Jackie Cooper - a great child star of early Hollywood who later became an award-winning director and, again, a star in front of the camera as editor Perry White in the Christopher Reeve "Superman" movies - died Tuesday in a Beverly Hills, Calif., hospital after a short illness, KTLA-TV in Los Angeles reported Wednesday. He was 88.
Cooper got his start in short films right after the advent of sound, and was in some of the early "Our Gang" comedies. He was nominated for an Oscar at the age of 9 for best actor - still ranking as the youngest-ever performer nominated in that category - for the 1931 melodrama "Skippy." His other notable movies, mostly as a child or teen actor, included "The Champ" (1931), "Treasure Island" (1934), "The Return of Frank James" (1940) and "Ziegfeld Girl" (1941).
After returning from serving in the Navy in World War II, Cooper, now an adult, had trouble landing good movie roles and went over to television, where he also developed a solid reputation as a producer and director, winning directing Emmys for episodes of "M*A*S*H" in 1974 and "The White Shadow" in 1979. He never quit acting, and regained a measure of celebrity for his performance as the peppery editor of the Daily Planet, never at a loss for a color expression. (A favorite: On the reporter who lands an interview with Superman - "It'll be the greatest interview since . . . God talked to Moses!")
Cooper got his start in short films right after the advent of sound, and was in some of the early "Our Gang" comedies. He was nominated for an Oscar at the age of 9 for best actor - still ranking as the youngest-ever performer nominated in that category - for the 1931 melodrama "Skippy." His other notable movies, mostly as a child or teen actor, included "The Champ" (1931), "Treasure Island" (1934), "The Return of Frank James" (1940) and "Ziegfeld Girl" (1941).
After returning from serving in the Navy in World War II, Cooper, now an adult, had trouble landing good movie roles and went over to television, where he also developed a solid reputation as a producer and director, winning directing Emmys for episodes of "M*A*S*H" in 1974 and "The White Shadow" in 1979. He never quit acting, and regained a measure of celebrity for his performance as the peppery editor of the Daily Planet, never at a loss for a color expression. (A favorite: On the reporter who lands an interview with Superman - "It'll be the greatest interview since . . . God talked to Moses!")
