Thursday, May 5, 2011

Jackie Cooper (1922-2011)

He was the youngest actor ever nominated for an Academy Award at age 9, and made a successful transition from acting to directing, beginning in the 50's. On Wednesday, Hollywood mourned the loss of actor-filmmaker Jackie Cooper at 88.

Cooper earned his Oscar nomination for his role in "Skippy", and went on to star in films such as "The Champ" & "Treasure Island". Cooper was also a cast member of Hal Roach's Our Gang shorts, making his debut in "Boxing Gloves".

Television gave Cooper the opportunity to try his hand at directing, which he did first with his own series, Hennessey, and also a number of episodes of other series, most notably M*A*S*H, as well as TV-movies, such as 1985's "Izzy & Moe", which reunited Honeymooners icons Jackie Gleason & Art Carney.

Cooper returned to movies in 1978, cast as newspaper editor Perry White in "Superman", and appeared in the three succeeding sequels.

Rest in peace, Jackie, you'll be missed.

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