John Leslie Coogan (October 26, 1914 – March 1, 1984) was an American actor and comedian who began his film career as a child actor in silent films. Coogan's title role in Charlie Chaplin's film The Kid (1921) made him one of the first child stars in the history of Hollywood.
He later sued his mother and stepfather over his squandered film earnings and inspired California to enact the first known legal protection for the earnings of child performers, the California Child Actor's Bill, widely known as the "Coogan Act".
Coogan continued to act throughout his life, later earning renewed fame in middle age portraying Uncle Fester in the 1960s television series The Addams Family.
John Leslie Coogan was born in Los Angeles, California, in 1914 to John Henry Jr. and Lillian Rita (née Dolliver) Coogan. He began performing as an infant in both vaudeville and film, with the title role (uncredited) in the 1917 film Skinner's Baby. Charlie Chaplin discovered him in the Orpheum Theatre, a vaudeville house in Los Angeles, on the stage doing the shimmy, a then-popular dance. Coogan's father was also an actor.
Coogan was a natural mimic and delighted Chaplin with his abilities. Chaplin cast him in a small role in A Day's Pleasure (1919). The following year, Chaplin cast Coogan as the abandoned child raised by his Tramp character in the silent comedy-drama The Kid (1921). In 1922, Coogan was cast in the title role in Oliver Twist, directed by Frank Lloyd. Coogan was one of the first stars to be heavily merchandised. Peanut butter, stationery, whistles, dolls, records, coins, and figurines were among the Coogan-themed merchandise on sale.
Coogan had been privately tutored until the age of 10 and then sent to a military academy and prep schools until he was 16. He entered Santa Clara University in 1932, flunked out, and transferred to the University of Southern California, intending to obtain a business or law degree.
On May 4, 1935, 20-year-old Coogan was the sole survivor of a car crash on the winding San Diego-Imperial Valley Highway, in eastern San Diego County that killed his father, his 19-year-old best friend, actor Trent ("Junior") Durkin, their ranch foreman Charles Jones, and actor and writer Robert J. Horner. The party was returning from a day of dove hunting just over the Mexican border. With Coogan's father at the wheel, the car was forced off the mountain highway near Pine Valley by an oncoming vehicle and rolled down an embankment. Durkin had been a costar of Coogan's in the Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn films. Jackie, who had been thrown from the rumble seat, suffered two broken ribs and bruises.
While a child actor, Coogan worked with Near East Relief and toured across the United States and Europe in 1924 on a "Children's Crusade" as part of his fundraising drive. His efforts provided more than $1 million in clothing, food, and other contributions ($14.8 million in 2021 dollars), and he was honored by officials in the United States and Greece. He also had an audience with Pope Pius XI.
A Catholic, Coogan was a member of the Good Shepherd Parish and the Catholic Motion Picture Guild in Beverly Hills.
As a child star, Coogan earned an estimated $3,000,000 (equivalent to $70,449,000 in 2025) to $4,000,000 (equivalent to $93,932,000 in 2025). When he turned 21 in October 1935, his fortune was believed to be well intact. His assets had been conservatively managed by his father, who had died in a car accident five months earlier.
Coogan soon discovered, though, that nearly the entire amount had been squandered by his mother and stepfather, Arthur Bernstein, on fur coats, diamonds and other jewelry, and expensive cars. Bernstein had been a financial advisor for the family and married Coogan's mother in late 1936.
Coogan's mother and stepfather claimed Jackie enjoyed himself and simply thought he was playing before the camera. She insisted, "No promises were ever made to give Jackie anything", and claimed he "was a bad boy".
Coogan sued them in 1938, but after his legal expenses, he received just $126,000 (equivalent to $2,882,000 in 2025) of the $250,000 (equivalent to $5,718,000 in 2025) remaining of his earnings. When Coogan went broke during the litigation, he asked Charlie Chaplin for assistance; Chaplin handed him $1,000 (equivalent to $23,000 in 2025) in cash without hesitation.
The legal battle focused attention on child actors and resulted in the 1939 enactment of the California Child Actor's Bill, often referred to as the "Coogan Law" or the "Coogan Act". It required that a child actor's employer set aside 15% of the earnings in a trust (called a Coogan account) and specified the actor's schooling, work hours, and time off.
Coogan appeared with then-wife Betty Grable in College Swing, a 1938 musical comedy starring George Burns, Gracie Allen, Martha Raye, and Bob Hope.
In 1960, Coogan appeared in the ensemble comedy Sex Kittens Go to College with Mamie Van Doren and others. Coincidentaly, Charles Chaplin Jr. and Harold Lloyd Jr., both of whose fathers Coogan acted with in films decades earlier, have uncredited cameos in the film.
He appeared as a police officer in the Elvis Presley comedy Girl Happy in 1965.
In 1940, Coogan played the role of "a playboy Broadway producer" in the Society Girl program on CBS radio. He also starred in his own program, Forever Ernest, on CBS from April 29 to July 22, 1946.