ATTENTION EDITORS:
Here's the new RED, WHITE & TRUE MYSTERIES logo.
Feel free to use it in your newspaper, or you can use the picture at the bottom.

“Jackie” was a popular but unlikely uncle

Jackie was born in Los Angeles in 1914. There didn’t appear to be anything wrong with the baby at first.  

Jackie was somewhat of an oddball. Jackie would often fish … using dynamite; only had one outfit, which was a big black overcoat; and always kept a cannon in the bedroom. Yes, a cannon.

But wait, there’s more!  

As an adult, Jackie had a treehouse in the backyard. Also rode a motorcycle. And was bald, with bulging eyes unlike anything you have ever seen. 

Jackie’s niece and nephew referred to Jackie as an uncle. Speaking of the nephew, he was a bit odd, too, as evidenced by the fact that he had a pet octopus. In fact, the whole family was a little, how shall we say it, weird. But that was part of what made them so appealing. Their neighbors thought they were strange, yet this family thought their normal neighbors were strange. Again, it’s part of what made them so appealing. 

The entire family had a few unusual pets, including hawks, bats and an alligator. Not to mention that the cat was a lion, and they also had spiders, two piranha and a vulture, as well as a man-eating plant.  

This was no ordinary family that Jackie was a part of; in fact, it was something that you would expect to see on a television sitcom.  

There’s one other thing you should know about Jackie: He was once married to actress Betty Grable. She was his first wife, and he would later marry three more times.  

You see, Jackie was the actor known as Jackie Coogan, but he was best known as Uncle Fester on The Addams Family show!  

It was in his role as Uncle Fester that he did all of the above strange things on The Addams Family. He also played many other memorable roles during his career, including that of Charlie Chaplin’s sidekick in “The Kid” and the title role in Oliver Twist. He was one of the very first child actors to become a big star, and he was the first star to get a major merchandising deal, with his likeness appearing on numerous products.  

In addition to his Addams Family legacy, Jackie Coogan played a role in getting the California Child Actor’s Bill passed into law. Jackie earned more than $4 million as a child actor, but his mother and stepfather took most of it.  

By the time Jackie sued, most of the money had already been spent. He received only $126,000 after his legal expenses. Charlie Chaplin, who discovered Jackie Coogan as a child actor, helped Jackie financially. The Child Actor’s Bill, which gave child actors certain rights over their contracts and their money, is often referred to as the Coogan Law.

# # #

Paul Niemann’s column has appeared in more than 80 newspapers and counting. He is the author of the INVENTION MYSTERIES series of books, and can be reached at niemann7@aol.com  

© Paul Niemann 2009