Academy Award-nominated actor Jackie Cooper, who was probably best known for his role as Daily Planet editor Perry White in Superman, Superman II, Superman III and Superman IV: The Quest for Peace starring Christopher Reeve, died in a Beverly Hills hospital on Tuesday following a sudden illness at the age of 88.

Cooper was nominated for an Academy Award at age of 9 for the comic-strip adaptation Skippy in 1931, and holds the record for the youngest Oscar nominee in a leading role.

Cooper’s involvement with DC Comics and the Superman family didn’t end with the Christopher Reeve films. Among many other television shows, Cooper directed episodes of the live-action syndicated series Superboy (which was later renamed The Adventures of Superboy) that ran from ran from 1988–1992.

Everyone here at SciFiMafia would like to offer our condolences to Cooper’s family, friends and those who worked with him throughout his more than half-century both in front of, and behind the camera.