Jackie Cooper, Former Child Star, Dies At 88

LOS ANGELES (AP) — With his boyish looks and his thick head of blond hair, Jackie Cooper seemed to be eternally young. Cooper remained the youngest player to be nominated for that category, an accolade that he likely didn't care much about at the time: Starting in comedy shorts, he rose to top ranks with "Skippy," a sentimental adaptation of a popular comic strip. [...] he returned for an occasional role, most notably as gruff Daily Planet editor Perry White in Christopher Reeves' four "Superman" movies. Jackie had a memorable bit in the 1929 musical "Sunny Side Up" and appeared in eight of the popular "Our Gang" comedies, including "Pups Is Pups" and "Teacher's Pet." "If you don't do what I say, I'll have the policeman shoot the dog," Taurog threatened, pointing to the armed security guard. Cooper proved an ideal combination with Beery, the rough, tough character whose heart is melted by the winsome kid. Among Cooper's other 1930s films: "Sooky" (a sequel to "Skippy"), "Broadway to Hollywood," "Lone Cowboy," "Dinky," "The Devil Is a Sissy" (with Rooney and Bartholomew), "Peck's Bad Boy," "White Banners," "Gangster's Boy," "That Certain Age" (opposite Deanna Durbin), "What a Life" (as Henry Aldrich), "Seventeen" and "The Return of Frank James." Cooper followed the advice and appeared as Ensign Pulver in Broadway and road companies of "Mister Roberts." Tiring of the weekly series grind, Cooper in 1964 accepted a five-year contract as production head of Screen Gems, the TV arm of Columbia Pictures.