http://www.cooganresearchgroup.com/crg/index.htm 03 October 2009 Obituary of John Leslie 'Jackie' Coogan _______________________________________________________________________ (extracted from "Syracuse Herald-Journal", 02 MAR 1984, PAGE A-7): JACKIE COOGAN DIES [photo X 3] [caption] Jackie Coogan, as shown, from left as a 5-year-old, as a teen-ager playing Tom Sawyer and in 1979. BECAME CHILD STAR AT 4 WITH CHAPLIN HOLLYWOOD (AP) - Jackie Coogan, who shot to fame as a 4-year-old breaking windows for Charlie Chaplin in "The Kid," was a true professional and a "gutsy guy" with a "garganutan appetite" for life, his fellow actors said after his death at 69. Coogan, he became the first major child movie star when "The Kid" came out in 1920 and who later charmed the TV generation as the eccentric Uncle Fester in "The Addams Family," suffered cardiac arrest and died Thursday in Santa Monica Hospital. He had a great lust for life," said actor-director John Astin, who worked with Coogan in "The Addams Family." KIDNEY, HEART AILMENTS: Leslie Franklin, one of Coogan's daughters, said her father suffered from kidney problems which strained his heart. She said she thought his problems were caused by "rich food, the side effect of a good lifestyle." As an actor, Coogan was "very professional and also had one of the best senses of humor that I ever ran across," said Jackie Cooper, another former child film star. He "was as much fun to work with as anyone I have worked with in this business," Astin said. "The main thing I remember is his devouring of life," said Astin, who played Gomez Addams in the 1960s comedy TV show, "The Addams Family." The show featured Coogan as the bald uncle forever putting light bulbs in his mouth in the houseful of goulish characters. Astin said that Coogan had a "gargantuan appetite for everything. He never stopped living or creating, being vital." Coogan, the grandson of a Syracuse pharmacist, lived 1 1/2 (?) years in Syracuse, at 210 Wayne Street, he told the Herald American in 1982. He was too young then to remember, but he said that he often came back to visit his grandfather and an aunt and uncle. "Syracuse was a haven for me, because I had so much fun there. I mostly remember sliding down the Green Street hill. It was really hair-raising," he said. Not quite a native son, he was in Syracuse as a child star in 1924 to be the first official guest of the Hotel Syracuse. When he returned for the opening of the hotel's annex tower, he remarked, "I always feel that hotels are hotels. But the food was good." DISPUTE WITH PARENTS: Cooper recalled Coogan as a "gutsy guy, his own man" who stood up to his mother and stepfather over the $4 million he earned as a child star - a fortune Coogan discovered had been squandered. In 1938, he sued his mother and stepfather, eventually settling out of court for $150,000. The publicity led to the passage of the so-called Coogan Law, which puts all juvenile earnings into court-administered trust funds. "I had to be a pioneer," Coogan commented years later, noting that he also "probably earned another $5 million from merchandise. My dad had a good sense about merchandising, and I appeared in all kinds of products from pencil boxes and soap to suits and caps." Cooper recalled Coogan's World War II experience, when as an Air Force lieutenant, he was the first to land when glider-borne forces dropped at night 150 miles behind Japanese lines in northern Burma. He was later awarded the Air Medal for meritorious service. "UNSUNG HERO": "Of all the actors, I think Jack was the most genuine and unsung hero in World War II," Cooper said. Born Oct. 26, 1914, Coogan made his screen debut when he was 16 months old and was discovered at age 4 by Chaplin in his parents vaudeville act. He was catapulted to fame as the sweet-faced urchin in "The Kid" who wandered about breaking windows that Chaplain, a glazier, would fix. "When he first met Chaplain, the only thing that really impressed Jackie about him was that he had a mustache that came on and off," said Coogan's son, John Anthony Coogan. Later, Coogan appeared in "Peck's Bad Boy," "Oliver Twist," "My Boy," "Daddy," "Old Clothes," and as a teen-ager in such talkies as "Tom Sawyer" and "Huckleberry Finn." Coogan remained active in TV and on the stage throughout the 1960s. His last theatrical effort was "The Escape Artist" in 1960, a never- released Francis Ford Coppola film, Mrs. Franklin said. FOUR WIVES: Coogan married his first of four wives, actress Betty Grable, in 1937. His marriage to actress Flower Parry produced a son, John Anthony. Next he married actress Ann McCormick and they had a daughter, Joann. The three marriages ended in divorce. Coogan and dancer Dorothea Lamphere married and had two children, Leslie and Christopher. _______________________________________________________________________ (extracted from "Boston Globe", 02 MAR 1984): ACTOR JACKIE COOGAN, 69, A LIFETIME IN SHOW BUSINESS SANTA MONICA, Calif. - Jackie Coogan, the child movie star who appeared with Charlie Chaplin in "The Kid" and later went on to appear as the bald Uncle Fester in the TV series "The Addams Family," died yesterday of cardiac arrest. He was 69. Mr. Coogan, accompanied by his wife, was taken to Santa Monica Hospital from his Malibu home at 11:50 a.m. and was treated in the emergency room, then transferred to the cardiac care unit, spokeswoman Mary Isaacs said. He died at 1:32 p.m., she said. Mr. Coogan was born Oct. 26, 1914, and appeared with Chaplin in the silent movie, "The Kid," when he was 4 years old. In addition to TV and films, he played eight to 10 weeks of stock every summer, touring in such plays as Edward Albee's "An American Dream" and Tennessee Williams' "Sweet Bird of Youth." Mr. Coogan, who made his screen debut when he was 16 months old, was discovered by Chaplin in his parents' vaudeville act at age 4 and was catapulted to fame in "The Kid" as the sweet-faced urchin who roamed the neighborhood breaking windows that Chaplin, a glazier, would repair. After "The Kid," he appeared in "Peck's Bad Boy," "Oliver Twist," "My Boy," "Daddy," "Old Clothes," and as a teenager in such talkies as "Tom Sawyer" and "Huckleberry Finn." The child actor made money - more than $4 million - before he was out of short pants. But at 21, Mr. Coogan discovered his parents had spent it all, leaving him penniless. The publicity forced the passage of the so-called Coogan Law, which puts all juvenile earnings into court administered trust funds. "I had to be the pioneer," Mr. Coogan lamented years later. "I probably earned another $5 million from merchandise," he said in 1979 at a surprise 65th birthday party at Hollywood's Brown Derby restaurant. "My dad had a good sense about merchandising, and I appeared in all kinds of products from pencil boxes and soap to suits and caps. I was the only one in the field at the time," Mr. Coogan said. In 1938, Mr. Coogan sued his mother and stepfather over the missing money. The suit was settled out of court and the moon-faced actor got $150,000. He married actress Betty Grable, the first of his four wives, in 1937. During their two-year marriage, the couple starred in college pictures and returned to vaudeville for one tour. During World War II, Mr. Coogan served as an Air Force lieutenant in the Pacific and was the first to land when glider-borne forces dropped at night 150 miles behind Japanese lines in Northern Burma. He was later awarded the Air Medal for meritorious service. After the war, Mr. Coogan teamed with another child star, Jackie Cooper, making GI movies. Mr. Coogan's second and third marriages also ended in divorce. He and wife Flower Parry, an actress, had a son, John Anthony. He had a daughter, Joann, with actress Ann McCormick, his third wife. Mr. Coogan married a fourth time, to dancer Dodie Lamphere, and they had two children, Leslie and Chris. He remained active in TV and on the stage through the 1960s, appearing in a Los Angeles production of "The Odd Couple." His grandson, Keith Mitchell, carried on the acting tradition, appearing as a regular on "The Waltons" TV series. "The kid can learn six pages of dialogue in five minutes," the proud grandfather said in 1979. "He's a chip off the old block. _______________________________________________________________________ (extracted from "Chicago Tribune", 02 MAR 1984): FILM STAR JACKIE COOGAN, 69 [photo; caption: Jackie Coogan] HOLLYWOOD [UPI] -- Jackie Coogan, who became the first child star in movie history with his role as the sad-eyed waif in Charlie Chaplin's classic "The Kid," died Thursday of a heart attack. He was 69. Mr. Coogan, known to another generation as Uncle Fester of the "Addams Family" television series, entered Santa Monica Hospital about noon and died about 90 minutes later, a hospital spokeswoman said. Mr. Coogan, for a time married to Betty Grable, made millions before he was 10 and saw most of it slip away. He earned $5,000 a week in his heyday, and for two years, under an MGM contract giving him a $50,000 bonus and 60 percent of the profits from his pictures, his earnings were $22,000 a week. WHEN MR. Coogan was 18 months old, his mother took him to a film studio, seated him in a high chair and made him gurgle and weep, winning his first movie role in "Skinner's Baby." At age 4, appearing in an act with swimmer Annette Kellerman, Mr. Coogan was spotted by Chaplin, who made a deal to star him in "The Kid" in 1919. Mr. Coogan became an overnight sensation and appeared in such films as "Peck's Bad Boy," "My Boy," "Trouble," "Daddy," "Oliver Twist," "Old Clothes" and "Johnny Get Your Gun." In later years a balding and heavyset Mr. Coogan made several film and TV appearances, achieving success as a costar in "McKeever and the Colonel" and then as Uncle Fester in the "Addams Family." Mr. Coogan was born in Los Angeles in October, 1914, to Jack Coogan, a vaudeville hoofer, and Lillian Dolliver Coogan, a onetime child actress billed as Baby Lillian. IN 1935, at age 21, Mr. Coogan survived an auto crash near San Diego in which his father and three other people were killed. In 1938 Mr. Coogan filed suit against his mother and stepfather, who had been his business manager, and it was disclosed that his multimillion-dollar fortune had all but evaporated. As a result of the legal battle, a California law was enacted providing that parents no longer control their minor children's earnings. In November, 1937, during the height of his financial troubles and with his film career at a standstill, Mr. Coogan married Grable, then a young starlet. They were divorced in 1939. Three other marriages followed, from which he had two sons and two daughters. _______________________________________________________________________ (extracted from "Miami Herald", 02 MAR 1984, PAGE 4C): JACKIE COOGAN, STAR OF 'THE KID,' 'ADDAMS FAMILY' Jackie Coogan, who became the first child star in movie history with his role as the sad-eyed waif in The Kid, died Thursday of a heart attack. He was 69. Coogan, known to another generation as Uncle Fester on "The Addams Family" TV series, entered Santa Monica Hospital at 11:50 a.m. and died at 1:32 p.m. PST, said hospital spokeswoman Mary Isaacs. Born on Oct. 26, 1914, Coogan made his screen debut at 16 months old in Skinner's Baby. He was catapulted to fame at age four after Charlie Chaplin cast him in The Kid as the urchin who roamed the neighborhood breaking windows that Chaplin, a glazier, would repair. After The Kid, Coogan appeared in Peck's Bad Boy, Oliver Twist, My Boy, Daddy, Old Clothes, and Johnny Get Your Gun. He was the No. 1 box-office star in 1923, leading Rudolph Valentino and Douglas Fairbanks. Coogan's first talking picture was Tom Sawyer in 1930. His later movies included Huckleberry Finn, Home on the Range, College Swing and Sky Patrol. In later years, a balding and heavy-set Coogan made several film and TV appearances, achieving success in "The Addams Family" and "McKeever and the Colonel." "The Addams Family," a comedy series based on the ghoulish drawings of cartoonist Charles Addams, debuted in 1964 and ran until 1966. Coogan played Uncle Fester, one of the denizens of a musty mansion who would often put a lightbulb in his mouth to light it up. Coogan was born in Los Angeles to Jack Coogan, a vaudeville hoofer, and Lillian Dolliver Coogan, a onetime child actress billed as Baby Lillian. The child actor made money -- more than $4 million -- before he was out of short pants. But at 21, Coogan discovered his family had spent it all, leaving him penniless. He sued his mother and stepfather, who had been his business manager, over the missing money. The suit was settled out of court and the actor got $150,000. As a result of the legal battle, a California law was enacted providing that parents no longer had control of their minor children's earnings. All child movie stars must now have their contracts approved by the courts. "I had to be the pioneer," Coogan lamented years later. _______________________________________________________________________ (extracted from "New York Times", 02 MAR 1984, PAGE B5): JACKIE COOGAN, CHILD STAR OF FILMS, DIES AT 69 [photo X 2] [caption] Jackie Coogan played his first major role at the age of 4 in the 1919 film "The Kid" with Charlie Chaplin BY JAMES BARRON Jackie Coogan, who in 1919 became the first major child star in American movie history as the sad-eyed foundling in "The Kid," died after a heart attack yesterday at the Santa Monica (Calif.) Hospital. He was 69 years old and lived in Palm Springs, Calif. Mr. Coogan, who charmed a later generation as Uncle Fester on the television series "The Addams Family," was taken to the hospital's emergency room shortly before noon, said a hospital spokesman, Mary Isaacs. He died two hours later. For several years in the 1920's, he was the most famous boy in America. In one popularity poll, he topped Rudolph Valentino and Douglas Fairbanks. "I had the flu in New York, and it pushed the President of the United States off the front pages," he said in an interview in 1972. After making his stage debut at the age of 16 months, he earned between $2 million and $4 million before he was out of short pants. SPOTTED BY CHAPLIN: At the age of 4, he was spotted on a Hollywood vaudeville stage by Charlie Chaplin, who gave him a $75-a-week role in "The Kid." When the film as finished, he receivec a $5,000 bonus. The came "Peck's Bad Boy" at $1,000 a week, followed by a $500,000 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract with a clause guaranteeing him 60 percent of the profits from such pictures as "Tom Sawyer" and "Huckleberry Finn." John Leslie Coogan Jr. was born in Los Angeles, and by the time he was 13 he had been to New York 18 times, most often traveling in his private railroad car. "Normal boy?" he said in the 1972 interview. "How would I know what a normal boy would do? When I was 7, we bought a big house at the corner of Wilshire and Western and put in one of the earliest pools in Southern California. "Being who I was, I had the best swimming instructor - Duke Kahanamoku - the year after he won the Olympics. I surfed from Baja California to San Francisco when there where only 9 or 10 surfers on the entire Pacific Coast. I drank milk from my own ranch. Other boys went to see Babe Ruth. Babe Ruth came to see me." DEATH OF FATHER: But his life unraveled months before his 21st birthday. After a day of dove hunting in Mexico, the car his father was driving was forced off the road. The young actor was badly bruised, and his father and three other passengers were killed. Mr. Coogan said later that the rest of his life would have been different if his father had survived. The reason was money. Of the millions he had made as a child star, all he had ever received was a weekly allowance of $6.25. When he turned 21, his mother, Lillian, and Arthur Bernstein, the family lawyer whom she had married, announced that they would not turn any of it over to him. 'BLACKBALLED BY THE STUDIOS': "The law is on our side, and Jackie Coogan will not get a cent from his past earnings," Mr. Bernstein declared at a news conference. After a childhood of virtually unquestioning obedience, Mr. Coogan agonized for two years before deciding to file suit to recover the money. "It was the lowest point of my life," he said in 1972, "because my stepfather was related to many people, and I was blackballed by the studios." His anxiety was compounded by the disintegration of his first marriage, to a young starlet named Betty Grable. Eighteen months later, when the lawsuit was settled, he was left with only $35,000 - but with the knowledge that such a situation could not recur. "Forty-eight hours after I filed my suit, they rushed a new law through the Legislature," he said. The measure said that all juvenile actors' earnings had to be deposited in court-administered trust funds. Mr. Coogan became a stage actor in 1937 and estimated in 1966 that he had appeared in 35 silent films, 100 talkies and 850 television programs, including more than 65 episodes of "The Addams Family." His Uncle Fester character in that series would stuff a light bulb in his mouth and make it glow. A LANDING IN BURMA: In World War II, Mr. Coogan joined the Army as a flight officer and was the first glider pilot to land Allied troops behind the Japanese lines in Burma. "If you think the natives were surprised when our gliders landed," he said, "you should have seen them when we opened up the mouth of one and drove out a jeep." He was later awarded the Air Medal for meritorious service. After his divorce from Miss Grable, he married another actress, Flower Parry, in 1941. They were divorced two years later, and in 1946 he married Ann McCormick, from whom he was divorced in 1951. The following year, he married Dorothea Lamphere, a dancer, who was at his bedside when he died. In addition to his wife, he is survived by two sons, Anthony, of Los Angeles, and Chris, of Palm Springs; two daughters, Joan, of Los Angeles, and Leslie Franklin of Malibu, and two grandchildren. _______________________________________________________________________ (extracted from "Philadelphia Daily News", 02 MAR 1984, PAGE 5): 'THE KID' DIES - HEART ATTACK FELLS JACKIE COOGAN Jackie Coogan, who became the first child star in movie history with his title role as the sad-eyed waif in Charlie Chaplin's classic "The Kid," died yesterday of a heart attack. He was 69. Coogan, known to another generation as Uncle Fester on the "Addams Family" TV series - which a daughter said was "the only character part he ever really loved" - entered Santa Monica Hospital about noon and died at 1:32 p.m. PST (4:32 p.m. Philadelphia time) from cardiac arrest, a hospital spokeswoman said. Coogan, for a short time married to Betty Grable, made millions before he was 10 and saw most of it slip through his fingers. For two years under an MGM contract he earned a then-fabulous $22,000 a week. When Coogan was just 18 months old, his mother took him to a film studio, sat him in a high chair and made him gurgle and weep, winning his first movie role in "Skinner's Baby." At age 4, while Coogan was appearing in an act with swimmer Annette Kellerman, Chaplin made a deal for him to star in "The Kid" in 1919. He became an overnight sensation, appearing in such films as "Peck's Bad Boy," "My Boy," "Trouble," "Daddy," "Oliver Twist," "Old Clothes" and "Johnny Get Your Gun." In 1923, he was the No. 1 box-office star, leading Rudolph Valentino and Douglas Fairbanks. Coogan's first talking picture was "Tom Sawyer" in 1930. His later movies included "Huckleberry Finn," "Home on the Range," "College Swing," ''Million Dollar Legs," "Sky Patrol," "The Actress," "The Joker Is Wild," "Fine Madness" "Rogues Gallery," "Shakiest Gun in the West" and ''Shakiest Gun in the World." In later years, a balding and heavy-set Coogan made several film and TV appearances, appearing as a costar in "McKeever and the Colonel" and then as Uncle Fester in the "Addams Family." The series ran from 1964-66 and is still popular in syndicated reruns. Coogan was born in Los Angeles in October 1914 to Jack Coogan, a vaudeville hoofer, and Lillian Dolliver Coogan, an ex-child actress billed as Baby Lillian. His father was killed in a car crash near San Diego in 1935, and the 21- year-old Coogan was the sole survivor of the accident. In 1938 he filed suit against his mother and stepfather, his former business manager, and it was disclosed that his multimillion-dollar fortune had all but evaporated. As a result of the legal battle, a California law was enacted providing that parents could no longer control their minor children's earnings. All child movie stars must now have their contracts approved by the courts. In November 1937, during the height of his financial troubles and with his film career at a standstill, Coogan married Grable - then a starlet. They were divorced in 1939. In 1941 he married Flower Parry, a nightclub entertainer. They had one son, and were divorced in 1943. During World War II, Coogan served as a glider pilot in the China- Burma- India Theater. In 1946, he married entertainer Ann McCormack. They had a daughter, and that marriage also ended in divorce. In 1952, he married for the final time, wedding dancer Dodie Lamphere in Mexico City, and they had a daughter and a son. _______________________________________________________________________ (extracted from "Philadelphia Inquirer", 02 MAR 1984, PAGE C16): MOVIE STAR JACKIE COOGAN, 69 Jackie Coogan, 69, the child movie star who appeared with Charlie Chaplin in The Kid and later went on to portray the bald Uncle Fester in the television comedy series "The Addams Family," died yesterday of cardiac arrest. Coogan, who had been undergoing kidney dialysis at a Santa Monica clinic, was taken to Santa Monica Hospital at 11:50 a.m., said his daughter, Leslie Franklin. Mr. Coogan, accompanied by his fourth wife, died a few hours later in the cardiac care unit, spokeswoman Mary Isaacs said. "His blood pressure had dropped while he was on dialysis," Mrs. Franklin said. "They tried to regulate it, but before they could, he had a cardiac arrest." Coogan was born Oct. 26, 1914, and appeared with Chaplin in the silent movie The Kid when he was 4 years old. In addition to TV and films, he played eight to 10 weeks of stock every summer, touring in such plays as Edward Albee's An American Dream and Tennessee Williams' Sweet Bird of Youth. His last theatrical effort was The Escape Artist, a 1980 Francis Ford Coppola film that was never released, Mrs. Franklin said. Mrs. Franklin said her father had undergone dialysis three times a week since his kidneys failed four years ago. She said her parents came from their Palm Springs home to live with her a week ago "so we could get him some nutritional care, get some weight back on him." Mr. Coogan, who made his screen debut when he was 16 months old, was discovered by Chaplin in his parents' vaudeville act and was catapulted to fame in The Kid as the sweet-faced urchin who roamed the neighborhood breaking windows that Chaplin, a glazier, would repair. After The Kid, he appeared in Peck's Bad Boy, Oliver Twist, My Boy, Daddy, Old Clothes, and as a teenager in such talkies as Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. "The Addams Family," a comedy series based on the ghoulish drawings of cartoonist Charles Addams, made its debut in 1964 and ran until 1966. Mr. Coogan played Uncle Fester, one of the denizens of a musty mansion who would often put a light bulb in his mouth to light it up. The child actor made money - more than $4 million - before he was out of short pants. But at 21, Mr. Coogan discovered his parents had spent it all, leaving him penniless. The publicity resulted in the passage of the so-called Coogan Law, which puts all juvenile earnings into court-administered trust funds. "I had to be the pioneer," Mr. Coogan lamented years later. "I probably earned another $5 million from merchandise," he said in 1979 at a surprise 65th birthday party at Hollywood's Brown Derby restaurant. "My dad had a good sense about merchandising, and I appeared in all kinds of products from pencil boxes and soap to suits and caps. I was the only one in the field at the time." In 1938, he sued his mother and stepfather over the missing money. The suit was settled out of court, and he received $150,000. He married actress Betty Grable, the first of his four wives, in 1937. During their two-year marriage, the couple starred in college pictures and returned to vaudeville for one tour. During World War II, Mr. Coogan served as an Army Air Corps lieutenant in the Pacific and was the first to land when glider-borne forces dropped at night 150 miles behind Japanese lines in Northern Burma. He was later awarded the Air Medal. Mr. Coogan's second and third marriages also ended in divorce. He and his second wife, Flower Parry, an actress, had a son, John Anthony. He had a daughter, Joann, with actress Ann McCormick, his third wife. Mr. Coogan married a fourth time, to dancer Dodie Lamphere, and they had two children, Leslie and Chris. He remained active in TV and on the stage through the 1960s, appearing in a Los Angeles production of The Odd Couple. His grandson, Keith Mitchell, carried on the acting tradition, appearing as a regular on "The Waltons" TV series. _______________________________________________________________________ (extracted from "Washington Post" [DC], 02 MAR 1984, PAGE B10): JACKIE COOGAN, FIRST CHILD FILM STAR, DIES AT 69 Jackie Coogan, 69, whose performance as a sad-eyed street urchin alongside Charlie Chaplin in "The Kid" melted the hearts of silent-film audiences and helped make him Hollywood's first major child star, died of cardiac arrest yesterday in Santa Monica, Calif. The son of vaudeville performers, Mr. Coogan won his first movie part at the age of 18 months by gurgling and weeping on cue. He went on to lead a klieg-lit entertainment-world life of ups and downs that appeared to exemplify, as much as anything else, the "show-must-go-on" tradition of his craft and trade. At one point in the 1920s, Mr. Coogan was the nation's No. 1 box- office attraction, leading Rudolph Valentino and Douglas Fairbanks. He was also one of the first child actors to capitalize on endorsements. As a juvenile celebrity, his name and face were everywhere. But as he grew up, he watched his star fade and his prospects dim. Of the $4 million he believed he had earned by the time he was 21, he saw very little. He entered a turbulent period of tangled litigation and highly publicized domestic problems. Jobs became hard to find. Finally, he carved out a new career in summer stock, in movie character parts and on television. In the latter medium, he appeared as Uncle Fester in more than 60 episodes of the series, "The Addams Family." Yesterday, Mr. Coogan, accompanied by his wife, was taken to the Santa Monica Hospital from his home in Malibu shortly before noon. After treatment in the emergency room, he was transferred to the cardiac- care unit, where he died about 1:30 p.m., a hospital spokeswoman said. Born Oct. 26, 1914, Mr. Coogan was only 1 1/2 years old--and the film industry itself barely out of its infancy--when his mother demonstrated his emotional range in a high chair to win him a role in a film called "Skinner's Baby." As a toddler of 4, with shining blond hair, he was in vaudeville, dancing a version of the shimmy in an act that included his father and swimmer Annette Kellerman. Chaplin was in the audience when the act played Los Angeles. In 1919, before he was 5 years old, Mr. Coogan, his hair cut in a Dutch-boy style, was making "The Kid" with Chaplin. Able to bring tears to his blue eyes at will, Mr. Coogan captivated a nation as a sweet-faced waif who broke windows for Chaplin, a glazier, to repair. Fame followed, indisputably. Mr. Coogan and the bangs he wore at least until the age of 10 were seen in "Peck's Bad Boy," "Oliver Twist," "My Boy," "Daddy" and "Old Clothes." Later, as a teen-ager, although his appeal seemed to dwindle, he was seen in such talkies as "Tom Sawyer" and "Huckleberry Finn." But the extent of Mr. Coogan's fortune was in dispute. At the age of 23, several months after his marriage to Betty Grable, he found himself without funds. He filed suit against his mother and the man she had married after the death of his father. "Nobody but me knows how rough things really have been for Jackie," Grable said. The couple lived in a luxury apartment, but Mr. Coogan auctioned their furnishings. "A guy has to eat, hasn't he?" he asked. Eventually, he settled out of court for an amount he once put at about $80,000. The highly publicized litigation led to passage in California of the so-called "Coogan Law" that places juveniles' earnings into court-administered trust funds. Grable and Mr. Coogan were divorced in 1940. The next year, Mr. Coogan married Flower Parry. She sued for divorce in 1942. Meanwhile, early in 1941, Mr. Coogan asked that his draft call be speeded up. An experienced flier, he became a glider pilot. In March 1944, as Flight Officer John L. Coogan, he was at the controls of the lead glider when Allied forces under Maj. Gen. Orde Wingate landed behind Japanese lines in an operation in northern Burma. In 1948, after leaving the Army, Mr. Coogan married Ann McCormack. They were divorced two years later. On his postwar return to Hollywood, Mr. Coogan said, "I got big hellos and backslaps, but no jobs." The wistful expression that had once made him a star was long gone. His hair had grown thin at the temples by the time he was 21. Now he wore a toupee. In 1950, at the age of 35, he said he was quitting show business to sell a kitchen gadget because he could not find a job in Hollywood. But in time, Mr. Coogan, a trouper who could recall playing New York's famed Palace in the heyday of vaudeville, found work in television, making more than 800 appearances by the middle 1960s. He toured on stage in summer stock, and he began again to make movies. In addition to the "Addams Family" series, the decorated flier co- starred in numerous episodes of "McKeever and the Colonel." More recent films included "The Actress," "The Joker Is Wild," and "Rogues Gallery." Showing little inclination to dwell on the problems of the past, he said, "Maybe I'm funny, but I look forwardto getting to work each day." Although most of the money he had earned as a child star was gone, Mr. Coogan retained a visible reminder of his childhood--a movie print of "The Kid." "Oh yes . . . " he once told an interviewer. "And every time I run it, I remember little things." Survivors include his wife, Dorothea, whom he married in 1950, and four children. _______________________________________________________________________