Historic Hood River

Notes

Product tie-ins with movies aren’t nearly as modern as you might think.  Grace’s museum object selection for today brings us a product tie-in dating back over one hundred years:

This pencil box, manufactured by Wallace Pencil Co., simply says “Jackie” but bears the image of actor John Leslie “Jackie” Coogan, who rose to fame as one of the first child stars in Hollywood due to his role in Charlie Chaplin’s film The Kid (1921.) Coogan was one of the first stars to be heavily advertised, with merchandise ranging from peanut butter to pencil cases and everything in between.

Coogan advocated for the rights of child actors, suing his mother and stepfather after they had spent his multimillion-dollar childhood earnings. His legal battle led to the California Child Actor’s Bill, which still protects the rights of child actors today.

In the 1960s, Coogan would go on to portray Uncle Fester in The Addams Family television series. 

This pencil box advertises his role in The Kid, which was shown at the Liberty Theater and was heavily advertised in the Hood River Glacier around the time of the film’s release. 

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