“I was very close to my father. Very close.”

American actor and comedian

Jackie Coogan was an American actor and comedian who began his film career as a child performer in silent films. Born John Leslie Coogan, he became widely known for the title role in Charlie Chaplin’s The Kid (1921), which made him one of the first child stars in Hollywood. He is remembered mainly for that early breakthrough, when his screen presence helped define the appeal of child actors in the silent era. His name remains tied to the film that first made him famous, and to a career that started very young.