His name is Jackie, but it might be 'Skippy,' he is so like the character that brought him screen fame.
He is Jackie Cooper, Hollywood's newest and youngest star, who, until a few months ago, was just another child actor. He differed from most of them in that he worked frequently.
Three and a half years ago, four-year-old Jackie began his career by playing a small role with Lloyd Hamilton. Other pictures, most of them comedies, followed at intervals during the next two years.
Came the talkies and the discovery that Jackie had a voice. He sang in one of the early revues, although ill with mumps.
"Good troupers don't stop for nothin', especially a little somethin' like mumps," he explains. "Even mumps couldn't make my voice any worse."
Meanwhile the search was on for a youngster to play the part of "Skippy" in the picture of that name. Months went by as hundreds of children were tested. None was the type wanted.
It was inevitable that the search would get around to Jackie. It did, the picture was made and it made Jackie. Nearly everyone agrees 'Skippy' is one of the most human and appealing child pictures ever filmed.
Jackie contributed more than his share to its success. The story was tailor-made for him. He didn't act; he was just himself.
Already under contract to a producer, for a mere $100 a week, it looked as though that was all Jackie would get for the next five years, despite the increased demand for his services.
But another company wanted Jackie so much that it bought his five-year $100-a-week contract. Everyone concerned profited, most of all Jackie, whose salary increased $1,500 a week.
Jackie is a normal, healthy lad who gets into as much mischief as any other youth his age. Mentally he seems older than his years, and next Fall he will be in grade 4-A. He likes guns, but the most dangerous weapon he owns is an air rifle.
His mother, formerly Mabel Deonard, was a vaudeville pianist; his father died when Jackie was two. Jackie was born in Los Angeles September 15, 1923.
His hair is straw blond, his eyes hazel and his flat little nose a mass of freckles.
When he grows up he thinks he'll be a "motorman or else take Lindbergh's place, if there's any place left for a guy to fly to."