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Jackie Coogan: The World's Boy King: A Biography of Hollywood's Legendary Child Star
Discovered by Charlie Chaplin in 1919, four-year-old Jackie Coogan soared to overnight stardom for his title role in the silent masterpiece, The Kid. A string of successes followed, including Peck's Bad Boy, Oliver Twist, and A Boy of Flanders, earning Coogan a fortune of four million dollars. Dubbed 'The Millionaire Kid' by the press, he later had to sue his parents in a futile attempt to recover his squandered fortune. His later years were marked with penury and the cruel diminishment of his childhood fame. As an adult, he found work in character roles and gained unexpected but fleeting fame as 'Uncle Fester' in the series The Addams Family. He continued to make guest appearances on television until his death in 1984. In Jackie Coogan: The World's Boy King, Diana Serra Cary reveals the little-known and even less understood private life of this famous child star and his dysfunctional family. She looks at the highs and lows of an actor who reached the height of fame before ten and whose subsequent career took an inevitable fall. Cary also examines the conduct of Coogan's parents, whose behavior served as an unfortunate model for countless others who sought fame and fortune through their children's success. The author, a major child star (the former Baby Peggy), employs her own hard-won insight to explore the career and family woes of another in this fascinating account about one of the greatest child stars of all time. Includes more than 30 photos.
328 pages, Hardcover
First published June 1, 2003
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About the author
Diana Serra Cary
10 books15 followersCary was born on October 29, 1918, in San Diego, California,as Peggy-Jean Montgomery, the second daughter of Marian (née Baxter) and Jack Montgomery. While some sources incorrectly give her birth name as Margaret, Cary herself, in her autobiography, notes that she was indeed born as Peggy-Jean.
Baby Peggy was "discovered" at the age of 19 months, when she visited Century Studios on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood with her mother and a film-extra friend.
The success of the Baby Peggy films brought her into prominence. When she was not filming, she embarked on extensive "In-Person" personal appearance tours across the country to promote her movies. She was also featured in several short skits on major stages in Los Angeles and New York, including Grauman's Million Dollar Theatre and the Hippodrome. Her likeness appeared on magazine covers and was used in advertisements for various businesses and charitable campaigns. She was also named the Official Mascot of the 1924 Democratic Convention in New York, and stood onstage waving a United States flag next to Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
While under contract with Century and Universal, Peggy commanded an impressive salary, but her parents didn't set aside any money for the future well being of Peggy or her sister, Louise. Through reckless spending of her parents, and corrupt business partners of her father, her entire fortune was gone before she hit puberty.
In her post acting years, Peggy married Gordon Ayres in 1938 and a few years later adopted the name Diana Ayres in an effort to distance herself from the Baby Peggy image. Working at the time as a writer for radio shows, she found that people who figured out her identity were more interested in her Baby Peggy persona than in her writing abilities. She later changed her name to Diana Serra Cary explaining, "After my divorce [from Gordon Ayres] and when I became a Catholic I took Serra as my confirmation name. When I married Bob [her second husband] I became Mrs. Cary."
Eventually, after years of emotional struggle and open derision from Hollywood insiders and the media,] Cary made peace with her Baby Peggy past. She had successful careers as a publisher, historian and author on Hollywood subjects, writing, among other works, an autobiography of her life as a child star, What Ever Happened to Baby Peggy: The Autobiography of Hollywood's Pioneer Child Star, and a biography of her contemporary and rival, Jackie Coogan: The World's Boy King: A Biography of Hollywood's Legendary Child Star.
As an adult, Cary worked on numerous books about the early film industry, Hollywood cowboys and harsh working conditions for child stars in Hollywood. At the end of her own autobiography, she recounts the fates of numerous child stars, including Judy Garland and Shirley Temple. She also advocated for reforms in child performer protection laws as a member of the organization A Minor Consideration.
Cary appeared in numerous television documentaries and interviews about her work, and she made guest appearances at silent film festivals. At the age of 99, Cary self-published her first novel, The Drowning of the Moon.
Cary & her second husband had one son, Mark. They remained married until Cary's death in 2001. She lived in Gustine, California, near Modesto for many years.
Cary died at her home in Gustine on February 24, 2020, at the age of 101.
abridged from Wikipedia
Baby Peggy was "discovered" at the age of 19 months, when she visited Century Studios on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood with her mother and a film-extra friend.
The success of the Baby Peggy films brought her into prominence. When she was not filming, she embarked on extensive "In-Person" personal appearance tours across the country to promote her movies. She was also featured in several short skits on major stages in Los Angeles and New York, including Grauman's Million Dollar Theatre and the Hippodrome. Her likeness appeared on magazine covers and was used in advertisements for various businesses and charitable campaigns. She was also named the Official Mascot of the 1924 Democratic Convention in New York, and stood onstage waving a United States flag next to Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
While under contract with Century and Universal, Peggy commanded an impressive salary, but her parents didn't set aside any money for the future well being of Peggy or her sister, Louise. Through reckless spending of her parents, and corrupt business partners of her father, her entire fortune was gone before she hit puberty.
In her post acting years, Peggy married Gordon Ayres in 1938 and a few years later adopted the name Diana Ayres in an effort to distance herself from the Baby Peggy image. Working at the time as a writer for radio shows, she found that people who figured out her identity were more interested in her Baby Peggy persona than in her writing abilities. She later changed her name to Diana Serra Cary explaining, "After my divorce [from Gordon Ayres] and when I became a Catholic I took Serra as my confirmation name. When I married Bob [her second husband] I became Mrs. Cary."
Eventually, after years of emotional struggle and open derision from Hollywood insiders and the media,] Cary made peace with her Baby Peggy past. She had successful careers as a publisher, historian and author on Hollywood subjects, writing, among other works, an autobiography of her life as a child star, What Ever Happened to Baby Peggy: The Autobiography of Hollywood's Pioneer Child Star, and a biography of her contemporary and rival, Jackie Coogan: The World's Boy King: A Biography of Hollywood's Legendary Child Star.
As an adult, Cary worked on numerous books about the early film industry, Hollywood cowboys and harsh working conditions for child stars in Hollywood. At the end of her own autobiography, she recounts the fates of numerous child stars, including Judy Garland and Shirley Temple. She also advocated for reforms in child performer protection laws as a member of the organization A Minor Consideration.
Cary appeared in numerous television documentaries and interviews about her work, and she made guest appearances at silent film festivals. At the age of 99, Cary self-published her first novel, The Drowning of the Moon.
Cary & her second husband had one son, Mark. They remained married until Cary's death in 2001. She lived in Gustine, California, near Modesto for many years.
Cary died at her home in Gustine on February 24, 2020, at the age of 101.
abridged from Wikipedia
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
April 1, 2020
This was a difficult book to find and one I always wanted to read after reading Baby Peggy's autobiography - Diana Serra Cary was Baby Peggy in silent films. When she passed away a few weeks ago, I went on the search again and found an autographed copy. Read this in 2 days. She is such a prolific writer and having been a "million dollar baby" whose parents stole every dime, she had great perspective on what Jackie Coogan went thru. I've always been fascinated by the Silent Film Era and this book delivered
December 28, 2014
This is the rare book about someone by someone who has been in their shoes. In this case child star Baby Peggy writes about Jackie Coogan who made vast fortunes only to have his parents steal it and spend it all as did Baby Peggy's parents. The book is very well written and very interesting and should be read by everyone interested in Hollywood and movies. I read this book because I really liked the author's autobiography, Whatever happened to Baby Peggy.
April 30, 2019
Interesting, readable biography
This is a terrific bio of Coogan and a first-year history of silent film days. The author shows Slogan from all sides, good and bad. She shows how child actors have been exploited through history, and she does it without ranting. This is a wonderfully readable book. I totally enjoyed it.
This is a terrific bio of Coogan and a first-year history of silent film days. The author shows Slogan from all sides, good and bad. She shows how child actors have been exploited through history, and she does it without ranting. This is a wonderfully readable book. I totally enjoyed it.
March 4, 2020
The sad story of a hyperactive preschooler, exploited by his greedy parents, who grew up into an undisciplined alcoholic who may or may not have helped to lynch his best friend's killer.
April 28, 2010
Biography of child
actor Jackie Coogan from the unique vantage point of his contemporary
Diana Serra Cary, AKA Baby Peggy. As always, her books are insightful
and well written.
actor Jackie Coogan from the unique vantage point of his contemporary
Diana Serra Cary, AKA Baby Peggy. As always, her books are insightful
and well written.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews