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Shirley Jean Rickert

1926-03-25 – 2009-02-06 (age 82) Seattle, Washington, USA
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Biography

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 talkie period. At 18 months of age, Rickert won a local baby beauty contest, which emboldened her mother to move the family to Hollywood. 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. Rickert's most notable appearances were in the films Love Business and Bargain Day.

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), retiring from burlesque in 1959. Description above from the Wikipedia article Shirley Jean Rickert, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Known For

Singin' in the Rain
Singin' in the Rain

1952

as Chorus Girl (uncredited)

The Major and the Minor
The Major and the Minor

1942

as College Girl (uncredited)

Royal Wedding
Royal Wedding

1951

as Dancer in Haiti Number (uncredited)

I Live My Life
I Live My Life

1935

as Child at Christmas Party (Uncredited)

Classic Comedy Teams
Classic Comedy Teams

1986

as Shirley (segment "Our Gang") (archive footage)

Crash Donovan
Crash Donovan

1936

as Young Girl (uncredited)

'Neath the Arizona Skies
The Stolen Jools
The Stolen Jools

1931

as Shirley Jean

Best Foot Forward
Best Foot Forward

1943

as Dancer

Follow Thru
Follow Thru

1930

as Cherub (uncredited)

Get Hep to Love
Get Hep to Love

1942

as Student

Helping Grandma
Helping Grandma

1931

as Shirley

Five Little Peppers in Trouble
The Scarlet Letter
The Scarlet Letter

1934

as Humility Crakstone

Straight from the Heart
Straight from the Heart

1935

as Austin's Daughter

Mickey's Rescue
Mickey's Rescue

1934

as Tomboy Taylor

The A-B-Cs of Love
The A-B-Cs of Love

1953

as Gilda

How's My Baby?
How's My Baby?

1930

as The Baby

Fly My Kite
Fly My Kite

1931

as Shirley

Mickey's Minstrels
Mickey's Minstrels

1934

as Tomboy Taylor