# Most famous child actor (family argument in process) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 1, 2021, 9:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-child-actor-family-argument-in-process/949888 "2021-09-01T09:24:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Crane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crane/32/3495_2.png) [@Crane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crane)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2021, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-child-actor-family-argument-in-process/949888/21 "2021-09-01T13:54:25Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Jackie Coogan Agreed, Jackie Coogan is a contender. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2021, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-child-actor-family-argument-in-process/949888/22 "2021-09-01T13:56:44Z")
There’s even a law named after him: [https://www.sagaftra.org/membership-benefits/young-performers/coogan-law](https://www.sagaftra.org/membership-benefits/young-performers/coogan-law) ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2021, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-child-actor-family-argument-in-process/949888/23 "2021-09-01T14:40:28Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Alfalfa, Spanky, Buckwheat, and Stymie were the first ones who came to my mind > [@Chronos](#): > > Those are child roles, not child actors. If you can’t even remember the actors’ names, then you can scarcely say that they’re famous. How about Robert Blake? ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2021, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-child-actor-family-argument-in-process/949888/24 "2021-09-01T14:43:39Z")
> [@Crane](#): > > Agreed, Jackie Coogan is a contender. Definitely not. From roughly the same era (“ancient history”) as Shirley Temple, but I’d wager not a tenth as many people know who this is. And between having a law named after you, and having a freakin’ _drink_ named after you, I know which one will earn your more fame. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2021, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-child-actor-family-argument-in-process/949888/25 "2021-09-01T14:50:02Z")
I forgot about the drink. **kambuckta** therefore wins the argument. . Now, I’m going to go make myself a double-strength Hayley Mills on the rocks… ---
**Author:** ![The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_wind_of_my_soul)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2021, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-child-actor-family-argument-in-process/949888/26 "2021-09-01T14:53:44Z")
I thought of Mara Wilson. She was in Mrs. Doubtfire, Miracle on 34th Street, and Matilda, which were all huge movies when I was growing up. Between Shirley Temple and and Macaulay Culkin, I’d say Shirley Temple. ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2021, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-child-actor-family-argument-in-process/949888/27 "2021-09-01T14:54:46Z")
I would agree. To the extent that I remember Jackie Coogan today, it’s as Uncle Fester. That he started as a child actor is mostly a bit of trivia. I also tend to get him confused with Jackie Cooper, who also started as a child actor and continued to get work as an actor and director well into adulthood. I would say that the answer is Shirley Temple, though I concede that a lot of younger folks today are probably unfamiliar with her. ---
**Author:** ![Turble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Turble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turble)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2021, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-child-actor-family-argument-in-process/949888/28 "2021-09-01T15:13:27Z")
I think Jerry Mathers as The Beaver should get at least an honorable mention. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2021, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-child-actor-family-argument-in-process/949888/29 "2021-09-01T15:25:59Z")
> [@The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](#): > > Miracle on 34th Street That was Natalie Wood. ---
**Author:** ![2\_More\_Bits](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/2_more_bits/32/4148_2.png) [@2\_More\_Bits](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2_More_Bits)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2021, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-child-actor-family-argument-in-process/949888/30 "2021-09-01T15:27:06Z")
I was just about to post that. “Most-widely recognizable across generations” might be a better description for the Beav. ---
**Author:** ![Crane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crane/32/3495_2.png) [@Crane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crane)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2021, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-child-actor-family-argument-in-process/949888/31 "2021-09-01T15:27:23Z")
Charlie McCarthy was almost as famous as Shirley Temple. In terms of products, movies and radio programs, he is near the top. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2021, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-child-actor-family-argument-in-process/949888/32 "2021-09-01T15:32:53Z")
But, was he made out of an adult tree, or a child tree? ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2021, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-child-actor-family-argument-in-process/949888/33 "2021-09-01T15:41:52Z")
Shirley Temple was the first person I thought of. Second was Elizabeth Taylor, who began her acting career when she was 9 years old. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2021, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-child-actor-family-argument-in-process/949888/34 "2021-09-01T15:42:38Z")
> [@Turble](#): > > Jerry Mathers as The Beaver should get at least an honorable mention. Do you think 10% of Americans know who Mathers is? I suspect more know who Cotton Mathers is. > [@Crane](#): > > Charlie McCarthy was almost as famous as Shirley Temple. At one time, perhaps, but not now. There are some other candidates; Miley Cyrus is a great one. But just listing a bunch of folks who were last famous when great-grandpa was a kid seems like a strange way to approach the question. ---
**Author:** ![Crane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crane/32/3495_2.png) [@Crane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crane)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2021, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-child-actor-family-argument-in-process/949888/35 "2021-09-01T15:43:16Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > adult tree, or a child tree I think he was supposed to be a kid but he acted like an old man. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2021, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-child-actor-family-argument-in-process/949888/36 "2021-09-01T15:44:45Z")
Who’s going to remember Miley Cyrus in 90 years? I couldn’t pick her out of a lineup even today. ---
**Author:** ![Crane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crane/32/3495_2.png) [@Crane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crane)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2021, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-child-actor-family-argument-in-process/949888/37 "2021-09-01T15:50:00Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > great-grandpa was a kid Perhaps so, but “most famous” is an absolute. Shirley Temple, and Shirley Temple Black, was a household name from the vaudeville era through movies, radio and TV. Miley Cyrus has some fame but she is not an icon. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2021, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-child-actor-family-argument-in-process/949888/38 "2021-09-01T15:52:33Z")
Shirley Temple was one of the biggest stars in Hollywood, adult or child. Wikipedia says she was Hollywood’s number one box office draw. There’s just no comparison. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2021, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-child-actor-family-argument-in-process/949888/39 "2021-09-01T15:53:05Z")
He was smart enough to stay wood! 😊 ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2021, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-child-actor-family-argument-in-process/949888/40 "2021-09-01T15:58:24Z")
He was so long ago that I don’t remember a single political cartoon or wag using him to razz Kevin McCarthy. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-child-actor-family-argument-in-process/949888.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-child-actor-family-argument-in-process/949888.md?page=3)