Ten of Classic Hollywood's Best Child Actors

Kid Stars of Hollywood's Golden Era

As long as Hollywood has existed, it has employed children to appear in films. Before there was Jodie Foster or Lindsay Lohan or the Olsen Twins or Shia LaBeouf or any of the other innumerable, ever-changing list of child actors of more recent times, there were child actors of an earlier generation who were , I believe, far more talented.

During Hollywood's beginnings and throughout its Golden Years, there were many young actors and actresses who stood out.  The ten I consider to be the most gifted among them are as follows:

Jackie Coogan

There had been child actors in silent films before, but Jackie Coogan became more famous than all of them. He was probably the first real child star in movies.

Coogan started in vaudeville, delighting audiences with his precocious performances.  His abilities brought him to the attention of the great screen comic Charlie Chaplin, who put him in the title role of "The Kid." The story of the cute, large-eyed waif taken care of by Chaplin's The Tramp character made movie-goers both laugh and cry, and the film became a gigantic commercial hit.  Jackie  also starred in the films "Oliver Twist," "Circus Days," "Little Robinson Crusoe," "The Rag Man," "Peck's Bad Boy" and "Buttons."

Much like the child actors of our day, big business was made as his name and likeness were used to sell everything from peanut butter to records. He personally earned millions over the course of his childhood acting career..

His legal battle with his mother over his earnings led to the California Child Actors' Bill, which requires the parents of kid actors to put 15% of their income into a trust for them. Thanks to that law, a lot of child actors owe a debt of appreciation to Jackie Coogan. Unfortunately, it was too late for him to benefit from the passage of this law, since his greedy mother and stepdad had pretty much run through most of his money. 

Although Coogan did keep working, his popularity waned as he grew older.  He married four times, including once to actress Betty Grable, fought in World War II and returned to the film industry, albeit no longer famous.