Peaches Jackson

Peaches and Jackie Coogan

Peaches Jackson was born Charlotte Jackson on October 9, 1913 in Buffalo, New York. She was the oldest child born to Ephraim Jackson, a car salesman who later worked for a newspaper, and Charlotte Lynch who worked briefly in films. She had a younger sister, Mary Ann, and a younger brother, Richard. Mary Ann and Richard ("Dickie") both acted in films. Mary Ann will be covered in a later entry since she really was the more famous of the siblings.

Peaches made her film debut in I Love You, (1918) which starred Alma Rubens.

During her career, which lasted from 1918 to 1933 with roughly 34 films and shorts, Peaches had the chance to share the screen with big names like Lillian Gish, Mary Pickford, and Mabel Normand (to name a few).

Thomas Meighan and Peaches

Her costar in the 1921 film A Prince There Was, was actor Thomas Meighan. Thomas couldn't stop gushing about his tiny costar...which bordered a TINY bit on creepy:

"Imagine then, a doll suddenly become alive; a perfect little dream of childish sweetness and the perfection of innocent beauty." ~~ Thomas Meighan to Photo-Play Magazine - April 22, 1920

"Although I have had many charming leading women, it is very easy for me to select my favorite among them. The first time I saw her I fell in love with her brown eyes and her shining hair and she tells me she fell in love with me too. For that reason, we play lovely love scenes very easily together. Her name is Peaches Jackson and she will be 9 years old on her next birthday." ~~ Thomas Meighan to Photoplay magazine - July 1924.

Thomas Meighan and Peaches

When she wasn't playing "lovely love scenes" with men in their forties, Peaches often played boy roles, which she thoroughly enjoyed.

One of her best known films would probably be 1929's The Godless Girl, starring Marie Prevost and Lina Basquette. Peaches and a number of other silent film child stars played the roles of students in the film. What a nice little reunion!

Peaches last film would be the Clark Gable and Joan Crawford hit, Dancing Lady (1933). She had an uncredited role as a chorus girl.

Peaches Jackson passed away on February 23, 2002 in Honolulu, Hawaii. She was cremated and her ashes were scattered off the coast of Oahu. 

Peaches was married twice. In 1931 she eloped with businessman Joe Grasse at the age of just eighteen. The pair would eventually divorce and she would later marry sometime actor, Tony Guerrero during the 1930's. While Peaches and Tony sometimes found work in pictures during their marriage, they really found success in the restaurant business. The couple went to France to study Le Cordon Bleu cooking and would eventually own two successful restaurants in Hawaii. Their food was so popular that they began selling their house dressing in stores. And I believe it is still available in stores and online!

When she wasn't whipping up sensational meals, Peaches enjoyed big game hunting in Africa. Apparently she once shot and killed a 350 lb. tiger while on a trip to India. She would later become the only female member of a safari club in San Francisco. 

I have to share this as well because it was kinda funny/puzzling to read. According to a 1912 article in Motion Picture Magazine, Charlotte Lynch Jackson, Peaches' mother, told an interviewer that Charles Dickens HIMSELF told her that her daughter Peaches should have played a part in the film adaptation of his book, Oliver Twist. Now, I would tell you to scroll up and check out the year of Peaches' birth, but I will just tell ya right here and save you some time. Peaches Jackson was born in 1913. Charles Dickens DIED in 1870. So, unless the ghost of Charles Dickens popped down and told this to Charlotte...

"She could hang with men, but she was always a lady, very feminine. She was a woman ahead of her time." ~~ Tracy McCalla, niece of Peaches Jackson (Honolulu Advertiser - February 26, 2002)