Darla broke up The Little Rascals
BLACKPOOLJIMMY
The Our Gang . . .
Alfalfa --
Carl Alfalfa Swizter was one of the most popular kids in the Our
Gang shorts, but not on the shooting
set, he was a prankster and often caused trouble. His best friend was
Tommy Butch Bond, but
Darla would tend to avoid him. Carl played Alfalfa in 67 comedy
films, later he worked in movies in
smaller roles. Later, while also working as a dog breeder, Roy
Rogers gave him work in 6 episodes of the Roy Rogers Show, Roy would
later accuse Alfalfa of stealing some of his dogs from his ranch.
After a failed
marriage and numerous run ins with the law, in 1959, Alfalfa was shot
to death by an acquaintance for
trying to collect a $50.00 debt. he thought he was owed. Carl Alfalfa
Switzer was dead at 31.
Chubby –Norman Chubby Chaney died at age 21 of Myocarditis, he weighed
110 pounds at death.
Buckwheat –Billie Buckwheat Thomas, with that famous wide eyed
surprised expression.
Many thought the Buckwheat character was a little girl, not so.
Billie worked 20 years as a film
Lab technician for Technicolor. At a Rascals reunion in 1980, he
received a spontaneous
standing ovation which moved him to tears, three months later
Buckwheat died of a heart attack,
he was only 49.
Darla Hood –Darla Jean Hood signed a 7 year contract with Our Gang
comedies for $75.00 a week.
She was an honor student at Fairfax High school in Los Angeles, 5’1”
Darla Hood sang on the radio and went on to do voice over work for
commercials such as Campbell Soup and Chicken of the Sea. In 1979,
she entered a hospital in North Hollywood for what was to be minor
surgery. She somehow contracted
acute hepatitis, her heart failed and she was dead at 47 years old.
Brisbane – Kendall McComas committed suicide in 1981 in Lake Isabella,
Calif, he was 64.
Billy ‘Froggy’ Laughlin (no photo) The gravelly voiced kid, he loved
riding bicycles, while riding double with a friend, delivering
newspapers, they were hit by a truck from behind, Froggy was killed,
he was 16 years old.
Mickey Daniels –Mickey Daniels, red haired and freckle faced with a
funny high pitched laugh.
He appeared in over 100 comedy films from 1922 to 1946. He died of
cirrhosis of the liver in 1970.
He was found alone in a motel room in San Diego where he had been
working as a taxi driver, he was 55.
sho
Stymie –Matthew Stymie Beard, the black bowler hat he always wore was
given to him by Stan Laurel.
As a young adult, Stymie had trouble with the law, and got hooked on
heroin. He was able to kick his drug problems and went back to work
in show business in the 1970’s. He worked right up until he died of
pneumonia in 1981, he was 56.
Scotty Beckett –Scotty Hastings Beckett, maybe the cutest of all the
Rascals and certainly the
most tragic. Scotty became one of the most successful young actors
of the 1930’ and 40’s. In the Our
Gang shorts, he and Spanky were a team within the gang, much like
Porky and Buckwheat before.
As a young adult, he started classes at USC but dropped out because of
movie offers working with
Elizabeth Taylor, Jane Powell, Van Johnson, and other top names at
MGM. After hours he began to
party and was arrested for drunk driving in 1948. Thus began a
downward spiral into drugs, alcohol,
and trouble with the law. In 1954, he spent 4 months in a Mexican
jail for writing bad checks. He worked
in small roles and it looked like he might turn his life around, but
in 1957, he was caught bringing illegal
drugs from Mexico. In 1959, he was arrested twice for drunk driving,
the second time he smashed his
car and became confined to a wheel chair. Later he was arrested for
assault and battery against his
neighbor. He tried suicide twice and failed. In 1967, he was
admitted into a nursing home after being
beaten up in a drug deal gone bad, 2 days later he took a suicidal
over dose of barbiturates and died
at the age of 39.
ty
Wheezer –In 1945, while taking army flight training, Rober Wheezer
Hutchins crashed his plane
on landing and was killed, he was only 20 years old.
Pete the Pup –The original Petey’s real name was Pal, the circle
around his eye was always painted on.
He was mysteriously poisoned and died in 1930.
Butch –Tommy Bond, ‘Butch’, known for his rendition of ‘Just Friends,
Lovers No More’ After his acting career ended he worked many long
years for the studios in the Art department. In the 1960’s he worked
on TV’s hit show, ‘Laugh-In’. Butch passed away in 2005 from heart
disease, he was 79.
And Spanky...George Spanky Mcfarland, one of only two former rascals
to get a star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame, Jackie Cooper is the other. When young George
was filming and maybe
not behaving, his mother would take him aside and say, “spanky,
spanky”, and so the name stuck.
His catchphrase was “Okey-Dokey”, his famous double take was taught to
him by Stan Laurel,
Oliver Hardy showed him the wide eyed surprised look. He worked as an
executive for Philco Ford,
and loved to play golf. From 1955-1960 he hosted a local children’s
TV show called ‘The Spanky Show’
where he showed ‘The little Rascals’ His quote: “As a kid I had
everything I wanted, we had a good life,
but when it was over. . . it was over.” In 1993, while living in
Grapeview, Texas, Spanky died of a heart attack, He was 65.
LookingGlass
She was a trollop...though not an *Anthony*.
topaz
The fall broke up Humpty Dumpty :)
BLACKPOOLJIMMY
>
> - Show quoted text -
Surprised you responded to me..big bad Jimmy. After spanking Fatts
ass..thought you might avoid, not to upset your friend.
topaz
>
> - Show quoted text -
Well I guess it is my sense of humor.
BLACKPOOLJIMMY
>
> - Show quoted text -
Be careful...you might alienate.
BLACKPOOLJIMMY
> BLACKPOOLJIMMY <Chippandf...@aol.com> wrote:
> > Be careful...you might alienate.
>
> The last four posts in this thread added five new sentences of content,
> and totalled 765 lines of text.
Well, I didn't count but on my page I see the original and five simple
responses (six with yours)....no original Rascal post.
BLACKPOOLJIMMY
> BLACKPOOLJIMMY <Chippandf...@aol.com> wrote:
> We've been over this 82.3 times.
Well then, why bring it up? I'm a sorry you see the whole bloody
thing.
Tell me how to make your viewing easier (if that's possible)...I will
listen.
Dago Tony
My brother said he saw "Rochester" doing some song and
dance stuff (before he became Jack Benny's sidekick ).
And ...HE HAD NO RHYTHM !!!
Ok ...I just mentioned an African-American and a Jew !!!
TNMM should be chiming in ...
in ...10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0, ...take it away, Mr. KKK !!!
tony .
marcus
died. For a long time there was an urban myth that Spanky shot
Alfalfa.
Many of the original stars of that series appeared on the "Mike
Douglas Show". I recall seeing Darla and Spanky, and that is where
Spanky put the whole myth about him shooting Alfalfa to rest..
Hey, let's not forget that Robert Blake was a "Rascal" as well.
"Mush, all ze children get mush."
topaz
> We've been over this 82.3 times.
Not 83.7 times?? :)
The Harmonic Wheel
> "Mush, all ze children get mush."
"Yum! Yum! Eat 'em up! Eat 'em up! Yum! Yum!"
Fattuchus
>
> Well I guess it is my sense of humor.-
This shows you this dude's silly attitude. He thinks it's all about
him, I guess. Either that or he thinks that you and I have to be
friendly with the same people. I dont' give a crap.
Why should I care if you have a nice discussion with him? As far as I
am concerned, he's dead. Dead is dead.
You should be friendly or unfriendly with whomever you want. It's not
my affair.
BLACKPOOLJIMMY
> >
> This shows you this dude's silly attitude. �He thinks it's all about
> him, I guess. �Either that or he thinks that you and I have to be
> friendly with the same people. �I dont' give a crap.
This dude thinks you are a one trick pony...head filled with air.
I'm back here specifically to spank your ass whenever you are "lost"
in the quagmire you wade in. Count on it.You have quieted on your
"main issue"...stay that way.
>
> Why should I care if you have a nice discussion with him? �As far as I
> am concerned, he's dead. �Dead is dead.
Oh, but I live mighty FauxFatt...you insult intelligence.
>
> You should be friendly or unfriendly with whomever you want. �It's not
> my affair.-
So why comment, FauxFatt?
Don't forget to get your leaf blower ready for the snowstorm.
pmosc...@comcast.net
> I loved "Our Gang" and "Little Rascals", and remember when Alfalfa
> died. For a long time there was an urban myth that Spanky shot
> Alfalfa.
I used to hear that Alfalfa got shot in a bar over an argument over
$50. That was half right.
pmosc...@comcast.net
Make that three-quarters right.
The Harmonic Wheel
"It's A Wonderful Life" that pushes the button that opens the gym
floor, causing James Stewart and Donna Reed to fall (doing the
Charleston) into the school pool.