Allen C. Hoskins (1920-1980)

"Mckee and Hiatt's chemistry together in this film(*Isn't Love Cuckoo?, 1925) apparently impressed Sennett and his brain trust greatly, as would soon be born out."

-Walker, B.E., 2010, Mack Sennett's Fun Factory, McFarland&Company, Inc., Publishers, p.158

Raymond McKee, Mary Ann Jackson and Ruth Hiatt in Smith's Baby (1926) (Brent E. Walker, Mack Sennett's Fun Factory, p.163)

"As Sennett would state in a 1926 press release, 'It has been one of my pet ideas for years to make a series of comedies depicting the average American family in all its humorous aspects.' This statement was made in conjunction with Sennett's announcement heralding a new comedy series that represented something of a departure for him. The "Jimmy Smith" series, or "Smith Family" as it came to be known, would present the activities of a typical American family — a father, a mother, a baby daughter and their dog — who just naturally manage to get themselves into one predicament after another. Rather than go for broad laughs, these films would seek humor through the audience's identification with the family's all-too-familiar foibles. 'These little domestic farces are intended to let us see ourselves as others see us,' Sennett continued. 'I know the fans will like them because we Americans are gifted with the ability to laugh at ourselves wholeheartedly. Our comedy family is like thousands of other families in this country. Not much money, no social prominence to speak of, the most wonderful baby in the world and a pretty good dog. Their experiences are drawn from life and will be easily recognized.'"

-Walker, B.E., 2010, Mack Sennett's Fun Factory, McFarland&Company, Inc., Publishers, p.160

Mary Ann Jackson, Ruth Hiatt and Raymond McKee in Smith's Cousin (1927) (Brent E. Walker, Mack Sennett's Fun Factory, p. 417)

"Hiatt, a natural brunette who dyed her hair blonde for the length of the series, played a woman who was frequently the voice of reason in her family. However, just as often she could be responsible for digging her family deeper and deeper into a troublesome hole with her antics.

"Mary Ann Jackson played their baby, most often known as Bubbles, whose cute Dutch bob and pretty white bonnet belied the devilish mischief she was capable of creating when left alone for a matter of minutes."

-Walker, B.E., 2010, Mack Sennett's Fun Factory, McFarland&Company, Inc., Publishers, 162

Mary Ann Jackson in Muscle-Bound Music (1926) / The Rodeo (1929)

Jackson was a baby girl with grey eyes and dark red-brown hair cut in a Dutch-boy bob who played the mischievous child "Bubbles" to Mr. and Mrs. Smith in the 1925-28 "Smith Family" series, appearing in about 35 Sennett shorts in all.

She was born in Los Angeles, and had an older brother, Bobby, who was also a child actor. Mary Ann herself made her screen debut at Fox at age two. One day, her mother Charlotte (who appeared as an extra at Sennett) was unable to find a babysitter, so she brought Mary Ann to the Sennett studio where Bobby was working. The toddler was "discovered" by Eddie Cline and cast in the first "Smith Family" entry. Bobby, along with their younger brother Dicky and older sister Peaches, also appeared in some of the films. When the series ended, Jackson made a smooth transition by joining Hal Roach's Our Gang at the tail end of the silent era. From 1928-31, Mary Ann was a familiar "Rascal," usually playing Wheezer's big sister or a bratty tattletale. Jackson moved away from the screen in 1931, later working at the May Company department store in downtown Los Angeles, and having brief returns to the movie business, as Edith Fellows' stand-in Her First Beau (Col 1941) and as Rosie Kettle in Universal's Ma and Pa Kettle Go to Town (1950).

She married twice — the first time in 1943 — and after her second marriage she settled in the San Fernando Valley. Mary Ann died in Los Angeles at age 80, preceded by her sister Peaches 22 months earlier.

Grady Sutton, Dorothy Granger, David Sharpe, Gertrude Messinger, Mickey Daniels, Mary Kornman

( Edwin and Elsa Schallert, "Hollywood High Lights," Picture Play Magazine, September, 1930, p.58 )

Gertrude Messinger

Mary Kornman, Dorothy Granger

David Sharpe, Mickey Daniels, Grady Sutton

( Photoplay, July, 1930, p.134 )

Grady Sutton, Gertrude Messinger

David Sharpe, Dorothy Granger

Mickey Daniels, Mary Kornman

( Screenland, Nov 1930, p.99 )

(Dorothy and Grady in 1930/1934)

Dorothy made her film debut in 1929 at Hal Roach, and was a common face in the comedies of Laurel and Hardy, and Charley Chase, Harry Langdon and the Boy Friends, while establishing herself as a stalwart performer in comedy shorts for the next two decades.

-Walker, B.E., 2010, Mack Sennett's Fun Factory, McFarland&Company, Inc., Publishers, p.507

The 6'2" Sutton appeared in Universal shorts of 1932-33, and at the same time was one of the stars in Hal Roach's collegiate answer to Our Gang, "The Boy Friends."