Mary Ann Jackson
| Mary Ann Jackson | |
|---|---|
Jackson in the Our Gang film School's Out.
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| Born |
January 14, 1923 Los Angeles, California |
| Died | December 17, 2003 (aged 80) Los Angeles, California |
| Cause of death | Heart attack |
| Occupation | Child actor |
| Years active | 1925–1941 |
Mary Ann Jackson (January 14, 1923 – December 17, 2003) was an American former child actress who appeared in the Our Gang short subjects series from 1928 to 1931. She was a native of Los Angeles, California.
Mary Ann Jackson's film career began under the shadow of her actor relatives, mother Charlotte Jackson (1891–1992) and older sister, "Peaches" Jackson (1913–2002). Peaches had a fairly prolific stint as a child actress, working with such stars as Rudolph Valentino and DW Griffith in full-length features.
Jackson made her film debut in a 1925 Ruth Taylor short, Dangerous Curves Behind. Her first big break came with the role of Baby Smith in the comedy short series The Smiths.
Jackson joined the Our Gang cast in 1928, at the tail end of the silent era. Often used as the second female lead or the spunky older sister of "Wheezer" (Bobby Hutchins), Mary Ann's snappy delivery came in handy during the series' somewhat rocky transition to sound. With her bob hairstyle and freckles, tomboyish Mary Ann was a vast departure from the winsome miniature heroines who would populate the series before and after her tenure.
Jackson left the series in 1931, at age 8, and appeared in a few two-reel Mickey McGuire comedies; some attempts were made to ease her into features, but, as she said in 1990: "I wasn’t a girlie girl type. I didn’t fit the mold so I was discarded like a piece of rubbish." Jackson felt that children distorting themselves for a part in a short or feature was "sick". She told her mother: "This is not for me. I don't want the responsibility or the rejection. I'm not an actress, I'm not talented, leave me alone, let me get on with my life!"
In 1933, longtime Our Gang director Robert McGowan wrote in an Los Angeles Times feature that they normally preferred to cast children who had no previous acting experience, but Jackson was a rare exception: "Mary Ann proved a real find and was my ideal little gang leading lady. She wasn't pretty, but she was intelligent and willing and had just a touch of pathos in her makeup. She proved a rare find for me."
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