Shirley Jean Rickert Explained

Shirley Jean Rickert
Birth Date:25 March 1926
Birth Place:Seattle, Washington, U.S.
Death Place:Saratoga Springs, New York, U.S.
Occupation:Child actress
Exotic Dancer
Yearsactive:1927–1973

Shirley Jean Rickert (March 25, 1926  - February 6, 2009) was an American child actress who was briefly the "blonde girl" for the Our Gang series in 1931, during the Hal Roach early talkie period.

Career

At 18 months of age, Rickert won a local baby beauty contest, which emboldened her mother to move the family to Hollywood.[1] She made her screen debut at the age of four in the short How's My Baby (1930), soon followed by her Our Gang debut, Helping Grandma in 1931.[2] Rickert's most notable appearances were in the films Love Business and Bargain Day, in which her spit-curls, inspired by those of Ruth Taylor's in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes,[3] were the centerpiece of her precocious performance.

After Rickert left the Our Gang series, she had a brief movie career, including starring roles as Tomboy Teri Taylor alongside Mickey Rooney in eight Mickey McGuire comedies, followed by a string of jobs including driving trucks for the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II. She later worked in burlesque as an exotic dancer, billed as Gilda and Her Crowning Glory (after her long blonde hair),[4] [5] retiring from burlesque in 1959.

In the mid-1970s, she became a traveling saleswoman for industrial hardware, surprising potential clients with her starring roles in Our Gang. Later, she performed in local theater productions, helped to maintain a Web fansite, and made occasional public appearances. She also sold her crafts at a local shop with her daughter's family.

Death

Rickert died in a nursing home on February 6, 2009, after a long illness.[6] She was 82.

Filmography

Year Title Role Series
1930How's My Baby The Baby
Night Work uncredited orphan
Follow Thru uncredited child
1931Helping Grandma Shirley Our Gang
Love Business
Little Daddy
The Stolen Jools
Bargain Day Shirley Our Gang
Fly My Kite
1932Love Pains uncredited girl
1933Mickey's Touchdown Tomboy Taylor Mickey McGuire
Mickey's Tent Show
Mickey's Covered Wagon
1934Mickey's Minstrels
Mickey's Rescue
Mickey's Medicine Man
Humility Crakstone
I'll Fix It uncredited girl
'Neath the Arizona Skies Nina
One Hour Late uncredited girl
1935Straight from the Heart
The Drunkard Julia
I Live My Life uncredited child
1936Crash Donovan
1940Five Little Peppers in Trouble Kiki Five Little Peppers
1942The Major and the Minor uncredited student
Get Hep to Love
1943uncredited dancer
In Old Oklahoma
aka War of the Wildcats
1944Meet the People
1946If I'm Lucky
1947
1951Royal Wedding
1952uncredited girl
Singin' in the Rain uncredited dancer
1953The A-B-Cs of Love Gilda
1954uncredited stripper

External links

Notes and References

  1. An Interview With ... . Shirley Jean Rickert ls. Mike Fitzgerald . Western Clippings . 24 March 2017.
  2. News: Shirley Jean Rickert . . 19 February 2009 . The Telegraph . 24 March 2017.
  3. York . Cal . Let's Drop In and Gossip With Old Cal York! . Photoplay . November 1930 . 308 . 6 . 98 . 9 January 2023 . Pseudonym, see Cal York..
  4. News: Children's 'New' TV Favorite Is 1930 Antique Movie Series . Mosby, Aline . UP . 23 July 1955 . Madera Tribune . 24 March 2017.
  5. News: Shirley Jean Rickert dies at 82; child star of 'Our Gang' comedies . McLellan, Dennis . 12 February 2009 . Los Angeles Times . 24 March 2017.
  6. News: Shirley Jean Rickert, 82, 'Our Gang' Star, Dies . . 12 February 2009 . The New York Times . The Associated Press . 24 March 2017.