Jackie Coogan
Known for Acting · 143 credits
- Born
- 1914-10-26
- Died
- 1984-03-01
- Place of birth
- Los Angeles, California, USA
- Also known as
- John Leslie Coogan · John L. Coogan · Jack Coogan
Biography
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.
After the war, Coogan returned to acting, taking mostly character roles and appearing on television. From 1952 to 1953, he played Stoney Crockett on the syndicated series Cowboy G-Men. He guest-starred on NBC's The Martha Raye Show. He appeared, too, as Corbett in two episodes of NBC's The Outlaws with Barton MacLane, which aired from 1960–1962. In the 1960–1961 season, he guest-starred in the episode "The Damaged Dolls" of the syndicated crime drama The Brothers Brannagan. In 1961, he guest-starred in an episode of The Americans, an NBC series about family divisions stemming from the Civil War. He also appeared in episode 37, titled "Barney on the Rebound", of The Andy Griffith Show, which aired October 31, 1961. He had a regular role in a 1962–63 NBC series, McKeever and the Colonel. He finally found his most famous television role as Uncle Fester in ABC's The Addams Family (1964–1966). He appeared as a police officer in the Elvis Presley comedy Girl Happy in 1965.
He appeared four times on the Perry Mason series, including the role of political activist Gus Sawyer in the 1963 episode "The Case of the Witless Witness", and TV prop man Pete Desmond in the final episode, "The Case of the Final Fadeout", in 1966. He was a guest several times on The Red Skelton Show, appeared twice on The Brady Bunch ("The Fender Benders" and "Double Parked"), I Dream of Jeannie (as Jeannie's uncle, Suleiman – Maharaja of Basenji), Family Affair, Here's Lucy, and The Brian Keith Show, and continued to guest-star on television (including multiple appearances on The Partridge Family, The Wild Wild West, Hawaii Five-O, and McMillan and Wife) until his retirement in the mid 1970s.
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Known For
Perry Mason
1957
as Elwood P. 'Gunner' Grimes / Pete Desmond / Gus Sawyer / Ron Litten
The Andy Griffith Show
1960
as George Stevens
Hawaii Five-O
1968
as Horace Sibley / Jerry Howe / Frank
Ironside
1967
as Buster Logan / Sam McGoff
Love, American Style
1969
as Uncle Harold / Motel Owner
Adam-12
1968
as Harry Rustin
TV Shows (55)
Perry Mason
1957
as Elwood P. 'Gunner' Grimes / Pete Desmond / Gus Sawyer / Ron Litten
The Andy Griffith Show
1960
as George Stevens
Hawaii Five-O
1968
as Horace Sibley / Jerry Howe / Frank
Ironside
1967
as Buster Logan / Sam McGoff
Love, American Style
1969
as Uncle Harold / Motel Owner
Adam-12
1968
as Harry Rustin
Matinee Theater
1955
The Virginian
1962
as Bodey
Emergency!
1972
Studio One
1948
as Jeffers
The Wild Wild West
1965
as Mayor Cecil Pudney / Sheriff Koster
The Lucy Show
1962
as Lieutenant Ruggles
I Dream of Jeannie
1965
as Suleiman
The Red Skelton Show
1951
as Police Officer Hennesey / Muggsy / Police Lieutenant Smith
Barnaby Jones
1973
as Phil Rooney
Burke's Law
1963
as Bert Crowley
Marcus Welby, M.D.
1969
as Vince Darrell
Hawaiian Eye
1959
as Mack Stanley
Here's Lucy
1968
as Kermit Bosworth
Peter Gunn
1958
The Name of the Game
1968
as Connie Hart
Gunsmoke
1955
as Marshal Stoudenaire
77 Sunset Strip
1958
as Baldy Mike Hannigan (uncredited)
The Addams Family
1964
as Uncle Fester
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
1955
as George Bay
Alias Smith and Jones
1971
The Partridge Family
1970
as Max Pepper / Grandpa Walter Renfrew
The Brady Bunch
1969
Family Affair
1966
Police Story
1973
Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law
1971
as Zigler
Shirley Temple's Storybook
1958
as Marshal Rogers
McMillan & Wife
1971
as Howard Sparks
Lock-Up
1959
Outlaws
1960
Mr. Lucky
1959
as Joe Azevedo
The New Scooby-Doo Movies
1972
as Uncle Fester (voice)
The Wonderful World of Disney
1954
as Mr. Klein
The Outsider
1968
as Rusty
Vacation Playhouse
1963
as Finnegan
The Dick Powell Show
1961
as Shopkeeper
Flying High
1978
Letter to Loretta
1953
as Woody Woods / Snuff Carter
The Brian Keith Show
1972
Movin' On
1974
$weepstake$
1979
Cowboy G-Men
1952
Hollywood
1980
as Self
General Electric Theater
1953
as Marshal Stubb Snider
Cool Million
1972
as Merrill Cossack
The Jimmy Stewart Show
1971
The Addams Family
1973
as Uncle Fester (voice)
The New Andy Griffith Show
1971
Unknown Chaplin
1983
as Self
McKeever and the Colonel
1962
as Sgt. Barnes
Movies (88)
The Kid
1921
as The Kid
Marlowe
1969
as Grant W. Hicks
Sherlock Holmes in New York
1976
as Haymarket Hotel Proprietor
Cahill: United States Marshal
1973
as Charlie Smith
Outlaw Women
1952
as Piute Bill
Lonelyhearts
1959
as Ned Gates
Girl Happy
1965
as Sgt. Benson
Tom Sawyer
1930
as Tom Sawyer
Sky Patrol
1939
as Carter Meade
Scooby-Doo Meets The Addams Family
1972
as Uncle Fester (Voice)
The Escape Artist
1982
as Magic Shop Owner
John Goldfarb, Please Come Home!
1965
as Father Ryan
When the West Was Fun: A Western Reunion
1979
as Self
The Shakiest Gun in the West
1968
as Matthew Basch
A Fine Madness
1966
as Mr. Fitzgerald
Halloween with the New Addams Family
1977
as Uncle Fester
Old Clothes
1925
as Timothy Kelly
Huckleberry Finn
1931
as Tom Sawyer
Won Ton Ton: The Dog Who Saved Hollywood
1976
as Stagehand 1
Hollywood’s Children
1982
as Self
Hello, 'Frisco
1924
as Jackie Coogan
Character Studies
1927
as Self (uncredited)
The Actress
1953
as Inopportune (uncredited)
The Prey
1983
as Lester Tile
The Proud Ones
1956
as Man on Make (uncredited)
The Joker is Wild
1957
as Swifty Morgan
The Kids Who Knew Too Much
1980
as Mr. Klein
Buttons
1927
as Buttons
Lon Chaney: A Thousand Faces
2000
as Self (archive footage)
The Space Children
1958
as Hank Johnson
Oliver Twist
1922
as Oliver Twist
The Real Charlie Chaplin
2021
as Self (archive footage)
The Beat Generation
1959
as Jake Baron
The Legend of Rudolph Valentino
1961
as Self (archive footage)
Forbidden Area
1956
as The Cook
Human Experiments
1979
as Sheriff Tibbs
The Phantom of Hollywood
1974
as Jonathan
Little Robinson Crusoe
1924
as Mickey Hogan
High School Confidential!
1958
as Mr. A
The Big Operator
1959
as Ed Brannell
Sunkist Stars at Palm Springs
1936
as Self
Mesa of Lost Women
1953
as Dr Aranya
Nice and Friendly
1922
as Boy
The Buster Keaton Story
1957
as Elmer Case
The Specialists
1975
as Roger
Hollywood Scandals and Tragedies
1988
as (archive footage) (uncredited)
Screen Snapshots (Series 22, No. 10)
1942
as Self (archive footage)
Dr. Heckyl and Mr. Hype
1980
as Sgt. Fleacollar
Johnny Get Your Hair Cut
1927
as Johnny O'Day
Long Live the King
1923
as Crown Prince Ferdinand William Otto
A Day's Pleasure
1919
as Smallest Boy (uncredited)
Night of the Quarter Moon
1959
as Desk Sergeant Bragan
College Swing
1938
as Jackie
Eighteen and Anxious
1957
as Harold 'Eager' Beaver
Home on the Range
1935
as Jack Hatfield
No Place to Land
1958
as Swede
Sex Kittens Go to College
1960
as Wildcat MacPherson
French Leave
1948
as Pappy Reagan
Clown Alley
1966
as Clown
Estrellados
1930
as Self (Guest Appearance at Premiere)
The Manchu Eagle Murder Caper Mystery
1975
as Detective Chief Anderson
Million Dollar Legs
1939
as Russ Simpson
Trouble
1922
as Danny, the Kid
Free and Easy
1930
as Jackie Coogan - at Premiere (uncredited)
My Boy
1921
as Jackie Blair
Lucy Gets Lucky
1975
as Gus Mitchell
Seeing Stars
1922
as Self
Kilroy Was Here
1947
as Pappy Collins
A Boy of Flanders
1924
as Nello
The Circus: Premiere
1928
as Self
Daddy
1923
as Jackie Savelli / Jackie Holden
Chaplin Today: The Kid
2003
as Self (archive footage)
Jackie Coogan: The First Child Star
2015
as Self (archive footage)
When the Girls Take Over
1962
as Captain Toussaint
Varieties on Parade
1951
as Himself
The Rag Man
1925
as Tim Kelly
Where's Charley?
1957
as Coach Sanderford
Skipalong Rosenbloom
1951
as Buck Lovelace
Rogue's Gallery
1968
as Funeral Director
Circus Days
1923
as Toby Tyler
Peck's Bad Boy
1921
as Henry Peck
Escape from Terror
1955
as Agent Petrov
Skinner's Baby
1917
as The Baby (uncredited)
The Bugle Call
1927
as Billy Randolph
Love in September
1936
as Jackie
The Star Wagon
1957
as Hanus Wicks
The Addams Family Album
1992
as Uncle Fester (archive footage)
Meet Jackie Coogan
1924
as Himself
About Jackie Coogan
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… With 143 credits spanning from 1917 to 2021, Jackie Coogan has appeared in 88 films and 55 TV shows.
Fans searching for Jackie Coogan movies, Jackie Coogan filmography, or the latest projects starring Jackie Coogan can stream many of these titles on Bowood.TV, free and in HD, with no subscription required.
Most Popular Jackie Coogan Movies
- The Kid (1921) — as The Kid
- Marlowe (1969) — as Grant W. Hicks
- Sherlock Holmes in New York (1976) — as Haymarket Hotel Proprietor
- Cahill: United States Marshal (1973) — as Charlie Smith
- Outlaw Women (1952) — as Piute Bill
Where to Watch Jackie Coogan Films
Most Jackie Coogan movies and series are available to stream on Bowood.TV in full HD, completely free and without signup. Browse the complete filmography above to jump directly to any title. For more films and the latest web series featuring Jackie Coogan, check our movies catalogue and browse page.