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 ''Our Gang'' (also known as ''The Little Rascals'' or ''Hal Roach's Rascals'') is an American series of comedy short films chronicling a group of poor neighborhood children and their adventures. Created by film producer Hal Roach, also the ...

'' short subjects series semi-regularly from 1931 to 1938.

Life and career

Tucker was born Jerome Harold Schatz in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Ruth (Keno) and Leonard Schatz. His German Jewish surname was changed to "Tucker" for his acting career. Tucker first appeared in the 1931 Our Gang short ''

Shiver My Timbers ''Shiver My Timbers'' is a 1931 ''Our Gang'' short comedy film directed by Robert F. McGowan. It was the 109th (21st talking) ''Our Gang'' short that was released. Plot A loud sea captain (Billy Gilbert) tells violent stories about adventures ...

''. He appeared in seventeen ''Our Gang'' comedies through 1938's ''

Three Men in a Tub ''Three Men in a Tub'' is a 1938 ''Our Gang'' short film, short comedy film directed by Nate Watt. It was the 164th ''Our Gang'' short (165th episode, 76th talking short, and 77th talking episode) that was released. Cast The Gang * Darla Hood ...

''. In addition to his ''

'' appearances, Tucker appeared in the

Marie Dressler Marie Dressler (born Leila Marie Koerber, November 9, 1868 – July 28, 1934) was a Canadian stage and screen actress, comedian, and early silent film and Depression-era film star. In 1914, she was in the first full-length film comedy. She ...

film ''

Prosperity Prosperity is the flourishing, thriving, good fortune and successful social status. Prosperity often produces profuse wealth including other factors which can be profusely wealthy in all degrees, such as happiness and health. Competing notion ...

'', again as a spoiled rich kid. He also appeared as one of Mother Peep's children in the

Laurel & Hardy Laurel and Hardy were a British-American comedy duo act during the early Classical Hollywood era of American cinema, consisting of Englishman Stan Laurel (1890–1965) and American Oliver Hardy (1892–1957). Starting their career as a duo in ...

feature film '' Babes in Toyland'' (1934). He also appeared with

Shirley Temple Shirley Temple Black (born Shirley Jane Temple;While Temple occasionally used "Jane" as a middle name, her birth certificate reads "Shirley Temple". Her birth certificate was altered to prolong her babyhood shortly after she signed with Fox in ...

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 CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

in the early 1940s and Roy Barry on the soap opera ''

Hilltop House ''Hilltop House was formerly a luxurious hotel in Harpers Ferry, West Virginiia.'' ''Hilltop House'' is an American old-time radio soap opera. It debuted on November 1, 1937, was replaced by a spinoff, then was re-launched twice, with its final ...

''. Tucker went on to serve in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

. He served aboard the . During

, he sustained an injury that caused him to limp, when his ship was hit by a Japanese ''

kamikaze , officially , were a part of the Japanese Special Attack Units of military aviators who flew suicide attacks for the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, intending to d ...

''. Afterwards he married Myra K. Heino and had a successful career as an

electrical engineer Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems which use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

with

RCA The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...

before retiring. His wife died in August 2012. Tucker died on November 23, 2016, of

natural causes In many legal jurisdictions, the manner of death is a determination, typically made by the coroner, medical examiner, police, or similar officials, and recorded as a vital statistic. Within the United States and the United Kingdom, a distinct ...

at Long Island State Veterans Home in

Stony Brook, New York Stony Brook is a political subdivisions of New York#Hamlet, hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Administrative divisions of New York#Town, Town of Brookhaven, New York, Brookhaven in Suffolk County, New York, United States, on the No ...

. He was 91.

Filmography

Radio

References

External links

* * * *
Prosperity (1932)
Jerry played the part of Buster. {{DEFAULTSORT:Tucker, Jerry 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 21st-century American Jews