greg bills

These actual publicity photos and stills are in the spirit of the silent films I invented for my fantasy novel Through The Silver.

Jackie Coogan was likely the most successful male child star of his era, but his mother and stepfather burned through the millions of dollars that he earned from his many films,  His lawsuit against his parents inspired the California Child Actors Bill of 1939 to protect child performers.

Much later, Coogan worked in television, most famously as Uncle Fester on the TV version of The Addams Family.

As his mother said, "No promises were ever made to give Jackie anything."