He was an early Hollywood child star who had parts in the Our Gang [The Little Rascals] short comedy series starting in 1929. Our Gang was nearly scandalous for the times because of the mixture of boys, girls and race, but proved to be a very popular short film series and a money maker for the studio. He appeared in fifteen shorts.



He played the part of Perry White, the editor of the Daily Planet in the movie series Superman with Christopher Reeve from the late 1970s to the early 1980s.



He was successful in adulthood in the entertainment industry unlike many child stars of that era or even today. While he sometimes took acting roles in his later years, his direction of various television shows is what he liked most. He won an Emmy in 1974 for Best Directing in Comedy for M*A*S*H for the previous season. Check out Carry On Hawkeye. Good stuff.