John Leslie Coogan (October 26, 1914 – March 1, 1984), known professionally as Jackie Coogan, was an American actor who began his movie career as a child actor in silent films. Many years later, he became known as Uncle Fester on 1960s sitcom The Addams Family. In the interim, he sued his mother and stepfather over his squandered film earnings and provoked California to enact the first known legal protection for the earnings of child performers.
Coogan enlisted in the U.S. Army in March 1941. After the attack on Pearl Harbor that December, he requested a transfer to Army Air Forces as a glider pilot because of his civilian flying experience. Graduating the Advanced Glider School with the Glider Pilot aeronautical rating and the rank of Flight Officer, he volunteered for hazardous duty with the 1st Air Commando Group. In December 1943, the unit was sent to India. He flew British troops, the Chindits, under General Orde Wingate on March 5, 1944, landing them at night in a small jungle clearing 100 miles (160 km) behind Japanese lines in the Burma Campaign.
After the war, Coogan returned to acting, taking mostly character roles and appearing on television. From 1952 to 1953, he played Stoney Crockett on the syndicated series Cowboy G-Men. He guest-starred on NBC's The Martha Raye Show. He appeared, too, as Corbett in two episodes of NBC's The Outlaws with Barton MacLane, which aired from 1960–1962. In the 1960–1961 season, he guest-starred in the episode "The Damaged Dolls" of the syndicated crime drama The Brothers Brannagan. In 1961, he guest-starred in an episode of The Americans, an NBC series about family divisions stemming from the Civil War. He also appeared in episode 37, titled "Barney on the Rebound", of The Andy Griffith Show, which aired October 31, 1961. He had a regular role in a 1962–63 NBC series, McKeever and the Colonel. He finally found his most famous television role as Uncle Fester in ABC's The Addams Family (1964–1966). He appeared as a police officer in the Elvis Presley comedy Girl Happy in 1965.
He appeared four times on the Perry Mason series, including the role of political activist Gus Sawyer in the 1963 episode "The Case of the Witless Witness", and TV prop man Pete Desmond in the final episode, "The Case of the Final Fadeout", in 1966. He was a guest several times on The Red Skelton Show, appeared twice on The Brady Bunch ("The Fender Benders" and "Double Parked"), I Dream of Jeannie (as Jeannie's uncle, Suleiman – Maharaja of Basenji), Family Affair, Here's Lucy, and The Brian Keith Show, and continued to guest-star on television (including multiple appearances on The Partridge Family, The Wild Wild West, Hawaii Five-O, and McMillan and Wife) until his retirement in the mid 1970s.
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as Lester Tile
as Self(3 eps)
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as Sheriff Tibbs
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as Haymarket Hotel Proprietor
as Stagehand 1
as Detective Chief Anderson
as Gus Mitchell
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as Jonathan
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as Charlie Smith
as Phil Rooney(1 ep)
as Merrill Cossack(1 ep)
as Uncle Fester (Voice)
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as Junkyard Owner(1 ep)
as Howard Sparks(2 eps)
as Zigler(1 ep)
as Max Pepper(1 ep)
as Grandpa Walter Renfrew(1 ep)
as Uncle Harold(1 ep)
as Motel Owner(1 ep)
as Vince Darrell(1 ep)
as Grant W. Hicks
as Horace Sibley(1 ep)
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as Connie Hart(1 ep)
as Rusty(1 ep)
as Matthew Basch
as Funeral Director
as Buster Logan(1 ep)
as Sam McGoff(1 ep)
as Clown
as Mr. Fitzgerald
as Suleiman(2 eps)
as Mayor Cecil Pudney(2 eps)
as Sheriff Koster(1 ep)
as Sgt. Benson
as Father Ryan
as Uncle Fester(64 eps)
as Bert Crowley(1 ep)
as Finnegan(1 ep)
as Lieutenant Ruggles(2 eps)
as Sgt. Barnes(26 eps)
as Bodey(1 ep)
as Captain Toussaint
as Shopkeeper(1 ep)
as Self (archive footage)
as George Stevens(1 ep)
as Wildcat MacPherson
as Joe Azevedo(1 ep)
as Mack Stanley(1 ep)
as Ed Brannell
as Jake Baron
as Ned Gates
as Desk Sergeant Bragan
as Baldy Mike Hannigan (uncredited)(1 ep)
as Swede
as Hank Johnson
as Mr. A
as Marshal Rogers(1 ep)
as Bender
as Harold 'Eager' Beaver
as Swifty Morgan
as Elwood P. 'Gunner' Grimes(1 ep)
as Pete Desmond(1 ep)
as Gus Sawyer(1 ep)
as Ron Litten(1 ep)
as Elmer Case
as Coach Sanderford
as Hanus Wicks
as The Cook
as Man on Make (uncredited)
as George Bay(1 ep)
as Marshal Stoudenaire(1 ep)
as Agent Petrov
as Mr. Klein(1 ep)
as Inopportune (uncredited)
as Woody Woods(1 ep)
as Snuff Carter(1 ep)
as Dr Aranya
as Marshal Stubb Snider(1 ep)
as Piute Bill
as Police Officer Hennesey(1 ep)
as Muggsy(1 ep)
as Police Lieutenant Smith(1 ep)
as Himself
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as Jeffers(1 ep)
as Pappy Reagan
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as Billy Randolph
as Johnny O'Day
as Timothy Kelly
as Tim Kelly
as Jackie Coogan
as Mickey Hogan
as Nello
as Himself
as Crown Prince Ferdinand William Otto
as Toby Tyler
as Jackie Savelli / Jackie Holden
as Oliver Twist
as Self
as Danny, the Kid
as Boy
as Jackie Blair
as Henry Peck
as The Kid
as Smallest Boy (uncredited)
as The Baby (uncredited)
