Jackie Cooper was an American actor, television director, film producer and executive.

Born on September 15, 1922, in Los Angeles, California. Before there was a Shirley Temple, there was Jackie Cooper, one of Hollywood's first child stars. His career began around the age of three when he started appearing in some short films. Cooper first rose to popularity as a cast member in the “Our Gang” short film series. He joined the long-running comedy series around 1929 and was soon one of the lead performers, featured such shorts as Teacher’s Pet and Love Business.

In 1930, Cooper took on his first leading role in a feature film in Skippy (1931). The film had a simple, but dramatic premise. He was a young boy named Skippy get trying the money together to buy a license for a dog before the dog catcher puts the dog to sleep. At only ten years old, Cooper earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his moving performance. He went on to tackle another poignant role as the downtrodden boxer's son in The Champ (1931) with Wallace Beery. One of the most popular child actors of the time, Cooper also starred in Treasure Island (1934) and Peck’s Bad Boy (1934)—a role that had been originated by another child performer Jackie Coogan.

As he moved into his teenager years, Cooper continued to act. He appeared opposite the cinematic canine Rin Tin Tin, Jr. in comedy Tough Guy (1936) and had the lead roles in Boy of the Streets (1938), Glamour Boy (1941), and Syncopation (1942). He took a break from acting to serve in the U.S. Navy during World War II. After the war ended, he returned to Hollywood, but was not as in-demand as he once was.

In the 1950s, Cooper made several guest appearances on television and starred in the naval dramatic comedy series Hennesey, which debuted in 1959. He starred as Charles J. “Chick” Hennesey, a naval medical officer and earned two Emmy Award nominations for his performance