As a child star, Coogan earned an estimated $3 to $4 million ($48 million to $65 million adjusted for 2012 dollars), but the money was spent by his mother and stepfather, Arthur Bernstein, on extravagances such as fur coats, diamonds, and expensive cars. In their defense, Coogan's mother and stepfather claimed Jackie was having fun and thought he was playing. She stated, "No promises were ever made to give Jackie anything. Every dollar a kid earns before he is 21 belongs to his parents. Jackie will not get a cent of his earnings",[5] and claimed that "Jackie was a bad boy."[6] Coogan sued them in 1938, but, after legal expenses, only received $126,000 of the approximately $250,000 remaining of his earnings. When Coogan fell on hard times and asked Charlie Chaplin for assistance, Chaplin gave him $1000 without hesitation.[7] The legal battle brought attention to child actors and resulted in the enactment of the California Child Actor's Bill, often called the Coogan Bill or the Coogan Act. This requires that a child actor's employer set aside 15% of the earnings in a trust (often called a Coogan Account), and codifies issues such as schooling, work hours and time-off.[citation needed]

He 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.[citation needed] He appeared four times on the Perry Mason series. He also appeared on such series as The Brady Bunch ("The Fender Benders"), 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 and Hawaii Five-O) until his retirement in the middle 1970s. Coogan appears once in the second season of The Andy Griffith Show ... episode 37, ("Barney on the Rebound"), aired October 31, 1961. Playing the part of George Stevens, he and his Wife Melissa Stevens, played by Beverly Tyler, trick Barney into proposing marriage, then 'demand justice' (try to extort money) in Sheriff Taylor's court.

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.[2] 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, widely known as the Coogan Act.

Coogan was born in 1914 in Los Angeles, California, to John Henry Coogan, Jr., and Lillian Rita (Dolliver) Coogan, as John Leslie Coogan. [1][3] He began performing as an infant in both vaudeville and film, with an uncredited role in the 1917 film Skinner's Baby. Charlie Chaplin discovered him in the Orpheum Theatre, Los Angeles, a vaudeville house, doing the shimmy, a popular dance at the time, on the stage. Coogan's father was also an actor. Jackie Coogan was a natural mimic and delighted Chaplin with his abilities. Chaplin subsequently cast him in a small role in A Day's Pleasure (1919). He was Chaplin's irascible sidekick in The Kid (1921) and played the title role in Oliver Twist, directed by Frank Lloyd, the following year. He was one of the first stars to be heavily merchandised, with peanut butter, stationery, whistles, dolls, records, and figurines as some of Coogan merchandise offered.


Jackie Coogan as Uncle Fester in The Addams Family, 1966

Jackie Coogan silent movie star in "The Kid" with
Charlie Chaplin