Our Gang Cutie Rickert Dead At 82
Former child star-turned burlesque dancer Shirley Jean Rickert has died after a long illness. She was 82.
The Seattle, Washington native moved to Hollywood when she was four, after winning a home state baby beauty contest, and became a member of movie mogul Hal Roach's Our Gang troupe.
She starred in five Our Gang comedies before joining Mickey Rooney in five Mickey McGuire movies, in which she played Tomboy Taylor, and also teamed up with John Wayne in 1934 western 'Neath the Arizona Skies.
But her onscreen success was limited to largely small roles, and she quit to become a burlesque dancer after a series of uncredited dancing parts in movie musicals like Singin’ in the Rain.
Her stage name became Gilda and Her Crowning Glory and she enjoyed cult status in clubs throughout the 1950s.
She quit showbusiness altogether in 1959, apart from a stint as a sales director for a regional theatre in Massachusetts, and became a successful travelling saleswoman.
Rickert died in a New York nursing home last Friday.
The Seattle, Washington native moved to Hollywood when she was four, after winning a home state baby beauty contest, and became a member of movie mogul Hal Roach's Our Gang troupe.
She starred in five Our Gang comedies before joining Mickey Rooney in five Mickey McGuire movies, in which she played Tomboy Taylor, and also teamed up with John Wayne in 1934 western 'Neath the Arizona Skies.
But her onscreen success was limited to largely small roles, and she quit to become a burlesque dancer after a series of uncredited dancing parts in movie musicals like Singin’ in the Rain.
Her stage name became Gilda and Her Crowning Glory and she enjoyed cult status in clubs throughout the 1950s.
She quit showbusiness altogether in 1959, apart from a stint as a sales director for a regional theatre in Massachusetts, and became a successful travelling saleswoman.
Rickert died in a New York nursing home last Friday.
- 2/12/2009
- WENN
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