Jack Oakie Biography

Fast Facts

• A plaque was placed in the ground in front of the Sedalia, Miss․, home where he was born
• Left his hand and footprints at Grauman's Chinese Theater
• The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences established an annual event called the Jack Oakie Lecture on Comedy in Film in 1981
• Started his career on Broadway in 1924 as a chorus boy
• During elementary school, he worked as a paperboy for "The Kansas City Star․"
• Worked as a runner on Wall Street in New York, and was almost killed in the Wall Street bombing in 1920
• Well into his 30s, he was often asked to lay collegiate and high school seniors, earning him the title "The World's Oldest Freshman․"
• Performed in six films with fellow vaudevillian Richard "Skeets" Gallagher
• Refused to wear screen makeup, despite cameramen's objections
• Chose the first part of his screen name, Jack, because it was the name of the character he first played on stage, and received the Oakie nickname because of his time living in Oklahoma