And when he did speak, he didn't speak very clearly. SIEGEL: And finally, the role of the black youngster on "Our Gang" was given to Billie Thomas who was known as "Buckwheat" and who spoke very little. MATTHEW BEARD: (As Stymie) My name is Stymie. Farina was replaced in the cast by Matthew Beard or Stymie.
#The original little rascals cast where are they now series#
And, you know, Farina Hoskins - his real name was Sonny - he was actually a year and a half perhaps when he started on the series - could barely walk, could barely talk. SIEGEL: How old are those movies when Farina was making his debut? In the silent films, there was Ernie Morrison, known as Sunshine Sammy - along with him as a baby and then in the talkies alone was Allen Hoskins was given the name Farina.ĪLLEN HOSKINS: (As Farina) Trevor, there ain't been no dogs around here for years - must be one of them spook dogs. SIEGEL: You tell us about the four principal black actors. It's called "Our Gang: A Racial History Of The Little Rascals," and she joins us from member station KNPR in Las Vegas. SIEGEL: (Laughter) Author Julia Lee, who teaches English at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas, dug deep into the lives of the African-American actors who performed in "Our Gang," and she's written a book about them.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTORS: (As characters) It's Buckwheat. UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #5: (As character) There he is. UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #4: (As character) Where art thou? THOMAS: (As Buckwheat) My Mommy hit him on the head with a monkey wrench. UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #3: (As character) What made your papi's head swell? UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #2: (As character) There he is.īILLIE THOMAS: (As Buckwheat) Pop's had his head swell. UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #1: (As character) Where's Buckwheat? (SOUNDBITE OF UNIDENTIFIED "OUR GANG" FILM) But there was this constant -while most of the gang were white, there was always at least one black child in the cast. SIEGEL: That's the tune "Good Old Days" - the theme song of "Our Gang." The child actors would age out of the "Our Gang" comedies, and they'd be replaced. (SOUNDBITE OF OUR GANG THEME SONG, "GOOD OLD DAYS") More recently, a couple of forgettable movies with the title "Little Rascals" were made in an attempt to revive the franchise that was originally called "Our Gang." They were renamed "Little Rascals" for TV. Then came sound, and then came reruns on television. Before movies had sound, they had silent shorts with the kids - kids who were always solving problems or making trouble. The kids in the "Our Gang" comedies - "The Little Rascals" - enjoyed as long a run on screen as anyone, starting in 1922.
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