Mr. Seemy’s students were talking about the history of cinema. Kyra, who was a movie buff, mentioned that child actors have been at risk of being exploited since the early days of film. “Jackie Coogan was about seven years old when he was in Charlie Chaplin’s silent movie The Kid in 1921, and he played the title role in Oliver Twist in 1922. He kept working in show business as sound pictures began to emerge. He became the youngest person in history to earn over a million dollars. In fact, he earned about four million dollars by the time he turned 21. That’s the equivalent of about 70 million of today’s dollars! Sadly, his mom and stepdad spent it all on cars, jewelry, and fancy clothes.”

“That’s right,” said Mr. Seemy. “Furthermore, when a judge confronted them, Jackie’s stepfather said, ‘Every dollar a kid earns before he is 21 belongs to his parents.’ It was too late for Jackie, but after Jackie’s case the California legislature interfered with the ability of adults to exploit their children this way. They passed the Coogan Act, which says that 15 percent of the money a child actor earns must be put into a ‘Coogan Account.’ When the child turns 18, the Coogan Account money is theirs to keep.”

Kyra and Anna were interested in whether child actors really make much money. Is a child actor likely to get a job? Are child actors financially exploited by the movie and television industry?

In California in 2010, about 21,000 work permits were issued to child actors between 8 and 16 years old. On average, 1,000 children apply for every new job in a film, TV show, or commercial. For those child actors able to find work, the average salary was $52,000.

Imagine that you are an aspiring child actor who applies to be in a candy commercial. After you have applied, what is the probability of you getting the job? What percent of child actors don’t even get an audition?

Discussion Question:

Based on the information about what happens to the money that child actors earn, do you think that they are exploited by adults and the film and TV industry?