It always gnaws on me to be stumped on a US car, especially a post-1920. After further research I can say, unequivocally, that yesterday's mystery car on the left is a St Louis-made 1927 Gardner Model 80 sedan. #DavesCarIDService
Along with the 1910-12 Brush Runabout, it seems that @wyojason's ancestors had a knack for buying car makes on the brink of extinction.
@wyojason Even tho 10k+ Gardners were made, I can't say (and this is very unusual) I've ever seen one in person. They featured a griffin hood ornament and some nifty slogans like "The Vogue in Sport Eights" and "America's New European" 
@wyojason Turns out a 1928 Gardner was the Official Car of Jackie Coogan, then a 14 year old has-been after being Charlie Chaplin's 7-year old costar in "The Kid." He made his comeback in the 60s as Uncle Fester on the Addams Family
@wyojason Incidentally Jackie Coogan made millions as a silent film child star, most all of which his parents squandered. The 1939 California Child Actor's Bill (aka the Coogan Law) requires kid actor employees to put 15% into a "Coogan Account"
@wyojason *specifically squandered by his mother and stepfather; his father died in a car crash when Coogan was 21, not sure what make of car it was
@wyojason Coogan was in the crash that killed his father, fellow child actor has-been Junior Durkin, and 2 others. Apparently they were driving on a mountain road at 70 mph, swerved to miss a pig, and plunged down a 40 ft embankment.
@wyojason Coogan was earlier a student at Santa Clara U, where he was close friends with dept store heir Brooke Hart. Hart was kidnapped from his Studebaker roadster in downtown San Jose in 1933, and held for ransom, which leads to a particularly gruesome Jackie Coogan story.
@wyojason The story was a media sensation, and kidnappers demanded a $40k ransom. Pretty Boy Floyd was rumored to have been involved. A week later, two men were arrested, and their confession led to the finding of Hart's body in San Francisco Bay.
@wyojason Anyhoo, the 2 kidnappers were taken to SF jail, and an angry public (stoked by some newspapers who editorialized for mob violence) began surrounding it. California Gov James Rolph announce he would not send the National Guard to protect the prisoners.
@wyojason Within a few days, despite police tear gas, the mob finally erupted and broke into the jail and took the 2 kidnappers to St James park in San Jose, where they were hung from a tree. According to witnesses, 19 year old Jackie Coogan helped lead the mob and tie the noose.
@wyojason The incident is known as the "last lynching in California." I should probably note that there was no apparent racial angle to it, as the 2 kidnappers were both white.
@wyojason The lynching resulted in 7 arrests (not Coogan though), but all charges were dropped due to a lack of cooperating witnesses. Gov Rolph was criticized by both FDR and former president Hoover (now pres of Stanford U) for inciting the mob.
@wyojason A few days after Pearl Harbor, Jackie Coogan enlisted in the US Army, where he saw hazardous duty as a glider pilot in the Burma Campaign. His first kid was born during that time. Prior to the war he was briefly married to WW2 pinup queen Betty Grable.
@wyojason After the war, Coogan began taking bit character roles on radio, and later TV, and finally returned to stardom as Uncle Fester. A hell of a career arc with this as the before & after picture
@wyojason To bring this whole thing back around to Gardner automobiles, I would also note that racer/stuntman Erwin "Cannonball" Baker drove a Gardner to set a cross country speed record in 1924 at 4 days, 17 hours.
@wyojason Cannon Ball Baker was the king of cross country speed records, starting in 1914 on an Indian motorcycle, then a Stutz Bearcat, then the Gardner, and finally a 53 hour run in 1933 driving a Graham Paige, a record that stood for 40 years.
@wyojason And yes, he is the namesake of the Cannonball Run (officially the "Cannonball Baker Sea-To-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash").
@wyojason I was a hard luck participant in a recent Cannonball Run, but I will spare you any further Shaggy Dog story detours off this already unraveling thread.
*the end*
*the end*
@wyojason Addendum: I can now positively ID (ht @JohnBreads) Coogan's mountain road crash vehicle as a 1934 Ford Model 40 Deluxe 3 window coupe. Coogan was apparently in the rumble seat and was thrown free. briankeithohara.blogspot.com/2009/08/trent-…
