green had a natural talent for comedy and mimicry, and audiences were impressed by her uncanny imitations of Greta Garbo and George Arliss. She was also a gifted singer, performing two songs in Girl Crazy (1932). But her career as "Little Mitzi" would not last. Green matured quickly, and at age 14 she was cast in an adult role in Transatlantic Merry-Go-Round (1934), which marked the end of her career as a child star. Green left Hollywood and spent the next several years performing on Broadway and in night clubs. She starred in the original Broadway production of Rogers' and Hart's Babes in Arms, where she introduced the classic song "My Funny Valentine." During this time she appeared in only one film, Santa Fe Trail (1940), in which she had a bit part. Green's career as an adult star in Hollywood began in 1952, when she re-emerged on screen in Lost in Alaska (1952), opposite Abbott and Costello. She also appeared in Bloodhounds of Broadway (1952) and the sitcom So This Is Hollywood (1955), in which she played a perceptive stunt woman. After many years of retirement, Green died of cancer on May 24, 1969, in Huntington Beach, California. She was 48. She is buried in Eden Memorial Park Cemetery in Mission Hills, California.- Billy Halop's show business career started on radio in the 1920s and carried over to stage work on Broadway. There, in 1937, he and other teenage cast members of the stage hit "Dead End" were brought to Hollywood by Samuel Goldwyn for the film version of the play, which was a tremendous hit. Halop and some of the other teenage cast members went on to do a series of films at Universal as the Dead End Kids/Little Tough Guys while some of the others worked at Monogram in a series as the East Side Kids. Halop left the group in the early 1940s to seek a career on his own, but could only land parts in B pictures. His career was also hampered by a long string of marital and financial problems and a lifelong struggle against alcoholism. Toward the end of his career, he had a recurring role as Munson, the owner of the cab company where Archie Bunker worked part time, in All in the Family (1971). His last years were spent making a living as a male nurse.
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They didn't come packaged any sweeter or lovelier than Anne Shirley, a gentle and gracious 1930s teen film actress who didn't quite reach the zenith of front-rank stardom and retired all too soon at age 26. On film as a toddler, she went through a small revolving door of marquee names before legally settling (at age 16) on the name Anne Shirley, the name of her schoolgirl heroine in Anne's most famous film of all -- Anne of Green Gables (1934).
Manhattan-born Anne was christened Dawn Evelyeen Paris on April 17, 1918. Her father died while she was still a baby, and she and her widowed mother lived a very meager New York existence at first. At the age of 16 months, the child was already contributing to the household finances as a photographer's model, using sundry different monikers, including Lenn Fondre, Lindley Dawn and Dawn O'Day. With this source of monetary inspiration, her mother sought work for her daughter in films as well, and at the age of 4, Anne (billed as Dawn O'Day) made her first feature with The Hidden Woman (1922). She showed enough promise in the film Moonshine Valley (1922), as a young girl who manages to reunite her separated parents, that she and her mother made a permanent move from New York to California. Scarce work for such a young child, but Anne managed to find it with minor roles in The Rustle of Silk (1923) and The Spanish Dancer (1923) for Paramount Pictures. During her adolescence she often appeared as the leading stars' daughter in films such as Mother Knows Best (1928) with Madge Bellamy, Sins of the Fathers (1928) starring Jean Arthur and Liliom (1930) with Charles Farrell. Oftentimes she would play the female star of the film as a child, such as Janet Gaynor's in 4 Devils (1928), Frances Dee's in Rich Man's Folly (1931) and Barbara Stanwyck's in So Big! (1932).
After a rash of unbilled parts, Anne was used by Vitaphone for a series of 1930s short subjects. By her teen years she had developed before the very eyes of Hollywood into a petite and lovely young brunette. Casting agents took notice. Following roles in Rasputin and the Empress (1932) with the three Barrymores and The Life of Jimmy Dolan (1933) starring Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and Loretta Young, Anne was tested among hundreds of young aspirants and captured the role of Anne Shirley in Lucy Maud Montgomery's classic novel Anne of Green Gables (1934), imbuing the character with all the spirit and charm (not to mention talent) necessary. She officially became a teen celebrity after changing her moniker for the final time in conjunction with the release of the film.
Prominent misty-eyed ingénue leads came her way as a result of playing a swamp girl in Steamboat Round the Bend (1935) alongside Will Rogers and in M'Liss (1936) opposite John Beal, but her resume became littered with meek B-level comedies and weak dramas, such as Chasing Yesterday (1935), Too Many Wives (1937) and Meet the Missus (1937), that did little to advance her career. Finally at age 19, she found a role to match her "Green Gables" success playing Barbara Stanwyck's daughter in the classic weeper Stella Dallas (1937). The interaction between the two was magical, and both Barbara and Anne were nominated for Oscars (Anne in the supporting category) for their superb portrayals . Both lost, however, to Luise Rainer and Alice Brady, respectively.
During this time of major success, Anne met and eventually married actor John Payne in 1937. The popular Hollywood couple had one child, Julie Payne, who became an actress for a time in the 1970s. Her subsequent career was full of promise, but with every quality picture bestowed upon her, such as Vigil in the Night (1940) and The Devil and Daniel Webster (1941), came a faltering one that hurt her career, including Career (1939) and West Point Widow (1941). Especially disappointing was her long-anticipated "Green Gables" sequel Anne of Windy Poplars (1940), which received very lackluster reviews.
The still-young actress finished on top, however, opposite Dick Powell in the classic movie mystery Murder, My Sweet (1944). Divorced from John Payne in 1943 and tiring of the Hollywood rat race she had endured since a child, however, Anne decided to end her career after her second marriage, to the movie's producer Adrian Scott, in 1945. Never an ambitious actress, Anne stayed with her career as long as she did primarily to please her mother. Her three-year marriage to Scott was unable to withstand the legal troubles of her husband's 1947 blacklisting (he was one of the "Hollywood 10" imprisoned during the McCarthy era for his communist affiliations). Her 1949 marriage to screenwriter Charles Lederer, the nephew of actress Marion Davies, was her longest and most fulfilling. Their son, Daniel, was born the following year. He inherited his father's writing talent and grew up to become a poet.
Never tempted to resume her career at any time, she remained a charming and gracious socialite in the Hollywood circle. A painter on the side, she at one point entertained the thought of becoming a behind-the-scenes worker, such as a dialogue coach, but it was never pursued aggressively. Her husband's sudden death in 1976 triggered a severe emotional crisis for Anne, who turned for a time to alcohol. Recovered, she lived the rest of her life completely out of the limelight, dying in 1993 of lung cancer at age 75. Her granddaughter by daughter Julie (via her marriage to screenwriter Robert Towne) is the actress Katharine Towne, who has appeared in such films as Mulholland Drive (2001).
Not as well remembered as an actress of her award-worthy caliber should be, perhaps had Anne Shirley given Hollywood a longer tryout and added a bit more bite to her rather benign, sweetly sentimental image, her star would be brighter today. Nevertheless, her film work has unarguably brightened the silver screen.- Actor
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A fairly well-known child actor who never made it to the ranks of a Jackie Cooper or Freddie Bartholomew, Jackie Searl nevertheless gained a film following in the 1930s. A bratty counterpart to Jane Withers, the blond, freckled, clean-cut Jackie was born in Anaheim, California in 1921 and started on L.A. radio in "The Children's Hour" at the age of three. By the end of the 1920s, film beckoned and Jackie hit it big playing mean little Sid Sawyer in the early Mark Twain film classic Tom Sawyer (1930). Paramount Pictures promptly signed the youngster up and he followed this with Finn and Hattie (1931), Huckleberry Finn (1931), Skippy (1931), Topaze (1933), and as Dormouse in Alice in Wonderland (1933). Infamous at playing sissified brats, obnoxious squealers, and sandbox bullies, he was a natural scene-stealer and aptly labeled on the Paramount sets as "The Kid Everybody Wants to Spank." He continued playing secondary parts into his teens with roles in Ginger (1935), Little Lord Fauntleroy (1936), That Certain Age (1938), and Small Town Deb (1941). He joined the service in WWII and tried to resurrect his career following his discharge, but had a tough time of it. In the 1960s he played character parts, nominally as minor heavies, in such films as The Couch (1962), and Shotgun Wedding (1963) and on TV dramas. He retired in the 1970s and died in 1991.- Actress
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Virginia Susanne Gumm was born in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, as Dorothy Virginia Gumm. She was an accomplished talented performer, an actress, known for La Fiesta de Santa Barbara (1935), The Wedding of Jack and Jill (1930), and The Harvey Girls (1946). She was a member of the Gumm Sisters, along with "Baby" Frances (better known as Judy Garland) and Mary Jane Gumm. She died on May 27, 1977 in Dallas, Texas.- Robert E. Hutchins was born March 29th, 1925, in Tacoma, Washington. He was born to James Hutchins and Olga Hutchins (nee Roe). Robert was a very outgoing boy with a charming personality, because friends persuaded James and Olga to go to a Hollywood photographer and get his picture taken. The photographer was impressed by Robert's intelligence, and asked to take a few feet of film of him. The results were so good that the film ended up in the projection room at Hal Roach Studios. Hal Roach decided the boy would be a good addition to his "Our Gang" short films, and signed him to a five year contract.
On his first day at the studio, Robert didn't have an identity for his part in the movies, and he was running around so much that he began to wheeze. Such led to the coining of the "Wheezer" name, one he carried for the rest of his time in Our Gang. Robert played the perky, tag-along little brother that was always anxious to be part of the mischief that the gang was getting into. He played such a part in both the silent films and the talkies.
Jackie Cooper recalls, "You'd go to play with Wheezer, and his father would pull him away, very competitive. I didn't get a satisfactory answer from my mother or grandmother as to why, but he was to be left alone. I guess his father was trying to make him a star or something. Obviously it never happened as it did for Spanky or some of the other kids."
In trying to make Robert a star, his father malnourished him, and isolated him from the other kids when not filming. James had a plan to keep him small and employable by underfeeding him, and wanted to ensure that Bobby and his siblings never learned that normal kids got a lot more to eat than they did. Nobody ever intervened upon the children's behalf. It's made worse by the fact that his plan backfired. While Robert was incredibly photogenic, and had some fine moments on screen, he looked and acted more like the slow-witted, malnourished child he was, as he aged. Sharper boys were given the leading parts, while Robert spent the last portion of his contract as a background player.
After he left Our Gang with 1933's "Mush and Milk", his film career was essentially over -- with an appearance in Pie for Two, Yoo-Hoo, and Strange Roads outside of his Our Gang shorts -- and he did no more acting after that. His mother and father divorced, and he, his brother James, and his mother moved back to Washington. They lived in a household with their grandmother, and Olga's new husband.
Robert got a job as a gas station attendant in 1942, and enrolled as an air cadet sometime in 1943, with speculation being that he enrolled sometime in August. He was very close to completing his advanced flight training, until a very unfortunate event occurred May 17th, 1945, and he perished. He was killed in a mid-air collision while trying to land a North American AT-6D Texan, at Merced Army Air Field Base in California. The other pilot involved received only minor damage, and landed safely. - Sherwood Bailey was born on 6 August 1923 in Long Beach, California, USA. He was an actor, known for Choo-Choo! (1932), Readin' and Writin' (1932) and The Pooch (1932). He was married to Ruth. He died on 6 August 1987 in Newport Beach, California, USA.
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Billy Lee, whose real name was William Schlenaker, was born in Nelson, Indiana. As a toddler, young William lived a quiet life on his family's farm, but that all changed when he turned three years old. Billy and his parents moved to California around 1933. Billy's parents enrolled him, at age 3, in The Meglin School For Kiddies in Los Angeles. The supervisor of the school, Ethel Meglin, took a special interest in Billy Lee, noting, as his parents had, that Billy was a very bright and cooperative child, quick to learn and full of enthusiasm. Mrs. Meglin, who was Billy's personal dance instructor, got Billy Lee started in movies by age 4, only a few months after he was enrolled at the school. Billy's first role was in a "Little Rascals" short, "Mike Fright," as himself (as a tap dancer), and he gives quite an impressive example of his talent. From there it was on to Billy's first feature film, "Wagon Wheels" (1934), wherein Billy landed his first acting role, which his dance instructor, believing in his talent, had him audition for. Billy also has a solo singing part in the movie. This takes place when the primary cast, including Randolph Scott, takes turns singing lead on the movie's theme song. So it was that, at age four, young William went from being a young Indiana farm boy to Billy Lee, young Hollywood actor. In 1937, Billy Lee appeared with famous child singer Bobby Breen in Make a Wish (1937), playing Breen's best camp buddy, "Pee Wee." The two boys sang "Polly Wolly Doodle" as a duet. Billy may be best known for his starring role in the very moving 1940 movie The Biscuit Eater (1940). He continued acting throughout the 1930s, appearing in over 30 movies and working alongside some of Hollywood's finest, including Lon Chaney Jr., Roy Rogers, Charles Boyer, Randolph Scott, Olivia DeHavilland, and Broderick Crawford, to name just a few. Billy also appeared in a few short subjects. One Hal Roach short in particular cast Billy, now age 11, in the starring role of "Pinhead" in the 1941 musical comedy film Reg'lar Fellers (1941) along with Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer as "Bump." The characters in this film were based on the popular "Reg'lar Fellers" comic strip. This film not only provided Billy with a chance to play in a lead comedic role but also allowed him to show off his drumming skills during one musical number that had been recorded by "Billy Lee's Band" according to the credits. In the film, Billy is the only real musician when he is accompanied by the other kids performing as Pinhead's band. Billy also sings the closing song of the film, "Hooray For Fun." Another short in which Billy landed the lead was called War Dogs (1942) (aka "Unsung Heroes"). Billy plays the doting son of his aging, decorated military officer dad, who has turned to drink after his request to rejoin the service to help in the war effort (WW2) is turned down by the military. Billy's last film appearance came in 1943, when he was 13 (surprise, surprise) in a movie called, Eyes of the Underworld (1942) in the role of Mickey Bryan, devoted son of police chief Richard Bryan, played by Richard Dix. After this film, Billy Lee became one of the many fine young actors who, once reaching his teens, found that retiring from film making was something that was just chosen for you. Billy Lee lived until 1989; he died eight months after his 60th birthday of a sudden heart attack.- Actor
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Eugene 'Porky' Lee was born on 25 October 1933 in Fort Worth, Texas, USA. He was an actor, known for The Awful Tooth (1938), Our Gang Follies of 1938 (1937) and Canned Fishing (1938). He died on 16 October 2005 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.- Actress
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During the early times of the Depression when life was more famine than feast, child stars became the blue plate special of the day, served up by Hollywood to help nourish a nation besieged with troubles. Following 20th Century-Fox monumental success with Shirley Temple in the early 1930s, every studio was out searching for its own precocious little commodity who could pack 'em in the aisles despite the lean times. While Paramount whipped up "Little" Mitzi Green, MGM offered Jackie Cooper in the hopes of finding a similar box office jingle. Wildly talented Janie Withers fit the bill, too, and although she earned pint-sized prominence just like the others, it was also for Temple's Fox Studios. As such, Jane remained somewhat of a side course to Temple's main dish (what child star didn't?) throughout much her young "B" level reign. Nevertheless, she became a major bright star in her own right.
The freckled, dark-haired hellraiser was born in Atlanta, Georgia, on April 12, 1926. The daughter of Walter and Lavinia Ruth (Elble) Withers, her parents wasted no time in prodding little Jane quickly into the world of entertainment. Jane was a natural--performing by the time she could walk and talk. By age three, she was taking singing and dancing lessons and at age 4, was starring on her own radio program in Atlanta. A spot-on mimic, she was simply uncanny when it came to impersonating the superstars of her day (W.C. Fields, Marie Dressler, Charles Chaplin) and was a veteran pint-sized performer by the time her family moved to Los Angeles after her father was transferred by his company. Jane was enrolled in Lawlor's Professional School and was soon modeling in shows, entertaining at benefits and making the usual rounds of the studios nabbing extra work while waiting for that one big film break.
She found it at age 8 when she won the plum role of the spoiled, obnoxious, doll-ripping, bicycle-riding brat who terrorizes sweet Shirley Temple in Twentieth Century-Fox's Bright Eyes (1934). The infamy earned Jane a sweet contract at Fox and for the next seven years she did it her way as the tyke star of close to 50 "B" level films. Where Shirley was cuddly and ultra huggable, brunette-banged Jane was fun, rambunctious and full of kinetic energy--a scrappy little tomboy who could take on any boy at any time. Her lively vehicles took full advantage of her talents for impersonating movie stars, too. Her first major success came in the form of the title role in Ginger (1935) in which Jane imitated the balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet and was rewarded by the studio with a contract of $125 weekly for six months. Her singing and dancing skills were utilized in such vehicles as This Is the Life (1935) and Paddy O'Day (1936). As the star, she was toned down, of course, from the all-out brat she played against Temple. Jane kept filmgoers entertained throughout the late 1930s with pictures like Pepper (1936) and Angel's Holiday (1937), in which she did an hilarious impression of Martha Raye. She ended 1937 with a bang when she was named one of Motion Picture's Poll's "Top Ten" (#6) box office favorites. Guess who was #1?
The early 1940s would tell the story as to whether Jane could survive the dreaded awkward teen transition that haunted every popular child star. She received her first screen kiss at age 13 in Boy Friend (1939) and was singled out for her work in The Ritz Brothers' Pack Up Your Troubles (1939), but Jane's antics simply didn't play as well and the studio began to lose interest. In fact, both Shirley and Jane felt the pressures of growing up and Darryl F. Zanuck let both of them go in July of 1942. Jane signed a three-year picture deal with Republic Pictures with lukewarm results. Her best dramatic role at that time came with The North Star (1943).
In 1947, the same year as her last picture of the decade, Jane married a wealthy Texas oil man, William Moss, and had three children by him--William, Wendy, and Randy. The marriage was not a happy one and lasted only six years. She also was suffering from rheumatoid arthritis. In 1955, she remarried, this time to Kenneth Errair, one-quarter of the harmonizing group "The Four Freshmen." They had two children, Ken and Kendall Jane. At the same time, she attempted a Hollywood comeback. While studying directing at the USC film school, she met producer/director George Stevens who cast her in an enviable character role in the epic-sized Giant (1956) supporting Rock Hudson, Elizabeth Taylor, and James Dean. Other film roles followed with The Right Approach (1961) and Captain Newman, M.D. (1963).
It was TV, however, that would turn Jane into a wealthy woman as a friendly household pitchwoman. Her decades-long job as the dress-downed Josephine the Plumber pushing Comet cleanser made her one popular gal when working in films became a non-issue. From time to time she made guest appearances on such fun, lightweight shows as The Munsters (1964), The Love Boat (1977), Murder, She Wrote (1984), and Hart to Hart (1979). Known for her strong spiritualism and charitable contributions, Jane's buoyant, indefatigable nature was still, at age 90+, highly infectious. She not only did voiceover work for Disney's animated features but still popped up here and there for interviews and convention signings--as bright-eyed and bushy-tailed as she was in her childhood heyday. A widow in 1968, (her second husband perished in a June 14th plane crash in California), she also lost one of her five children, Randy, to cancer when he was only 33.- Actor
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Sabu Dastagir (or Selar Shaik Sabu, depending on your resource) was born on January 27, 1924, in the little town of Mysore, India, which is nestled in the jungles of Karapur. The son of an elephant driver (mahout) in service for the Maharajah of his town, the young stable boy learned responsibility early in life when, at age 9, his father died and Sabu immediately became the ward of the royal elephant stables. As with many Hollywood success stories, good timing, and dumb luck allowed the impoverished youth a chance for a better life. By sheer chance the timid 12-year-old orphan was discovered by a British location crew while searching for a youth to play the title role (an elephant driver!) in their upcoming feature Elephant Boy (1937). Quite taken aback by his earnest looks, engaging naturalness and adaptability to wild animals and their natural habitat, the studio handed the boy a film career on a sterling silver platter and was placed under exclusive contract by the mogul Alexander Korda himself.
Sabu and his older brother (as guardian) were whisked away to England to complete the picture and became subsequent wards of the British government. They were given excellent schooling in the process and Sabu quickly learned the English language in preparation for his upcoming films. Elephant Boy (1937) was an unqualified hit and the young actor was promptly placed front and center once again in the film The Drum (1938) surrounded by an impressive British cast that included Raymond Massey and Valerie Hobson. With the parallel success of the Tarzan jungle movies in America, Hollywood starting taking a keen look at this refreshingly new boy talent when he first arrived in the U.S. for a publicity tour of the film. Again, his second film was given rave reviews, proving that Sabu would not be just a one-hit wonder.
His third film for Korda is considered one of the great true classics. In the Arabian fantasy-adventure The Thief of Bagdad (1940), Sabu plays Abu the Thief and is not only surrounded by superb actors -- notably June Duprez, John Justin, Rex Ingram (as the genie) and Conrad Veidt (as the evil Grand Vizier) -- but exceptional writing and incredible special effects. Sabu's name began stirring international ears. His last pairing with Korda was the excellent adaptation of Rudyard Kipling's classic book The Jungle Book (1942) playing Mowgli, the boy raised by wolves, who must adapt to the ways of mankind after being returned to his mother. The movie was directed by Alexander's brother Zoltan Korda.
Following this triumph, Sabu officially became the exotic commodity of Universal Pictures and he settled in America. Although initially rewarding monetarily, it proved to be undoing. Unfortunately (and too often typical), a haphazard assembly-line of empty-minded features were developed that hardly compared to the quality pictures in England under Korda. Saddled alongside the unexceptional Maria Montez and Jon Hall, his vehicles Arabian Nights (1942), White Savage (1943) and Cobra Woman (1944) were, for the most part, drivel but certainly did fit the bill as colorful, mindless entertainment.
Almost 20 years old by the time he became a citizen of the U.S. in 1944, he enlisted in the Army Air Force and earned WWII distinction in combat missions (Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal, among others) as a tail gunner. By the time Sabu returned to Universal and filming, the charm of his youth had worn off and the boyish stereotype impossible to escape.
Post-war audiences developed new tastes, but Sabu had no choice but to trudge on with retreads of his former glory. Films such as Tangier (1946) again opposite Ms. Montez, Man-Eater of Kumaon (1948) and Song of India (1949) opposite lovely princess Gail Russell did little to advance his career. While filming the last-mentioned movie, Sabu met and married actress Marilyn Cooper who temporarily filled in for an ailing Ms. Russell on the set. The couple went on to have two children.
Sabu actually fared better back in England during the late 40s, starring in the crime drama The End of the River (1947) and appearing fourth-billed as a native general in the exquisitely photographed Black Narcissus (1947). Daring in subject matter, the film had Deborah Kerr heading up a group of Anglican nuns who battle crude traditions, unexpected passions and stark raving madness while setting up a Himalayan order. By the mid-50s Sabu's career was rapidly approaching extinction, seeking work wherever he could find it - in low-budget Europe productions, public appearances, etc. An attempt to conjure up a TV series for himself failed. His life was further aggravated by unpleasant civil and paternity suits brought about against him. His last two pictures were supporting roles in Rampage (1963), which starred Robert Mitchum, and A Tiger Walks (1964), a thoroughly routine Disney picture which was released posthumously.
Sabu died unexpectedly at age 39 of a heart attack on December 2, 1963, at his home in Southern California and was buried at Forest Lawn Cemetery in the Hollywood Hills. Son Paul Sabu developed into an accomplished songwriter and even formed a rock band called Sabu; daughter Jasmine Sabu, who died in 2001, was a noted horse trainer whose skill was utilized occasionally for films. Although he went the way of too many of our former stars, Sabu continues to enchant and excite newer generations with his unmatched athletic skills and magnetic charm in those early adventure fantasies of yesteryear.