Born Today November 7: Joe Cobb

 

 1916-2002

 

One of the original Our Gang actors, Joe Cobb was also one of the most memorable of the "gangsters." Joe Frank Cobb was born on this day in Shawnee, Oklahoma.  Almost all of his appearances in Hal Roach films came in the 1920's.  He first auditioned for Roach and company in 1921 when he was just five years of age and was cast immediately. His first film for them was The Champeen, filmed in 1922 and released in January of 1923.  All but six of his nearly 100 acting credits came between the beginning of 1923 through the end of 1929; in the vast majority of them, he was credited simply as "Joe."  His first appearance in a film with sound (sound effects & music...in other words a partial silent) came in the film entitled, appropriately enough, Noisy Noises, and released in February of 1929. His first full sound picture, or talkie, Our Gang short was equally appropriately titled Small Talk and was released in May of 1929. He appeared in six more Hal Roach films that year, three of which were full or partial silents, including his last film of the decade, the 20 minute long Saturday's Lesson (November 1929). By this time, Joe had turned 13--officially a teenager, he was aging out of the Hal Roach world. He did appear in three Little Rascals films in the 1930's: Fish Hooky in 1933 was the first. The other two, Pay As You Exit (1936) and Reunion in Rhythm (1937), he had much smaller roles and in the last one, his role was simply as "Fat Kid." He only had three more film acting roles in his young career and his in his first feature length film--A Yank at Oxford--his role as "Boy with Drum"--went uncredited. His last two acting roles came in 1941. The Arthur Lubin musical Where Did You Get That Girl? was his first--and only--feature credit as "Tubby."  His role in the Frank McDonald musical Tuxedo Junction--his last professional film role--also went uncredited. When he quit acting, his adult career was gained during World War II as an aircraft assembler at the North American Aviation in Downey, California. He continued to work there after the war for the remainder of his working life, retiring at the age of 65 in 1981. In 1986 he appeared in the documentary Classic Comedy Teams, which was hosted by Steve Allen. Cobb passed away at the age of 85 on the 21st of May in 2002 in Santa Ana, California. He is buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale. 

[Source: AJM (Find A Grave)]

 

 

[Source: AJM (Find A Grave)]

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Born Today September 17: Donnie 'Beezer' Smith

 

 

Born: 1924

 

Lesser known "Our Gang" actor Donnie "Beezer" Smith was born Donald R. Smith on this day in Kern County, California.  Donnie got into acting due to being the younger brother of "gangster" Jay R. Smith who was almost ten years his senior. "Beezer's" first film with the gang came in 1928 the in one of the last silent Rascals films: Fair and Muddy when he was just 4 years old. In total Smith was in a total of four Little Rascal films, one of them--Boxing Gloves--with full sound.  His last Our Gang film was the partial silent Cat, Dog & Co.  in 1929. 

 

 

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Born Today September 15: Jackie Cooper (Not So Silent Edition)

1922-2011

Well known actor of the large and small screen, Jackie Cooper, born John, was a child actor and a member of the Our Gang cast in the late 1920's. He was born on this day in Los Angeles. While he actually made his film debut as a small boy in an tiny film appearances when he was as young as three--appearing with his grandmother--and he apparently appeared in short comedies under the name of "Leonard," there is scant information at this time on this part of his life. We do know that he appeared in the Fox Movietone Follies of 1929 in an uncredited part; his actual proper debut came that same year in the all talking Our Gang short Boxing Gloves in the role of "Jackie," which is how he got the nickname that stayed with him for life.  Cooper appeared in three more late 20's Little Rascals shorts in 1929: Bouncing Babies (where he went uncredited again), Moan & Groan, Inc. (where he is again playing Jackie) and Sunny Side Up (again, uncredited).  Over the next couple of years he appeared in multiple Little Rascals films, including a couple of Spanish language productions. His first credit outside the franchise came pretty early though. He is credited as Jackie Cooper in the role of Skippy Skinner, taking top billing in Norman Taurog's 1931 family comedy Skippy (he reprised the role later that year in Sooky). Cooper wound up being one of the most prolific child film actors to date. All of this was due to his family involvement in the business. His uncle (mother's brother) was a screenwriter and his maternal aunt was actress Julie Leonard who was the first wife of Taurog (himself a a former child actor), making him Jackie's uncle at the time Skippy was made [Taurog actually won the Oscar for Best Director for the film, making him the youngest director to do so]. After his father abandoned the family when he was 2 years of age, his mother--a theatrical musician--married a studio man, a production manager. So young John/Jackie was surrounded by movie workers in his immediate family completely. Given those circumstances, and owed to his very real acting talent, it is no surprise that he would go on to have a very long, varied and successful career. In just the early years of the 1930's alone he appeared in films with the likes of Wallace Beery (whom Cooper as good reason not to like), Oscar Apfel, Irene Rich, Lewis Stone, Lionel Barrymore and Richard Dix.  By the time he was 18, he was already occupying adult roles and in 1940 appeared along side Henry Fonda and Gene Tierney in The Return of Frank James.  Cooper took time off to serve in the Navy during World War II, and he served in the Naval Reserves until 1982, retiring with a rank of Captain.  His first post war role came in the 1947 comedy Stork Bites Man.  Cooper made his television debut just two years later in an episode The Chevrolet Tele-Theatre (Jinxed)--an anthology series which aired live (talk about pressure!).  This would be the beginning of a career on the small screen that would last over 40 years.  In the decades that followed he would appear some of the most successful series of their times; including (but, of course, not limited to!):  Danger, Studio One in Hollywood (the 1950's) The Twilight Zone, The Dick Powell Theater (the 1960's); Hawaii Five-O, Ironside, Columbo, Kojak, The Rockford Files (the 1970's); St. Elsewhere and Murder, She Wrote (the 1980's).  He also had the lead in  Hennesey as Lt. Charles "Chick" Hennesey--a Navy physician (a role, so obviously close to his heart).  The series ran for three seasons between 1959 and 1962 for 95 episodes.  Cooper was introduced to a whole new generation of young movie goers as the character Perry White, who appeared in all four Superman films starring Christopher Reeve (between 1978 and 1987).  His last film role came in the comedy Surrender starring Sally Field and Michael Caine in 1987. His last acting role(s) came in two episodes of the short lived series Capital News in 1990.  Cooper retired from acting and devoted the rest of his life to training racing horses (he was also an avid auto-racer). He passed away at the age of 88 in Santa Monica on the 3rd of May in 2011. For his life-long naval service, he was buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia.  

 

 

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[source: Anne W (Find A Grave)]

 

 

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Born Today September 3: Wally Albright

Wally Albright 1925-1999

Born Walton Algernon Albright, he was a child actor in the late silent era and was a member of the Our Gang cast, more popularly known later on as "The Little Rascals," where he was billed as "Wally Albright."  He appeared in 6 Little Rascals. He was one of the very first well recognized child actors of the end of the silent era.  He also worked as a child/teen actor in various talking roles, right up through the 1940's.  His last two acting credits are from the 1950's as an adult.  He was sometimes billed as Wally Albright Jr.  He is buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, CA.

He served in World War II and later in life went on to found a very successful trucking company.  He was also a well known water sportsman .

Silents And Early Talkies

Going Ga-Ga  1929 (this is a partially lost film--exists in fragments only)

The Case Of Lena Smith 1929 (exists in one fragment only)

Scandal  1929 (partial talkie)

Thunder 1929 (early talkie Western Electric) [Lost Film]

Wonder Of Women 1929 (partial talkie)

The Single Standard 1929 (this Garbo partial talkie, was one of the first films to feature it's own composed soundtrack, written especially for the silent parts of the movie.)

His "Our Gang" credits date from 1934

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