Jackie Cooper was one of the original “Little Rascals” who had a long career in Hollywood, and a long life  (compared to some of the other Rascals.)  You may wonder why I write about the Rascals. True, I love to watch them — these old films provide some good humor. It’s funny, but Jackie Cooper looked the same as an adult as when he was a kid. I guess he could cry on screen too — but that is a sad story. The director told him they were taking his dog to the pound and that the security guard shot the dog — just to get him to cry. If Jackie did the cry scene well, they would let him check to see if his dog was still alive. Sad. He remembered the incidence all his life. Later, when he was a director he never employed those “tricks”.
He got nominated for an Academy Award for best actor in the 1931 film, “Skippy”, where he cried on screen three times — all he had to do was think of his dog. Jackie was 8. He got his start at age 3 as an extra in silent movies and the “The Little Rascals”. In the 50’s he was still acting and in the 60’s he became a studio executvie. He became an Emmy Award-winning director in the 70’s. He died at the age of 88 in May 2011.
Here’s Jackie in “The Little Rascals” showing off in front of his teacher — he’s got quite a crush on her. But so does Chubsy-Ubsy, who shows up to woo the teacher as well: It’s pretty funny.
http://youtu.be/C0yGxD6NVbc
