In a book on child actors in Bollywood, a reminder of the price of fame at a very young age

Jackie Coogan was one of the first child stars of Hollywood. Audiences and critics equally appreciated his role as the protagonist in Charlie Chaplin’s The Kid when he was only seven years old. Coogan-themed merchandise like stationery, whistles, records, coins and the works were everywhere, and he was probably the highest-paid child actor in Hollywood at the time. It was believed that his earnings stood between $3 million to $4 million dollars.

When work dwindled and he turned twenty-one in October of 1935, he requested his mother and stepfather to give him his fortune. They refused, and he had a rude awakening – all his wealth had been squandered away.

There was no law at that time giving Coogan the right to the money he had made as a child. The law of California State at that time was that the earnings of a minor belonged to the parent. Coogan moved the court, and after a long legal battle, was awarded only $1,26,000 out of the approximately $4 million he had made as a child artist.

Coogan was not alone. Many other child actors had lost their earnings in a similar manner: LeAnn Rimes (singer–songwriter), Gary Coleman (Different Strokes), Macaulay Culkin (Home Alone) and even Shirley Temple, the darling of...

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