Meglin Kiddies was an American troupe of acting, music and dance performers, consisting of children up to the age of 16. (AKA: The Meglin Professional Children's School, The Meglin Dance Studio, Meglin's Dance School and Meglin's Wondrous Hollywood Kiddies).

Background

The troupe was started by Ethel Meglin in 1928. Meglin was a

Ziegfeld girl Ziegfeld Girls were the chorus girls and showgirls from Florenz Ziegfeld's theatrical Broadway revue spectaculars known as the ''Ziegfeld Follies'' (1907–1931), in New York City, which were based on the Folies Bergère of Paris. Descripti ...

in feature films. Director/actor and Slapstick Keystone King

Mack Sennett Mack Sennett (born Michael Sinnott; January 17, 1880 – November 5, 1960) was a Canadian-American film actor, director, and producer, and studio head, known as the 'King of Comedy'. Born in Danville, Quebec, in 1880, he started in films in the ...

was supportive of the formation of the troupe's studio. Sennett donated a Meglin Kiddie studio building sign and assisted in securing an operations location on his lot. The Johnny Grant Building at 7018-7024 Hollywood Blvd once housed the Meglin Dance Studio on its second floor. One of the most successful child stars of all time,

Shirley Temple Shirley Temple Black (born Shirley Jane Temple;While Temple occasionally used "Jane" as a middle name, her birth certificate reads "Shirley Temple". Her birth certificate was altered to prolong her babyhood shortly after she signed with Fox in ...

, was once a Meglin Kiddie dancer. Producers from Educational Studios recruited her from the Meglin Kiddie studio. "Charles Lamont, a director from Educational Studios visited the “Meglin Kiddies” and chose Shirley, hiding under the piano, for a part in a movie that the studio was about to make." Superstar

Judy Garland Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922June 22, 1969) was an American actress and singer. While critically acclaimed for many different roles throughout her career, she is widely known for playing the part of Dorothy Gale in '' The ...

was a Meglin Kiddie also. Garland's mother, Mrs. Gumm, played the piano at the Meglin Kiddie studio to help pay for Garland's singing and dancing lessons there. The film debut of Judy Garland was in Meglin Kiddie short films. Garland also performed with the Meglin Kiddies over the radio, and live at theaters such as:

Shrine Auditorium The Shrine Auditorium is a landmark large-event venue in Los Angeles, California. It is also the headquarters of the Al Malaikah Temple, a division of the Shriners. It was designated a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument (No. 139) in 1975, and ...

Pantages Theatre (Hollywood) The Hollywood Pantages Theatre, formerly known as RKO Pantages Theatre, is located at Hollywood and Vine (6233 Hollywood Boulevard), in Hollywood. Designed by architect B. Marcus Priteca, it was the last theater built by the vaudeville impresar ...

, and Loew's State Theater in Los Angeles, California. In the 1950s, the Meglin Kiddies had a television show. Ethel Meglin retired in 1962, as did the studio and dance troupe.

Movies

The Big Revue ''The Big Revue'' was a Canadian variety television show. It was the first ever production of CBC Television when both debuted in 1952. The show was directed by Norman Jewison and written by John Aylesworth and Frank Peppiatt. The pilot episode ...

(1929)--AKA "The Meglin Kiddie Revue" & AKA "The Starlet Revue"—with Judy Garland (Francis Gumm & Sisters) * The Land of Oz (1932) --Production company and actors/dancers (Film adapted from the book,

Land of Oz The Land of Oz is a magical country introduced in the 1900 children's novel ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' written by L. Frank Baum and illustrated by W. W. Denslow. Oz consists of four vast quadrants, the Gillikin Country in the north, Quadli ...

) * Show Kids (1934) *

In Love with Life ''In Love with Life'' is a 1934 American pre-Code film directed by Frank R. Strayer. Plot summary Sharon is a penniless widow, forced to seek help from her father, Morley, a wealthy financier, who didn't approve of her marriage. Morley agrees to ...

(1934) --Floor show performers at the Kiddie Kabaret *

Too Many Parents ''Too Many Parents'' is a 1936 American comedy film directed by Robert F. McGowan, written by Virginia Van Upp and Doris Malloy, and starring Frances Farmer, Lester Matthews, Porter Hall, Henry Travers, Billy Lee, George Ernest and Sherwood Bai ...

(uncredited) (1936) --Themselves * Roarin’ Lead (1936) --Dancers * Maytime (1937) --Children In Maypole Number * The Wizard of Oz (1939) --Munchkin child actors and dancers * Reg’lar Fellers (1941) --Billy Lee's Band --Associate Producer: Ethel Meglin

Notable Meglin Kids

Scotty Beckett Scott Hastings Beckett (October 4, 1929 – May 10, 1968) was an American actor. He began his career as a child actor in the ''Our Gang'' shorts and later costarred on ''Rocky Jones, Space Ranger''. Early life and career Born in Oakland, Califo ...

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Roland Dupree Roland Dupree (born Roland Furtado, September 20, 1925 - June 21, 2015) was an American actor, dancer, and choreographer. He is best known for founding the Roland Dupree Dance Academy and his work as the action model for Walt Disney's ''Peter Pan ( ...

Nola Fairbanks Nola Fairbanks (born Nola Jo Modine; December 10, 1924 – February 8, 2021) was an American actress. She was also the aunt of actor Matthew Modine. Early life Fairbanks was born Nola Jo Modine in Santa Paula, California, on December 10, 1924, t ...

Farley Granger Farley Earle Granger Jr. (July 1, 1925 – March 27, 2011) was an American actor, best known for his two collaborations with director Alfred Hitchcock: ''Rope'' in 1948 and '' Strangers on a Train'' in 1951. Granger was first noticed in a small ...

Virginia Grey Virginia Grey (March 22, 1917 – July 31, 2004) was an American actress who appeared in over 100 films and a number of radio and television shows from the 1930s to the early 1980s. Biography Grey was born on March 22, 1917, in Edendale, Calif ...

Darryl Hickman Darryl Gerard Hickman (born July 28, 1931) is an American former actor, screenwriter, television executive, and acting coach. He started his career as a child actor in the Golden Age of Hollywood and appeared in numerous TV serials as an adult. ...

Dwayne Hickman Dwayne Bernard Hickman (May 18, 1934 – January 9, 2022) was an American actor and television executive, producer and director, who worked as an executive at CBS and had also briefly recorded as a vocalist. Hickman portrayed Chuck MacDonald, Bo ...

June Lang June Lang (born Winifred June Vlasek, May 5, 1917 – May 16, 2005) was an American film actress. Early life Born Winifred June Vlasek in Minneapolis, Minnesota, she was the daughter of Edith and Clarence Vlasek, After the family moved to Los An ...

Billy Lee Billy Lee is a former Gaelic footballer and former manager of the Limerick county football team. He is from Newcastle West. Player Lee played for Limerick. He became a selector when Liam Kearns managed the team between 1999 and 2005, and t ...

Cherylene Lee Cherylene Alice Lee (June 13, 1953 – March 18, 2016) was an American actress and writer. Life Lee was born and raised in Los Angeles, and was a fourth-generation Chinese-American. She had two sisters, Priscilla "Puggy" and Virginia. She beg ...

* Virginia Lee *

Paul Marco Paul Marco (June 10, 1927 – May 14, 2006) was an American actor who often appeared in movies made by Ed Wood, including the "Kelton Trilogy" of ''Bride of the Monster'', ''Night of the Ghouls'' and ''Plan 9 from Outer Space'', in which he playe ...

* Mary McCarty *

Ann Miller Ann Miller (born Johnnie Lucille Collier; April 12, 1923 – January 22, 2004) was an American retired actress and former dancer. She is best remembered for her work in the Classical Hollywood cinema musicals of the 1940s and 1950s. Her early ...

* Sidney Miller *

June Preston June Preston (December 29, 1928 – May 11, 2022) was an American child actress in the 1930s and early 1940s, who began her film career at RKO Pictures, with a minor role as Mrs. Blewett's daughter in the 1934 film ''Anne of Green Gables''. ...

Mickey Rooney Mickey Rooney (born Joseph Yule Jr.; other pseudonym Mickey Maguire; September 23, 1920 – April 6, 2014) was an American actor. In a career spanning nine decades, he appeared in more than 300 films and was among the last surviving stars of the ...

Peggy Ryan Margaret O'Rene Ryan (August 28, 1924 – October 30, 2004) was an American dancer and actress, best known for starring in a series of movie musicals at Universal Pictures with Donald O'Connor and Gloria Jean. Career Ryan joined her paren ...

Melody Thomas Scott Melody Thomas Scott (born Melody Ann Thomas, April 18, 1956) is an American actress best known for playing Nikki Newman on the soap opera ''The Young and the Restless''. Early life and acting career Scott was born Melody Ann Thomas in Los Ange ...

* Betta St. John *

Jane Withers Jane Withers (April 12, 1926 – August 7, 2021) was an American actress and children's radio show host. She became one of the most popular child stars in Hollywood in the 1930s and early 1940s, with her films ranking in the top ten list for ...

References

External links

* *The Meglin Kiddies production of {{authority control Dance companies in the United States Performing groups established in 1928 Vaudeville performers