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Jerry Tucker (actor)

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Jerry Tucker
Jerry Tucker in Captain January (1936)
Born
Jerome Harold Schatz

(1925-11-01)November 1, 1925
Chicago, Illinois
DiedNovember 23, 2016(2016-11-23) (aged 91)
Stony Brook, New York
OccupationFilm actor
Years active1931–1942
SpouseMyra

Jerry Tucker (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 1934 Laurel & Hardy feature film March of the Wooden Soldiers. 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

Our Gang

Radio

  • Hilltop House (1939-1940)
  • King Arthur, Jr. (1940-1941)
  • Jones and I (1941-1942)
  • The Andersons (1942)

References

  1. ^ https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QKMW-7SWJ
  2. ^ https://archive.is/20130820211338/http://web.archive.org/web/19991005025511/http://www.lib.umd.edu/UMCP/LAB/COLLECTIONS/schatz.html
  3. ^ http://www.newsday.com/lifestyle/retirement/reflections-of-a-little-rascal-1.4687728
  4. ^ Lesser, Jerry (January 3, 1942). "Radio Talent: New York" (PDF). Billboard. p. 9. Retrieved 26 February 2015.
  5. ^ "Thursday's Highlights" (PDF). Radio and Television Mirror. 14 (6): 48. October 1940. Retrieved 11 March 2015.
  6. ^ Jerry Schatz, child actor in ‘Our Gang’ comedies, dies at 91
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