Jackie 'Butch' Jenkins

Jackie "Butch" Jenkins (August 29, 1937 – August 14, 2001) was an American child actor who had a brief but notable film career during the 1940s.

Career Born Jack Dudley Jenkins in Los Angeles, the son of actress Doris Dudley, Jenkins made his film debut at the age of six in The Human Comedy (1943) as "Ulysses Macauley" after an MGM talent scout saw him playing on a Santa Monica beach and admired his high spirits. His performance as Mickey Rooney's younger brother was well received and Jenkins was cast in a succession of films.

He was given star billing for the 1946 film Boys' Ranch. Inspired by the real-life ranch in Texas, which provided a home and education to underprivileged boys, MGM promoted the film as a successor to Boys Town (1938). It co-starred James Craig, who also appeared in Jenkins' other films The Human Comedy and Little Mr. Jim. Jenkins' other films include National Velvet (1944), Our Vines Have Tender Grapes (1945), My Brother Talks to Horses (1947), The Bride Goes Wild (1948) Summer Holiday (1948), and his final film Big City (1948). In 1946, exhibitors (movie theater owners) voted him the second-most promising "star of tomorrow".

Later life and death Jenkins retired from acting at the age of eleven, after he developed a stutter, and as an adult recalled his film career fondly and without regret. He did state, however, that he had not particularly enjoyed acting and had never expected to make a career of it.

Later described as a "businessman-outdoorsman", Jenkins established a successful career away from Hollywood and lived for many years in Dallas, Texas, before moving to North Carolina in the late 1970s, where he built a home "on the side of a steep mountain", where he resided with his third wife, Gloria. Upon his death, he was cremated and his ashes returned to his family.

Filmography Year Title Role Notes1943 The Human Comedy Ulysses Macauley 1944 An American Romance Thomas Jefferson Dangos - Age 6 Uncredited National Velvet Donald Brown 1945 Our Vines Have Tender Grapes Arnold Hanson Abbott and Costello in Hollywood Himself Uncredited 1946 Little Mister Jim Little Jim Tukker Boys' Ranch 'Butch' Taylor 1947 My Brother Talks to Horses Lewie Penrose 1948 Summer Holiday Tommy Miller The Bride Goes Wild Danny Big City Louis Keller (final film role)