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Twinkle Twinkle, Little Star: But Don't Have Sex or Take the Car
With contributions from fellow onetime child stars, the author recalls life and work in Hollywood during the 1930s and 1940s and the attitudes of the child stars toward each other, adults, directors, and producers
303 pages, Hardcover
First published August 1, 1984
170 people want to read
About the author
Dick Moore
1 bookAmerican actor. Known as "Dickie Moore" as a child. Member of "Our Gang"/"The Little Rascals."
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
June 11, 2024
This book was written in 1984. The former child actor Dickie Moore wanted to interview over 30 other former child stars. What a terrific read! It look like it took a few years to interview many famous child stars from the 1920s,30s, and 40s. A lot of these kids were the bread winners for their families. Mr. Moore touched on many subjects. He talked with Jackie Coogan, Jackie Cooper, Baby Peggy {now Diana Cary} Margaret O'Brien, Jane Withers, Peggy ann Garner, Sybil Jason Darryl Hickman,Dean Stockwell,Jane Powell{who he ended up marrying} and even Shirley Temple. And that is just a few of those he interviewed.
He asked the stars what it was like to be a child actor, what happened to the money they earned. The big stars they worked with such as Humphrey Bogart, Barbara Stanwyk,Marlena Dietrich,Errol Flynn, Clark Gable.Some of the adult actors they worked with were nice others mean. All the former child actors had their stories good and bad. Dick Moore interviewed over 30 child actors who were in movies from the 20s-40s. they shared what became of them after they grew up.Most of them did not continue their careers as actors. some did go behind the cameras. others had careers totally out of the business.
There were so many honest feelings given sharing how some of them ended up in therapy feeling lost and confused about how to live as adults when they had careers as children. I found this a fact filled fascinating book to read. If you wonder about the "whatever became of?" this is a very interesting book to read. It is from 30 years ago. but still gave a lot of information of what it was like to be a famous child actor. UPDATE: I read this book for the second time. very interesting read about child stars who were born in the 19teens through the 1930s. Glad to read this book again.
He asked the stars what it was like to be a child actor, what happened to the money they earned. The big stars they worked with such as Humphrey Bogart, Barbara Stanwyk,Marlena Dietrich,Errol Flynn, Clark Gable.Some of the adult actors they worked with were nice others mean. All the former child actors had their stories good and bad. Dick Moore interviewed over 30 child actors who were in movies from the 20s-40s. they shared what became of them after they grew up.Most of them did not continue their careers as actors. some did go behind the cameras. others had careers totally out of the business.
There were so many honest feelings given sharing how some of them ended up in therapy feeling lost and confused about how to live as adults when they had careers as children. I found this a fact filled fascinating book to read. If you wonder about the "whatever became of?" this is a very interesting book to read. It is from 30 years ago. but still gave a lot of information of what it was like to be a famous child actor. UPDATE: I read this book for the second time. very interesting read about child stars who were born in the 19teens through the 1930s. Glad to read this book again.
May 6, 2012
Loved this book. It was rather sad, though, because some of these kids went from the absolute height of stardom into absolute depths of poverty and depression. Does anyone remember Bobby Driscoll? You hear him everytime you see the movie Peter Pan because that's his voice. He was so popular when he was young and ended up a dead drug addict in an abandoned building in NYC who was buried in a paupers grave. Mr. Moore himself was in demand until an ear operation sidelined him and when he was able to work again, he found no one wanted him. Some kids, like Jane Withers were able to move on to other things. But others just never recovered. A story told from the child's perspective. Very moving with some funny bits as well.
March 21, 2012
More than an autobiography, this is a study into the worlds of child stars from the Golden Age of Hollywood. Moore interviewed many child actors including Jackie Coogan, Sybil Jason, Matthew Beard, Roddy McDowall, Natalie Wood, Jane Powell, Dean Stockwell, etc. to give an overall view of the struggles and triumphs of growing up in Hollywood and in the public eye. It is an excellent resource with lots of personal details that make it extra special.
August 3, 2020
The early ‘80s and Dickie (now ‘Dick’) Moore searches for a Rosebud – or several – as he meets around 30 of his fellow former child stars, from Baby Peggy to Natalie Wood, trying to work out how their early years in Hollywood have affected their lives.
It’s quite bleak, to be honest: only Mickey Rooney seems to have enjoyed his time as a star, and only Bonita Granville and the very together, polished Shirley Temple seem to be relatively well-adjusted now. For the others, it’s been poverty, failed marriages, feelings of guilt and oppressive responsibility, and an inability to reconcile a desire for anonymity with a need to emulate former glories. Bear in mind too that these are the ones who survived – Scotty Beckett, Bobby Driscoll and Carl ‘Alfalfa’ Switzer didn’t, and weirdly don’t get a mention.
The book is insightful and essentially does its job: offering a unique perspective and an access that probably wouldn’t be possible without Moore’s contacts and charm. The trade-off is that he isn’t a particularly good writer: his book is rather shapeless, with too many of the stories not really going anywhere, and there’s a lack of distinction drawn between the mundane and the fascinating. There are some fun bits of antique gossip amongst the illuminating misery, though, and Dean Stockwell and Jackie Coogan’s colourful, unstintingly foul-mouthed reminiscences are good value.
It’s quite bleak, to be honest: only Mickey Rooney seems to have enjoyed his time as a star, and only Bonita Granville and the very together, polished Shirley Temple seem to be relatively well-adjusted now. For the others, it’s been poverty, failed marriages, feelings of guilt and oppressive responsibility, and an inability to reconcile a desire for anonymity with a need to emulate former glories. Bear in mind too that these are the ones who survived – Scotty Beckett, Bobby Driscoll and Carl ‘Alfalfa’ Switzer didn’t, and weirdly don’t get a mention.
The book is insightful and essentially does its job: offering a unique perspective and an access that probably wouldn’t be possible without Moore’s contacts and charm. The trade-off is that he isn’t a particularly good writer: his book is rather shapeless, with too many of the stories not really going anywhere, and there’s a lack of distinction drawn between the mundane and the fascinating. There are some fun bits of antique gossip amongst the illuminating misery, though, and Dean Stockwell and Jackie Coogan’s colourful, unstintingly foul-mouthed reminiscences are good value.
November 21, 2018
Amazing to discover that this book, which I bought for $1.00 at an outdoor antique show, sells for anywhere from $35.00 to $180.00 online! It's a fascinating book for a few reasons. In the first place, it sheds a lot of light on the way child stars were treated (by the movie studios, the contract players and the children's own parents) in the early days of film-making and beyond. It's also unique because its author, once a sought-after and very successful child actor in his own right, managed to touch base with nearly three-dozen other child stars who met with varying degrees of success and/or difficulty. And then there is the fact that he landed interviews with a) the often-reticent Shirley Temple Black and b) Natalie Wood, not long before her tragic demise. It even dares to relay the kindliness of one Joan Crawford who, in 1984, was still the brunt of a humongous shift in perception thanks to the "non-fiction" book her adopted daughter wrote and its over-the-top movie interpretation just a couple of years prior.
It's not a very long/thick book and there are difficult facets of Mr. Moore's life that he surely could have gone into more deeply had he wished to, but there is invaluable insight into the lives and minds of these performers who won the hearts of the nation only to be cheated of their income by greedy relatives or shunted aside when they weren't "cute" anymore. Thankfully, there are now not only rules about the working conditions of children now and laws to (try to) protect their income, but, thanks to people like Paul Petersen, there are organizations out there to assist these troubled folks who had their youth absconded by a greedy system and their finances mishandled by uneducated or dishonest members of their circle.
Dick Moore was, unfortunately, a bitter man who never really got over the way his early life went, but happily for him, there was one side-effect from this book that was good news regarding him. He became acquainted with interviewee Jane Powell and they eventually developed a relationship and a happy, lengthy marriage. So there was one thing that did turn out rosily out of the whole ordeal. Sadly, many of these child stars are now deceased, but it's great to have their memories and experiences preserved here.
It's not a very long/thick book and there are difficult facets of Mr. Moore's life that he surely could have gone into more deeply had he wished to, but there is invaluable insight into the lives and minds of these performers who won the hearts of the nation only to be cheated of their income by greedy relatives or shunted aside when they weren't "cute" anymore. Thankfully, there are now not only rules about the working conditions of children now and laws to (try to) protect their income, but, thanks to people like Paul Petersen, there are organizations out there to assist these troubled folks who had their youth absconded by a greedy system and their finances mishandled by uneducated or dishonest members of their circle.
Dick Moore was, unfortunately, a bitter man who never really got over the way his early life went, but happily for him, there was one side-effect from this book that was good news regarding him. He became acquainted with interviewee Jane Powell and they eventually developed a relationship and a happy, lengthy marriage. So there was one thing that did turn out rosily out of the whole ordeal. Sadly, many of these child stars are now deceased, but it's great to have their memories and experiences preserved here.
December 11, 2015
Dick Moore recently passed away, and I discovered that this book existed only when I read his obituary. It's a tough book to track down: I suspect it only went through one printing, and I wound up having to join a new library consortium to check it out. (The cheapest copies on Amazon are $90. NINETY DOLLARS!) That's really too bad, as the material Moore collected for Twinkle Twinkle is priceless and, as far as I know, unparalleled in its access and scope.
Moore's interviews with the children who grew up in and survived the "Hollywood system" of the first half of the 20th Century are illuminating and, in the end, almost always sad: these famous children were used by the studios and their parents, then left to fend for themselves. Few of them actually had any of the millions they made by the time they were adults--their parents, guardians, and assorted agents usually spent it all--and their psychological development was stunted (to put it mildly) since everyone around them insisted that they remain An Adorable Child for as long as possible. When they weren't Cute Children anymore, most were cast aside, with no money, no skills beyond acting (which they were told they couldn't do any more), and no understanding of how to function as an adult. Moore's interviews expose the tragedies of each child's life--including his own.
The book is not without its problems: it is organized into thematic chapters, but the narrative within each chapter tends to wander. The final chapter contains scattered thoughts from former child stars on Child Stars Today and television as a medium, and the meditations vary from the merely snobbish to the demonstrably false (in fairness: perhaps they weren't in the 1980s, when the book was written). The book could've done without a These Kids Today! and a This TV Stuff Today! section. (Don't Andy Rooney your book on purpose, folks.)
Overall, I learned a lot from this book, and gained some insight into the old Hollywood System and how child stars were (and still are) treated. If the movie business and its history interests you, this book is a must-read.
Moore's interviews with the children who grew up in and survived the "Hollywood system" of the first half of the 20th Century are illuminating and, in the end, almost always sad: these famous children were used by the studios and their parents, then left to fend for themselves. Few of them actually had any of the millions they made by the time they were adults--their parents, guardians, and assorted agents usually spent it all--and their psychological development was stunted (to put it mildly) since everyone around them insisted that they remain An Adorable Child for as long as possible. When they weren't Cute Children anymore, most were cast aside, with no money, no skills beyond acting (which they were told they couldn't do any more), and no understanding of how to function as an adult. Moore's interviews expose the tragedies of each child's life--including his own.
The book is not without its problems: it is organized into thematic chapters, but the narrative within each chapter tends to wander. The final chapter contains scattered thoughts from former child stars on Child Stars Today and television as a medium, and the meditations vary from the merely snobbish to the demonstrably false (in fairness: perhaps they weren't in the 1980s, when the book was written). The book could've done without a These Kids Today! and a This TV Stuff Today! section. (Don't Andy Rooney your book on purpose, folks.)
Overall, I learned a lot from this book, and gained some insight into the old Hollywood System and how child stars were (and still are) treated. If the movie business and its history interests you, this book is a must-read.
October 28, 2009
Fascinating memoirs by Dickie Moore and the fellow child stars that he interviewed. The book is arranged roughly topically, as Moore shares his memories of acting, co-stars, parties, parents, school, etc., followed by the impressions of the other former kid stars. Lots of anecdotes, some funny, some horrifying. I was reading at the same time as reading Bud Schulberg's Moving Pictures, memoirs of a Hollywood Prince, and they both provide different but interesting "kid's eye" views of Hollywood.
January 25, 2021
Excellent look at various child stars and their lives. I wish there had been longer interviews with some of them, but since it is about multiple you can only go so deep. One star they missed that I would have loved knowing more about is Freddie Bartholomew. But the others are just as great.
December 22, 2016
Fascinating bio of one time child star Dickie Moore. His story is interesting in and of itself but what gives this an extra punch is that he contacted and interviewed many other performers who were also child stars or performers among them Natalie Wood, Jackies Coogan & Cooper, Roddy McDowell, Jane Withers and the biggest of them all Shirley Temple. They share their different perspectives on a singular experience, and crazy way of life, that only they can truly understand and in so doing illuminate what the life of a child performer was during Hollywood's Golden Age. Well worth seeking out.
In an "Only in Hollywood" sort of coda while researching the book Moore met with and interviewed MGM musical teen star Jane Powell who had a successful adult career in nightclubs. The two hit it off and ultimately married remaining happily so for almost 30 years in the longest marriage for either (Dick had 3, Jane 5) until Moore's death last year.
In an "Only in Hollywood" sort of coda while researching the book Moore met with and interviewed MGM musical teen star Jane Powell who had a successful adult career in nightclubs. The two hit it off and ultimately married remaining happily so for almost 30 years in the longest marriage for either (Dick had 3, Jane 5) until Moore's death last year.
May 28, 2020
Read this in May 2020. Very interesting book.
October 17, 2021
Excellent!
February 10, 2022
Great peek at the child stars of the 1920-40s. Chilling stories of stage parents, lots of honest details about finances and the movie industry.
November 23, 2024
Nothing's changed.
January 27, 2022
A treasure! Well-organized and written!
December 21, 2015
I just found out today that Dickie Moore died earlier this year. He was one of my favorite Our Gang members from childhood, and I always loved catching him in minor movie roles when watching TCM. But my favorite Moore contribution to film is this honest and exceedingly sensitive and well-written memoir about being a child star in Hollywood. In addition to his own story, he interviewed other former stars he knew to round out the experience of children living in a rarified world that could be more like a prison than anything the public could have imagined. I read this book years ago after finding it at a Powell's in Chicago (it has been out of print a long time) and I still consider it to have been a great find and even better read.
October 6, 2013
791.43092 request
February 6, 2014
Very interesting book about child stars of the 1930s and 1940s.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews