JACKIE COOGAN presents his dad: in England, 5th Dec 1928.

Child star JACKIE COOGAN (1914 - 1984), best remembered for the TV role of 'Uncle Fester' in the hit 1960s comedy series "The Addams Family" proved that he could make it in talkies by recording a disc with his father on a British tour in 1928. Coogan had a life far more dramatic, and in many ways more tragic, than any of his screen roles. He was a star at the age of five, when Chaplin chose him for the lead role in A DAY'S PLEASURE (1918) and more notably in THE KID (1921). He successfully made the transition to talkies, with the success of TOM SAWYER (1930). In May 1935, 20-year-old Coogan was the sole survivor of a car crash in eastern San Diego County that killed his father; his best friend 19-year-old actor Junior Durkin; their ranch foreman, Charles Jones; and actor and writer Robert J. Horner. The party was returning from a day of dove hunting just over the Mexican border. With his father at the wheel, the car was forced off the mountain highway near Pine Valley by an oncoming vehicle and rolled down an embankment.
As a child star, Coogan earned an estimated $3 to $4 million ($44 to $59 million in 2021 dollars). When he turned 21 in October 1935, his fortune was believed to be well intact. His assets had been conservatively managed by his father, who had died in the car accident five months earlier.
However, Coogan soon discovered that nearly the entire amount had been squandered by his mother and stepfather, Arthur Bernstein, on fur coats, diamonds and other jewellery and expensive cars. Bernstein had been a financial advisor for the family and married Coogan's mother in late 1936.
Jackie Coogan sued them in 1938, but after his legal expenses, he received just $126,000 of the $250,000 remaining of his earnings. When Coogan went broke during the litigation he asked Charlie Chaplin for assistance; Chaplin handed him $1,000 cash without hesitation.
The legal battle focused attention on child actors and resulted in the 1939 enactment of the California Child Actor's Bill, often referred to as the "Coogan Law" or the "Coogan Act". It required that a child actor's employer set aside 15% of the earnings in a trust (called a Coogan account) and specified the actor's schooling, work hours and time off.
Coogan was tremendously successful on stage, in film, in television and on radio, right to the end of his life.

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The Car accident was very brutal for all involved ...