Our Gang and the Little Rascals
Length
of Run: September
Talented group of young performers starring in a
series of
Roach
- Pathe Silent Films
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Roach
- MGM Silent Films
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Roach
- MGM Sound Films
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MGM
Films
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NOTE:
Click on the BLUE words for pictures; Click on
the 
for sounds.
Stars:
Allen Clayton Hoskins as Farina (appeared from
Alvin Buckelew as Spike (appeared from 1922-1933)
– b. 01/01/1900
Andy Samuel as Andy (appeared from
1923-1925) – b. 04/10/1909 – d. 03/05/1992
Baby Patsy May Dittemore
(appeared in 1936); b. 03/20/1934
Billy Lee (appeared in 1934) – b.
03/12/1929 – d. 11/17/1989
Bobby Beard as Cotton
(appeared from 1932-1934) – b. 08/2/1930; d. 10/16/1999
Carlena Beard as Cotton, Buckwheat & Marmalade
(appeared from 1931 to 1934) – b. 03/19/1930 - d. 02/23/72
William “Billie” Thomas as Buckwheat (appeared from
William R. “Billy” Laughlin as Froggy (appeared from
Robert F. “Bobby” Hutchins as Wheezer (appeared from
Bobby Young as Bonedust
(appeared from
Carl Switzer as Alfalfa
(appeared from
Clifton Young as Bonedust (appeared from 1925-1931) – 09/15/1917; d.
09/10/1951 (aka Bobby Young & Robert H. Clifton Young)
Darla Jean Hood as Cookie, then as Darla (appeared from 1935 to 1941) –
b.
Darwood K.Smith as Waldo
(appeared from 1937 to 1940) – b.
Dickie
Donald Haines as Toughie also as Specks (appeared
from 1930-1933) – b. 1918; d. 1941 (MIA)
Donald Proffitt as Donald (appeared from 1934 to 1937) b. 01/13/1930
Donny Smith as Beezer (appeared in 1929) – b. 09/17/1924
Dorothy DeBorba as Echo and Dorothy (appeared from
Edith Fellows – appeared in 3 shorts from 1930-1933 and over 50 movies –
d. 06/26/2011
Ernie Morrison as Ernie or Sunshine
Sammy among many others (appeared from
Ernie Weckbaugh as Stinky
(appeared in 1937) - b. 07/ ? /1931 –
Eugene Jackson as Gene or Pineapple
(appeared in 1924-
Gordon Eugene Lee as Porky
(appeared from
Gary Jasgar as Junior (appeared
George Brasno – the
midget (appeared from 1934-1936) – b. 12/23/1911; d. 08/15/1982
George Emmett McFarland as Spanky
(appeared from
Harold Wertz as Bouncy (secondary character
in three Rascals films – appeared in 1932) -- b.
Harold Switzer as Slim
(appeared from 1935-1940) – b. 01/16/1025; d. 04/14/1967
Harry Spear as Harry
(appeared from
Jack Davis as Jack or Tuffy (appeared from
Jackie Condon as Jackie or
Rosie (appeared from
Jackie Cooper as Jack or Jackie
(appeared from
Jacqueline Hope Taylor as
Jane or Jackie – (app.in 1934) aka Jackie Lynn Taylor – (Amer.
actress – b. 06/29/1926; aka Rev. Dr. Hope Taylor Fries, D.D.
Jacquie Lyn as
Jacquie (appeared in 1932) - b. 09/3/1928 in
Janet Burston
as Janet (appeared from 1940-1944) – b. 01/11/1935; d. 03/03/1998
Jannie Hoskins as Mango (Buckwheat’s little
sister) – (appeared from 1923-1935) – b. 03/19/1923 – d.
01/11/1996
Jay R Smith as Jay R. or
Specks (appeared from
Jean Darling as Jean (appeared from 1927 to
Jerry Tucker as Percy (appeared 1931 - 1938) – b.
Joe Cobb as Joe or
Squeaky (appeared from 1923-1929 and 1937 (in Reunion in Rhythm)) – b.
John Collum as Uh-Huh (appeared 1932 - 1938) –
b. 06/29/1926 – d. 08/28/1962
Johnny Downs as Johnny (appeared from 1923-
Joy Wurgaft (appeared from
1934 & 1935) – b. 09/19/1927 (aka
Juanita Quigley as Sally
(appeared from 1940 to 1942) – b. 06/24/1931; aka Baby Jane
June Marlowe as Miss Crabtree (real name was Gisela Goetten) – (appeared in 6 episodes from
Kendall McComas
as Breezy Brisbane
(appeared in
Kitty Kelly as Spanky’s Mom (appeared in Beginner’s Luck –
Leonard Kibrick as ? (appeared 1934 - 1936) –
b.
Leonard Landy
as Leonard and Percy (appeared from
Marianne Edwards (appeared from 1934-1936) –
b. 1930
Marvin Trin as Bubbles (appeared from 1934 to 1937) – b.
12/28/1929; d. 10/19/1986
Mary Ann Jackson as Mary Ann
(appeared from
Mary Kornman as Mary
(appeared from
Matthew Beard as Stymie (appeared from
Michael Gubitossi as
Mickey (appeared from 1939-1944) – b. 09/18/1933 (aka Robert Blake in Baretta and Little Beaver in Red Ryder)
Mickey Daniels as Mickey (appeared from
Mildred Kornman as Mildred (appeared from 1926 -1935) – b. 07/10/1925
Norman Chaney as Chubby (appeared from 1929 -1931 ) – b. 01 /18 /1914; d. 05 /30/1936
Olive Brasno – the midget (appeared from 1934-1936) –
b. 10/07/1917; d. 01/25/1998
Peggy Cartwright as Peggy (appeared in
Pal the Wonder Dog & Pete the Pup
as Pete (appeared 1922-1930) - see http://www.angelfire.com/stars3/petey/meet.html
for the story
Von the dog (appeared
from 1936-1937)
Robert F.
“Bobby” Hutchins as Wheezer (appeared
from 1927-1933) – b. 03/29/1925 - d. 03/17/1945
Robert
Winkler (born Winckler) (appeared from 1936 to 1938)
– b. 02/12/1927; d. 12/28/1989
Rosina
Lawrence as Miss Jones, Miss Lawrence (appeared from 1936-1937) – b.
12/30/1912 - d. 06/23/1997
Scooter Lowry as Scooter (appeared from
Scotty Beckett as Scotty (appeared from
Sherwood Bailey as Sherwood or Spud (appeared from
Shirley Jean Rickert as Shirley a.k.a. Gilda (appeared in
Shirley Coates as Henrietta or Muggsy
(appeared from 1937-1940)
Sidney Kibrick
as Woim (appeared
from 1935-
Tommy Bond as Tommy (app. from 1932-
Wally Albright as Wally (appeared in
William “Billie” Thomas as
Buckwheat (appeared from 1934-1944) – b. 03/12/1931; d. 10/10/1980
William R. “Billy” Laughlin as Froggy (appeared from 1940-1944) – b. 07/05/1932; d.
08/31/1948
Willie Mae Taylor as Buckwheat
(appeared in 1934) – b. 1915; d. 04/26/2002
A Few Our Gang Photos
Contributed by Alan Jacobs
(Thanks, Alan)
Ron’s Personal Favorite Episodes
(Episode Titles
in RED are My All-Time
Favorites)
Practical Learnin’
It's the first day of school, and the
gang is lamenting the loss of their beloved Miss McGillicuddy.
Their new teacher is Miss Crabtree, and the gang has all kinds of pranks in
store for the old battleaxe. Jackie even brags about
it to a nice young woman who gives him a ride to school. As it turns out, this
nice young woman is Miss Crabtree herself.
Summer is fast approaching, and Jackie is worried that Miss
Crabtree will get married and leave her students the way Miss McGillicuddy had the previous year. When a man comes around
looking for the teacher during her lunch break, the gang schemes to discourage
him from pursuing her. In the end, he is without his clothes, and the gang is
mortified to learn that he was Miss Crabtree's brother all along.
The kids live in a boarding school,
where they're brow-beaten by the ghastly old matron. But in school, they're
taught by gentle, lovable Old Cap, who allows them an impromptu talent show.
Cap wants to do something nice for the kids, since their school meals usually
consist of mush and milk. A phone
call brings news that Cap's back pension has finally come in, and he treats the
kids to toys and a fancy restaurant.
They decide to order an exotic-sounding French dessert, which turns out
to be mush and milk. Last
appearance of John “Uh-Huh” Collum, Bobby
“Wheezer” Hutchins, Dorothy DeBorba, and Dickie Moore .
Notable Quote: Cap:
"Uh-Huh, can you use the word "Isthmus" in a
sentence?" Uh-Huh: “Uh-huhhhhh…Isthmus be my lucky day!"
The “He-Man Woman-Haters Club”
It's Valentine's Day, and the boys
decide they don't want anything to do with it, forming "The He-Man Woman-Haters' Club." Almost immediately, Darla passes by
and winks at Alfalfa, who drops the club like a hot potato and follows her for
a picnic lunch. While Alfalfa pushes Darla on the swing, Spanky
and Buckwheat replace the cheese in Alfalfa's sandwich with bar soap, and the
cream in the cream puffs with liquid soap. Not wanting to offend Darla, Alfalfa
eats all of it. In the classroom, he is summoned to sing a song for the class,
which is punctuated with bubbles from Alfalfa's mouth. Alfalfa sings “Let Me Call You
Sweetheart.”
Spanky has
called the boys of the neighborhood together for a meeting. Upset that they
weren't invited to the MacGillicudy girls' party, he
proposes that they form a He-Man Woman
Haters' Club and nominates Alfalfa as president. Alfalfa, meanwhile, is not
at the clubhouse, but busy writing a love letter to Darla, giving it to
Buckwheat and Porky to deliver. When he gets to the clubhouse and learns of his
new duties (and of the paddle that will be used on all misbehaving members), he
hurries over to Darla's house to retrieve the note. Buckwheat and Porky return,
and let the boys know where Alfalfa's gone, so Spanky
and the paddle-wielding Spike head over to Darla's. Once there, they can't find
Alfalfa, but instead find Darla's cousin Amelia, who is actually Alfalfa.
He/she flirts with the boys and finds that they, too, are unwilling to abide by
the club's rules.
Dubious Desserts and “Mystery” Cakes
It's Joe's
Mary Ann and Wheezer
have to play second-banana to their bratty stepsister Jean, whose mother favors
her own child. They throw a party and invite the gang, who get treated to one
of the least appetizing birthday cakes ever baked. Eventually, their inventor
Dad sells a patent and he escapes the household with his two kids.
Dickie's
father is too stingy to buy his wife a birthday present, so the boy decides to raise
some money and buy her a swell dress he's seen in a shop window. He's throws a
party complete with a cake full of unexpected surprises. When he brings the
present home, his father punishes him for making a mess of the house, and then
feels ashamed when the reason is revealed.
Hear the cake baking.
Butch has been playing practical jokes
on the gang, so when his birthday party comes up, they decide to plant a
firecracker in his cake. Unfortunately, Butch's mom prevails upon them to carry
the cake into the room, and gets Alfalfa to sing a song for him. Eventually the
cake explodes, but Alfalfa likes the taste of it anyway.
Spooks
Spanky's mom
forbids him to join the gang in looking for treasure in a nearby cave. He
sneaks out anyway, and the gang succeeds in finding a giant treasure chest
which they break open. After helping themselves to as much loot as they can
carry, they try to find their way out. They find themselves in a room with
oversized furniture, and soon find out why it's oversized when a giant walks
in. They hide from him, but he eventually finds and catches them. As it turns
out, it's all a dream, as Spanky has dozed off while
being confined to his room.
Alfalfa is a private eye, and with the
help of Buckwheat and Porky, tracks a couple of suspects, Leonard and Junior,
who are accused of stealing Darla's box of candy. The two little kids get into
the cab of a flatbed truck, so the three sleuths climb in back and hide in a
box. Leonard and Junior, however, simply exit the opposite side, unknown to the
older boys. It turns out the truck is taking supplies to a haunted house
carnival ride, which is where the boys find themselves. They're subjected to
quite an assortment of scary adventures, and eventually escape, running for
their lives.
Racing
A rich kid moves into the neighborhood,
and the gang paws all over his shiny fire engine. When Wally's girl, Jane,
takes a ride with the snotty brat, Wally boasts that the gang has their own
fire engine. Eventually, they do, but they have to build it first. To test
their new ride, they have a race down a steep hill with ends in disaster for
everybody.
Darla has to stay home to "mind
the baby," and can't join the boys for their picnic. It turns out that
she's spending the day in Waldo's boat, which crushes Alfalfa's spirit. Spanky decides that they'll make their own boat and race
Waldo. Unfortunately, Waldo's boat is motorized (the gang's is
animal-propelled, of course), and he has no trouble in taking a big lead. But
then his boat springs a leak, putting Darla in distress, and Alfalfa into the
water to save his true love.
Spanky and
Alfalfa have added rocket propulsion to their soapbox racer which they'll be
racing in the Kidmobile Race Classic later in the
day. Butch sabotages their plans by alerting the dogcatcher to Whiskers, the
gang's dog, who is soon taken to the pound. Butch and Woim
also reverse the supercharger on the vehicle. Needing three dollars to rescue
Whiskers, the gang must win this race, and Butch and Woim
have eliminated every competitor - except Spanky and
Alfalfa. When they turn on the supercharger, they go in reverse, but soon turn
the vehicle around and drive backwards, eventually winning the race and saving
their dog.
Entrepreneurial Endeavors
A mean-spirited store owner prevails
upon the local cop to send kindly old Gus and Scotty elsewhere with their
lemonade stand. They end up on a little-traveled street where people don't tend
to pass. That's until the gang brings a parade through the neighborhood and
puts on a show right next to the lemonade stand. The store owner and his bratty
son try to sabotage the proceedings, but only succeed in making fools of
themselves.
Musical Artists Extraordinaire
The gang is staging their annual
follies show, but "king of the crooners" Alfalfa walks out on stage
singing opera. Unwilling to give his fans what they want, he and Porky visit a
local opera company, where the impresario jokingly gives Alfalfa a contract
effective twenty years later. Alfalfa and Porky arrive back at the barn, where
Alfalfa takes a nap. He dreams of becoming an opera star twenty years later,
only to be booed on opening night. The impresario still has him under contract,
and orders him to sing in the streets. He chances upon Spanky,
who's just about to walk into his own nightclub, Club Spanky,
and invites Alfalfa in. After watching all of his successful friends put on
various performances in the club, Alfalfa decides he'll become a crooner again,
only to be interrupted by the impresario. As he begs to be let go, Alfalfa wakes
from his dream, and tearing up the contract, returns to the stage to croon
again.
The songs in this episode include
"I'm The Barber Of Seville"
and "Learn To Croon"
(both sung by Alfalfa), "The Love Bug Will Get You If You Don't Watch
Out" (sung by Darla with help from Porky and Buckwheat), "That
Foolish Feeling" (sung by Georgia Jean LaRue),
"There's No Two Ways About It" (sung by Philip MacMahon),
"Follow The Leader" (led by "Cab" Buckwheat), and
"Loch Lomond" (sung by Annabella Logan).