Jerry Tucker (actor)
Jerry Tucker | |
|---|---|
 Jerry Tucker in Captain January (1936) | |
| Born | Jerome Harold Schatz November 1, 1925 |
| Died | November 23, 2016 (aged 91) |
| Occupation | Film actor |
| Years active | 1931–1942 |
| Spouse | Myra |
Jerry Tucker (born Jerome Harold Schatz, November 1, 1925 – November 23, 2016) was an American child actor, most notable for having played the "rich kid" in the Our Gang short subjects series semi-regularly from 1931 to 1938.
Life and career
Tucker was born Jerome Harold Schatz[1] in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Ruth (Keno) and Leonard Schatz.[2] His German Jewish surname was changed to "Tucker" for his acting career.[3] Tucker first appeared in the 1931 Our Gang short Shiver My Timbers. He appeared in many Our Gang episodes and left the series after the 1938 Our Gang short Three Men in a Tub.
In addition to his Our Gang appearances, Tucker appeared in the Marie Dressler film Prosperity, again as a spoiled rich kid. He also appeared as one of Mother Peep's children in the Laurel & Hardy feature film Babes in Toyland (1934). He also appeared with Shirley Temple in Captain January in 1936, playing the "know-it-all" boy who forgets his answers on the test. On radio, Tucker played "the juvenile lead" on Jones and I, which was broadcast on CBS in the early 1940s[4] and Roy Barry on the soap opera Hilltop House.[5]
Tucker went on to serve in the United States Navy during World War II and the Korean War. He served aboard the USS Sigsbee. During World War II, he sustained an injury that caused him to limp, when his ship was hit by a Japanese kamikaze. Afterwards he married Myra and had a long successful career as an electrical engineer with RCA before retiring. His wife died in August 2012. Tucker died on November 23, 2016, of natural causes at Long Island State Veterans Home in Stony Brook, New York.[6] He was 91.
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1931 | Sidewalks of New York | Little Boy Sitting on Curb | Film debut, Uncredited |
| Shiver My Timbers | Jerry | Short | |
| 1932 | The Miracle Man | Boy | Uncredited |
| Blonde Venus | Otto | Uncredited | |
| The Phantom President | Boy | Uncredited | |
| Prosperity | Boy | ||
| If I Had a Million | Crying Boy With Balloon | Uncredited | |
| No Man of Her Own | Little Boy in the Library | Uncredited | |
| 1933 | Torch Singer | Mickey | Uncredited |
| Bedtime Worries | Jerry | Short | |
| Wild Poses | Jerry | Short | |
| 1934 | You Can't Buy Everything | Jerry - Young Clinic Patient | Uncredited |
| Hi'-Neighbor! | Jerry - Rich Kid | Short | |
| Washee Ironee | Jerry | Short | |
| Mama's Little Pirate | Jerry | Short | |
| Babes in Toyland | Schoolboy | Uncredited | |
| Shrimps for a Day | Jerry | Short | |
| 1935 | Anniversary Trouble | Jerry | Short |
| Beginner's Luck | Jerry | Short | |
| Teacher's Beau | Jerry | Short | |
| Sprucin' Up | Jerry | Short | |
| Little Sinner | Jerry | Short | |
| Annie Oakley | Boy at Shooting Gallery | Uncredited | |
| Ah, Wilderness! | Boy with Fireworks | Uncredited | |
| Our Gang Follies of 1936 | Jerry, Audience Member | Short | |
| 1936 | The Pinch Singer | Jerry | Short |
| Anything Goes | Junior | ||
| Silly Billies | Boy At Camp | Uncredited | |
| Captain January | Cyril Morgan | ||
| San Francisco | Choirboy | Uncredited | |
| Sing, Baby, Sing | Wilson's 'Son' | Uncredited | |
| Two Too Young | Student | Short | |
| General Spanky | Kid Army Member | Uncredited | |
| 1937 | Glove Taps | Kid | Short |
| Love Is on the Air | Youngster Rooting for Tiger | Uncredited | |
| Tovarich | Urchin Stealing Groceries | Uncredited | |
| Wells Fargo | Boy | Uncredited | |
| 1938 | Three Men in a Tub | Spectator | Short |
| The Devil's Party | Child | Uncredited | |
| Dick Tracy Returns | Junior | Serial | |
| 1939 | The Man Who Dared | Boy Playing Football | Uncredited |
| 1941 | Always Tomorrow: The Portrait of an American Business | Young Coke Drinker | Final film, Uncredited |
Radio
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1939-1940 | Hilltop House | Roy Barry | |
| 1940-1941 | King Arthur, Jr. | ||
| 1941-1942 | Jones and I | ||
| 1942 | The Andersons |
References
- ^ https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QKMW-7SWJ
- ^ https://archive.is/20130820211338/http://web.archive.org/web/19991005025511/http://www.lib.umd.edu/UMCP/LAB/COLLECTIONS/schatz.html
- ^ http://www.newsday.com/lifestyle/retirement/reflections-of-a-little-rascal-1.4687728
- ^ Lesser, Jerry (January 3, 1942). "Radio Talent: New York" (PDF). Billboard. p. 9. Retrieved 26 February 2015.
- ^ "Thursday's Highlights" (PDF). Radio and Television Mirror. 14 (6): 48. October 1940. Retrieved 11 March 2015.
- ^ Jerry Schatz, child actor in ‘Our Gang’ comedies, dies at 91
External links
- Jerry Tucker at IMDb
- Jerry Tucker at the TCM Movie Database
- Template:Amg name
- "Jerry Tucker Shatz Papers finding aid" (Document). University of Maryland Libraries. hdl:1903.1/16405.
{{cite document}}: Unknown parameter|work=ignored (help) - Prosperity (1932) Jerry played the part of Buster.
| Films |
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| Television |
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| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
- 1925 births
- 2016 deaths
- Male actors from Chicago
- American male child actors
- American male film actors
- American male radio actors
- 20th-century American male actors
- United States Navy personnel of World War II
- United States Navy personnel of the Korean War
- American electrical engineers
- American male comedy actors
- Hal Roach Studios actors
- Our Gang
- Engineers from Illinois
- Jewish American male actors