America's Boy
This week let’s talk Classic Movie Child Star – Jackie Cooper. He was born John Cooper, Jr. in Los Angeles, California on September 15, 1922. His father, John Cooper, left
the family when Jackie was two years old. Despite the father absence in his life, Cooper was destined to become successful. There was a tremendous influence in his show business career by family connections. His mother, Mabel Leonard Bigelow, was a stage pianist and former child actress. Cooper's maternal uncle, Jack Leonard, was a screenwriter, and his maternal aunt, Julie Leonard, was an actress married to director Norman Taurog. Cooper's stepfather was C. J. Bigelow, a studio production manager.
Jackie Cooper first appeared in films as an extra with his grandmother, who would
bring him along in hopes of aiding her own attempts to get extra work. At age three, Jackie appeared in Lloyd Hamilton comedies under the name of Leonard. He graduated to bits in feature films such as Fox Movietone Follies of 1929 and Sunny Side Up. His director in these two films, 
David Butler, recommended the boy to director Leo McCarey, who arranged an audition for the Our Gang comedy series produced by Hal Roach. Cooper joined the Our Gang youngsters in the short Boxing Gloves in 1929. He was signed to a three year contract. He initially was only a supporting character in the series, but by early 1930 he had done so well with the transition to sound films that he had become one of the Gang's major characters. He was the main character in the episodes
The First Seven Years, When the Wind Blows, and others. His most notable Our Gang shorts explore his crush on Miss Crabtree, the schoolteacher played by June Marlowe, which included the trilogy of shorts Teacher's Pet, School's Out, and Love Business.
According to his autobiography, Cooper, under contract to Hal Roach Studios, was loaned in the spring of 1931 to Paramount to star in Skippy (di
rected by his uncle, Norman Taurog), for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor—the youngest actor ever (at the age of 9) to be nominated for an Oscar as Best Actor. Although Paramount paid Roach $25,000 for Cooper's services, Cooper received only his standard Roach salary of $50 per week. The movie catapulted young Cooper to super-stardom. Our Gang producer Hal Roach sold Jackie's contract to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in mid-1931, as he felt the youngster would have a better future in features. He began a long on-screen relationship with actor Wallace Beery in such films as The Champ (1931), The Bowery (1933), The Choices of Andy Purcell 
(1933), Treasure Island (1934), and O'Shaughnessy's Boy (1935).
Today we would like to feature Paramount’s 1931 film, Skippy. The film was based on the American c
omic strip of the same name written and drawn by Percy Crosby that was published from 1923 to 1945. The 
movie stars Jackie Cooper, Robert Coogan, Mitzi Green and Jackie Searl. Director Norman Taurog won the Academy Award for Directing. The movie focused on Skippy Skinner, a young boy living in the city. Usually wearing an enormous collar and tie and a floppy checked hat, he was an odd mix of mischief and melancholy who might equally b
e found stealing from the corner fruit stand, failing to master skates or baseball, complaining about the adult world, or staring sadly at an old relative's grave ("And only last year she gave me a tie"). Skippy interrupts his usual routine of finding loopholes in his parents' rules when he makes friends with Sooky, a boy from the other side of the tracks. The two boys have three days to come up with a way to pay for a license for Sooky's dog and keep the dogcatcher from putting him to sleep. Skippy also has to convince his father - the local health supervisor - not to tear down the shantytown where Sooky and the local poor folk live, while also getting himself involved with local bullies, kids' shows, lemonade stands and assorted other adventures. And then there's that new bike he's saving for . . .
Skippy is a very rare film and we apologize for not being able to offer any clips of the
movie. However, you can stream Skippy to your computer from Netflix. Click on our ad for Netflix below and become a member, first month is FREE! We highly recommend watching Skippy. This is the movie that started Jackie Cooper’s wonderful movie career! Read “Let’s Talk Classic Movies” every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for more classic movie presentations and trivia.
**Trivia Question for Today: Skippy did well enough to inspire a sequel. What was the name of the sequel?
Trivia Answer for Previous Post: I
n Captains Courageous Spencer Tracy’s character, Manuel, played the “cranked” musical instrument called a hurdy-gurdy. It was a hand-held version of the box-like instrument that was most often played on the street corners of large cities.
the family when Jackie was two years old. Despite the father absence in his life, Cooper was destined to become successful. There was a tremendous influence in his show business career by family connections. His mother, Mabel Leonard Bigelow, was a stage pianist and former child actress. Cooper's maternal uncle, Jack Leonard, was a screenwriter, and his maternal aunt, Julie Leonard, was an actress married to director Norman Taurog. Cooper's stepfather was C. J. Bigelow, a studio production manager.
Jackie Cooper first appeared in films as an extra with his grandmother, who would
bring him along in hopes of aiding her own attempts to get extra work. At age three, Jackie appeared in Lloyd Hamilton comedies under the name of Leonard. He graduated to bits in feature films such as Fox Movietone Follies of 1929 and Sunny Side Up. His director in these two films, 
David Butler, recommended the boy to director Leo McCarey, who arranged an audition for the Our Gang comedy series produced by Hal Roach. Cooper joined the Our Gang youngsters in the short Boxing Gloves in 1929. He was signed to a three year contract. He initially was only a supporting character in the series, but by early 1930 he had done so well with the transition to sound films that he had become one of the Gang's major characters. He was the main character in the episodes
The First Seven Years, When the Wind Blows, and others. His most notable Our Gang shorts explore his crush on Miss Crabtree, the schoolteacher played by June Marlowe, which included the trilogy of shorts Teacher's Pet, School's Out, and Love Business.According to his autobiography, Cooper, under contract to Hal Roach Studios, was loaned in the spring of 1931 to Paramount to star in Skippy (di
rected by his uncle, Norman Taurog), for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor—the youngest actor ever (at the age of 9) to be nominated for an Oscar as Best Actor. Although Paramount paid Roach $25,000 for Cooper's services, Cooper received only his standard Roach salary of $50 per week. The movie catapulted young Cooper to super-stardom. Our Gang producer Hal Roach sold Jackie's contract to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in mid-1931, as he felt the youngster would have a better future in features. He began a long on-screen relationship with actor Wallace Beery in such films as The Champ (1931), The Bowery (1933), The Choices of Andy Purcell 
(1933), Treasure Island (1934), and O'Shaughnessy's Boy (1935).Today we would like to feature Paramount’s 1931 film, Skippy. The film was based on the American c
omic strip of the same name written and drawn by Percy Crosby that was published from 1923 to 1945. The 
movie stars Jackie Cooper, Robert Coogan, Mitzi Green and Jackie Searl. Director Norman Taurog won the Academy Award for Directing. The movie focused on Skippy Skinner, a young boy living in the city. Usually wearing an enormous collar and tie and a floppy checked hat, he was an odd mix of mischief and melancholy who might equally b
e found stealing from the corner fruit stand, failing to master skates or baseball, complaining about the adult world, or staring sadly at an old relative's grave ("And only last year she gave me a tie"). Skippy interrupts his usual routine of finding loopholes in his parents' rules when he makes friends with Sooky, a boy from the other side of the tracks. The two boys have three days to come up with a way to pay for a license for Sooky's dog and keep the dogcatcher from putting him to sleep. Skippy also has to convince his father - the local health supervisor - not to tear down the shantytown where Sooky and the local poor folk live, while also getting himself involved with local bullies, kids' shows, lemonade stands and assorted other adventures. And then there's that new bike he's saving for . . .Skippy is a very rare film and we apologize for not being able to offer any clips of the
movie. However, you can stream Skippy to your computer from Netflix. Click on our ad for Netflix below and become a member, first month is FREE! We highly recommend watching Skippy. This is the movie that started Jackie Cooper’s wonderful movie career! Read “Let’s Talk Classic Movies” every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for more classic movie presentations and trivia.**Trivia Question for Today: Skippy did well enough to inspire a sequel. What was the name of the sequel?
Trivia Answer for Previous Post: I
n Captains Courageous Spencer Tracy’s character, Manuel, played the “cranked” musical instrument called a hurdy-gurdy. It was a hand-held version of the box-like instrument that was most often played on the street corners of large cities.
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