Child Actress. She played “Shirley Jean” in five of the “Our Gang” comedies from the early 1930s. Born to a stereotypical “stage mother”, she was pushed into acting as a youngster. After appearing in the “Our Gang” series, she left to join Mickey Rooney’s rival “Mickey McGuire” comedies, where she also acted in five episodes. Thru the 1930s and 1940s, she got steady work in Hollywood as a bit-player. Miss Rickert performed as an uncredited dancer in “Royal Wedding” and “Singin’ in the Rain”. In the 1950s, she was a stripper, billing herself as “Gilda and Her Crowning Glory”, though she was to comment that television commercials of today show more flesh than she ever did. In the 1970s, while living in Connecticut, she started a career as a traveling industrial hardware saleswoman, and was frequently to use her “Shirley Jean” character to gain entre. Miss Rickert, who was married twice, died in a nursing home after a long illness. (bio by: Bob Hufford)