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Please Don't Shoot My Dog: The Autobiography of Jackie Cooper

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Please don't shoot my The autobiography of Jackie Cooper with Dick Kleiner - 1981 Copyright - Stated First Edition - First Print

351 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1981

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About the author

Jackie Cooper

23 books4 followers
Jackie Cooper is known for his child actor roles playing in the Our Gang films and opposite Wallace Berry in classics like The Champ and Treasure Island. He dabbled in television before becoming a successful director.

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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
Profile Image for Paul Pessolano.
1,426 reviews45 followers
August 11, 2017
“Please Don’t Shoot My Dog” by Jackie Cooper with Dick Kleiner, published by William Morrow and Company.

Category – Autobiography/Movie Star Publication Date – 1981.

This may not be the easiest book in the world to find but it is well worth the effort, especially if you are into the lives of movie personalities.

The book traces the life of Jackie Cooper from when he was a child star until he became a director of both movies and TV shows.

The early part of the book tells of the trials and tribulations of a child movie star. It is much different today but Cooper was faced with family problems, school problems, and money problems. All of these things never left him throughout his life.

It is a story of amassing huge amounts of money, losing it, and regaining it. I believe that he lost, at least four fortunes during his lifetime.

Women were a major factor in his life from his mother, to his grandmother, and the many marriages and divorces that played a prominent part in his life.

Jackie Cooper went from the movie, “The Champ”, to “Our Gang”, to directing many “M*A*S*H” episodes.

A great read for the movie buff as well as anyone who wants to know more about tinsel town.



445 reviews1 follower
May 26, 2011
I've read at least one other actor's autobiography and found each of them interesting as character studies. Jackie Cooper's recent demise, as well as having this book sitting on one of my bookshelves, aroused my interest in reading this now.

The book was written thirty years ago by a man who was then in his late 50's whose life was totally dissimilar to mine. Some of Jackie's stories about his interactions with other well-known actors were quite surprising. It would be very interesting to hear the other party's telling of those particular events.

I'm glad I read it.

Profile Image for Lynne Roeder.
4 reviews
Read
December 31, 2015
Another selection from my grandmaw-in-law's book stash. Enh. Typical movie star. "I just wanna be treated like everyone else, but not really."
Profile Image for Lori.
1,682 reviews
May 2, 2019
Please Don't Shoot My Dog. is the autobiography of Jackie Cooper. The actor's career started when he was a small boy. He was a famous child actor. He was known for the movie "Skippy" it was this movie that the title of the book came from. His cruel uncle told him he was going to shoot his dog if he did not produce tears in a scene. When he still had a hard time the uncle took the child's dog behind a building a shot off a gun. Of course he sobbed on cue for the movie. He found out his dog was fine but instilled a distrust in Jackie Cooper which by reading his memoir never went away.
Jackie Cooper writes about his very long career which started as a small child and still in the industry when he wrote this memoir in 1981. He shares the ups and downs disappointments and does not shy away from naming names of the good and bad experiences. I liked that he invited other people he wrote about to share their experiences with Jackie Cooper including relatives and co-workers. He sometimes comes off as bitter and angry but honest about is life. Pretty good memoir on the whole.
Profile Image for Mick Meyers.
629 reviews2 followers
November 21, 2018
An interesting autobiography of the actor turned director,covers his early career in films then finding a foothold into th directing.he also tells of his highs and lows in his life,but it is not all one sides he has also given pages up so family and friends could also tell their side which nowadays is rare.he has like many childhood actors struggled to find a niche after his initial stardom.i get the impression he is not an easy man to know,his difficult family background and exploitation that came courtesy of the film studios.
Author 2 books2 followers
June 9, 2018
Cooper provides insight into the early days of filmmaking and his life as a child star, as well as the early days of television. I was fascinated by the chapter (a whole chapter) on his time as a director of M*A*S*H in its first two years on air. I love that show, but came away a little disillusioned after reading it.
Profile Image for Kara.
166 reviews24 followers
December 8, 2009
Pretty awful. The most interesting chapter was one he devotes to shredding Andrea McArdle, who starred in "Rainbow", the horrendous Judy Garland tv bio pic he directed. Even is she was awful, it seems weird that he would not have taken the high road as she was 15 and he was like 100.
Profile Image for Linda.
2,559 reviews
August 31, 2011
It isn't always easy being a famous child star!
Profile Image for Karen-Leigh.
3,011 reviews24 followers
February 23, 2025
Please Don't Shoot My Dog. is the autobiography of Jackie Cooper. The actor's career started when he was a small boy. He was a famous child actor. He was known for the movie "Skippy" it was this movie that the title of the book came from. His cruel uncle told him he was going to shoot his dog if he did not produce tears in a scene. When he still had a hard time the uncle took the child's dog behind a building a shot off a gun. Of course he sobbed on cue for the movie. He found out his dog was fine but instilled a distrust in Jackie Cooper which by reading his memoir never went away.
Jackie Cooper writes about his very long career which started as a small child and still in the industry when he wrote this memoir in 1981. He shares the ups and downs disappointments and does not shy away from naming names of the good and bad experiences. I liked that he invited other people he wrote about to share their experiences with Jackie Cooper including relatives and co-workers. He sometimes comes off as bitter and angry but honest about is life. Pretty good memoir on the whole.
Profile Image for D.L. Randle.
Author 1 book1 follower
September 5, 2024
A tale of the horror of childhood stardom. It was even worse in the olden days. They would tell kids the worst things, like they were going to shoot a dog on the set, in order to get the appropriate emotions out of them. BRUTAL.

He was a survivor though, going on to direct.
Profile Image for Bob Box.
3,179 reviews24 followers
Read
August 6, 2020
Read in 1981. Cooper was a child star in the 20's and 30's and went on to have a successful career as an adult actor. His autobiography was very interesting.
Profile Image for Jane Fournier.
286 reviews1 follower
August 17, 2016
I am 76 years old and this book and Jackie's story really hits home with me. So far a great book.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews