'The Little Rascals' Original Cast: What Happened to the Beloved Ragtag Crew?

The Little Rascals debuted on television in 1955, and introduced a group of neighborhood friends and their adventures to children… and adults alike. The series came out of the Our Gang shorts that ran from 1922-1938 for MGM that producer and creator Hal Roach re-bundled to make The Little Rascals TV series. Each of the little kids in the Little Rascals original cast had their own persona, identity and image that earned them all nicknames that stuck with some actors for their entire lives.

Who doesn’t remember Alfalfa’s freckles, stand up hairdo and horrible off-key singing voice?  Stymie with his top hat, Buckwheat with his big surprised eyes or even Petey the dog with a black circle around one eye. Some say the current Target dog is a take-off of Petey.

The series is also memorable for breaking new ground during the Jim Crow era of racial segregation in the U.S. by having the Black and white children play together as equals and form their united “gang”. Unlike other movies that featured young children oftentimes based on make believe, Our Gang was told in real time with real kids, most of whom were poor and the gang was often at odds with the “rich kids” and parents.

The relatability and humor of The Little Rascals original cast became a cottage industry with books, clothing, comics, toys and other merchandise on every kid’s wish list.

Of course, there were stereotypical gags that ran throughout the series, but the series was a hit even when the children aged out and had to be replaced such as in Jackie Cooper being introduced in 1930 after Mickey Daniels left the show.

So let’s take a walk down memory lane and look at some of the original Rascals.

George "Spanky" McFarland

If you lived in late 1920s Texas, particularly Dallas, you probably saw billboards and advertisements for Wonder Bread. And there was a pre-Our Gang Spanky McFarland who also modeled children’s clothing for Dallas department stores. But clearly, it was The Little Rascals which brought McFarland fame and recognition. His Aunt Dottie responded to an ad from Hal Roach Studios that asked for photos of “cute kids” and the rest is Spanky history. It was his mom who nicknamed her son George, Spanky, because he had a habit of grabbing things and she would warn, “Spanky mustn’t touch”. The name stuck.

On the series, Spanky was the president of the He-Man Women Hater’s Club and often said when sure of his lines: Okay, Toots.

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After leaving the gang, an adult McFarland joined the United States Air Force but really couldn’t find work due to his Spanky stereotype. So what’s a fella to do? After Spanky, he embarked on a college tour to speak about his days on The Little Rascals, albeit reluctantly at first, but the standing ovations he received buoyed his spirits. “I have no regrets”, said McFarland. "I had a ball. Even though it was a job, we had a pretty good time making those comedies. As a kid I had most everything I wanted and we had a good life.  When it was over, it was over.”

An avid golfer, McFarland was often seen on the pro-am circuit. His last acting outing was in 1993, in the opening of a Cheers episode, passing away shortly thereafter of a heart attack at age 64.  He was honored with a star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame in 1994.

Fun fact: Spanky popularized the expressions Okey-dokey and Okey-doke in the Our Gang shorts and later in The Little Rascals series.

Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer

Believe it or not, Carl Switzer and his brother became famous in their hometown of Paris, Illinois, for their musical talents! So Alfalfa could really sing! In 1934, the Switzers visited family in California and fate stepped in. They were on a tour of Hal Roach Studios, where the Our Gang shorts were filmed. After the tour, the brothers, 8 (Harold) and 6 (Carl) went to the Our Gang café and began one of their singing performances for the diners. Roach signed them on the spot. Carl was dubbed Alfalfa who became Spanky’s BFF and always having an eye on Darla.

As with other Rascals, Alfalfa had a difficult time escaping his gang character and struggled to find roles in other projects. He appeared in small parts as an adult including It’s a Wonderful Life (1946) and The Defiant Ones (1958). “I look just like I did when I was a kid” he said during the filming of The Defiant Ones. “It’s hard for a child actor to start working again. I’ve never played a part over 19; I’m always a teenager. I’ll see how this turns out. If this doesn’t do it for me, nothing will..” Giving in to financial pressures at home, Switzer left show biz and became a dog breeder and hunting guide. In January 1959, Alfalfa met an untimely end at age 31 as he was fatally shot during a fight over $50 and a hunting dog.

Wild fact: When The Little Rascals movie was made, some of the surviving cast members of the original Little Rascals were upset that they were not asked to participate.

Norman "Chubsy-Ubsy" Chaney

As if the demise of Switzer wasn’t sad enough, Norman Chaney lived one of the saddest lives of the Our Gang members. Born in Cambridge, Maryland, the heavy-set young boy was cast after Hal Roach was looking for an overweight boy. At the time, Norman was 3’11” and weighed 113 pounds.

Chaney did appear in 19 short films but his time on The Little Rascals was cut short because he continued to gain weight even though he tried not to do so. After his contract wasn’t renewed, “Chubby” as he was called, and family moved back to Maryland where he attended public schools and lived a rather normal childhood.

Eventually he stopped growing in height at 4’7” but by then weighed 300 pounds due to a glandular disease. He underwent surgery and dropped down to 140 pounds and then 110 but when he was only 21, Chaney died of myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle.

Mary Ann Jackson

With her bobbed hairstyle, tomboyish attitude and grimaced face, Mary Ann Jackson charmed audiences as a child star since the age of 4 in 1927’s Smith’s Pony. She then joined the gang in 1928 but left at age 8 in 1931. She was quite busy after, appearing in six major pictures such as Bouncing Babies and Lazy Days.

With a flourishing acting career, Jackson gave up the bright lights after Little Daddy at the age of 8. In her adult years, she worked in department stores and loved partying with her sister. She said she only had fond memories of being a little rascal and died of a heart attack in Los Angeles in 2003.

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Billy "Froggy" Laughlin

Growing up a shy kid, his mother enrolled him in acting school to help him overcome his shyness. Known for his strange throaty voice akin to Popeye’s, Billy Laughlin joined the gang in 1940 and was nicknamed Froggy because when he spoke, he sounded like a frog croaking and that was really Laughlin speaking. After production stopped in 1944, Laughlin appeared in Johnny Doesn’t Live Here Anymore (1944) but then gave up acting to enjoy his teenage years.

Another untimely end to one of the Rascals was when Froggy was delivering newspapers in his neighborhood on the back of his friend’s scooter when his driver friend made a U2 and was fatally struck by a speeding truck. His friend only received minor injuries. The scooter was given to him just two weeks before his accident by his parents. He was just 16 and the youngest to die of any of the Our Gang actors.

Darla Hood

Cast in the role of Darla after a visit to New York City to seek fame and fortune in the arts, Hal Roach Studios were impressed with Darla’s singing and dancing talent. “I was born in a small town in Oklahoma and I guess my mother wanted to get out of there. My local dancing teacher talked my mother into letting me go to New York City where I wound up leading the band at the Edison Hotel and caught the eye of the Our Gang casting director. I was only 3 when I signed the contract in 1935.”

Darla was known for her flirty and come-hither personality that captured the hearts of Alfalfa, Butch and Waldo, along with young boys across America.

When she could no longer play the young coquette, Hood went on to finish her high school education and organized a vocal group called the Enchanters. Her last film was The Bat in 1959 alongside Vincent Price, but The Little Rascals, were always front and center with Hood.  While she was organizing the 1980 Little Rascals reunion, she underwent an appendectomy but sadly passed away from heart failure at age 47.

Billie "Buckwheat" Thomas in The Little Rascals original cast

Most Our Gang viewers probably don’t know that Buckwheat was originally written for a female, Stymie’s younger sister, Carlena. Somehow Buckwheat morphed into a boy but Thomas originally played him with his speech impediment and all – as a stereotypical black girl dressed with bowed pigtails, oversized boots and a ragged sweater. Try and cast that character today as they did back in 1934 and the censors would be all over it as would the public outcry.

Anyway, after Billie Thomas left the film shorts he enlisted in the U.S. Army at age 23 and honorably discharged receiving a National Defense Service Medal and a Good Conduct Medal. Studios and agents sought out his talent but Thomas opted to stay in show biz as a behind-the-camera lab tech with Technicolor. “After the Army, I wasn’t really interested in the hassle of performing”, he explained in a 1980 interview. It seemed like a rat race to me with no security. But I enjoyed The Little Rascals. We had a lot of fun together; just like a family.”

Another Rascals victim of a heart attack, 46 years to the day after his mother brought him to audition at Hal Roach Studios.

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Matthew "Stymie" Beard in The Little Rascals original cast

Before becoming Stymie in Our Gang, baby Matthew Beard was cast in many films. Originally Stymie was to be names Hercules but director McGowan renamed him Stymie as he was always stymied with Beard’s wanderings around the studio for no apparent reason or goal in mind.

Known for his bald head and oversized derby hat, Beard stated the hat was a gift from comedian Stan Laurel who had also worked under Hal Roach. “I took to him from the start”, said Beard about Laurel. “Lots of times our sets would be next to Laurel and Hardy’s and they would watch us shoot and we would watch them. I got a charge of Stan Laurel and he knew it; he’d buy me ice cream and one day he said `Well, give this kid a derby’. That’s why it never fit me; it belonged to Stan Laurel.”

Inside the insular studio walls and gates, Beard was one of the gang with a sense of equality, but life outside the studio was quite challenging and dangerous. One of 13 kids, his paycheck provided support for the family but he couldn’t go out and play like other kids because his neighborhood was so dangerous.

Beard made a few films after leaving The Little Rascals but later became addicted to heroin.  Fortunately, he turned his life around and after rehab was seen as a guest star in TV series such as The Jeffersons and a recurring role on Good Times. In January 1981, Beard had a stroke and fell down a flight of stairs, hitting his heat. He died from pneumonia five days later at age 56 and was buried with the famous derby hat he wore his whole life.

Wild fact: In 1979, The Little Rascals Christmas Special, an animated holiday special featured the voices of Darla Hood and Matthew Stymie Beard. Hood died suddenly before the special aired.

Mickey "Mickey" Gubitosi in The Little Rascals original cast

Robert Blake – Mickey – was born in New Jersey where his parents began a song-and-dance routine in 1936 with his three siblings. Known as The Three Little Hillbillies, the family moved to Los Angeles courting fame and fortune with their act. A 9 year-old Blake got his first break when cast as Mickey, who would become Spanky’s BFF. He also appeared in the Red Ryder films as a child actor. After a stint in the Army, Blake went back to acting and struck it rich in the TV series, Baretta as an undercover cop but he was always considered a difficult person to work with and was shunned by some producers.

In 2005, Blake became gossip and news fodder when he was tried for killing his second wife in 2001, which he was acquitted, but found guilty in the civil trial. He died from heart disease in March 2023 at 89 years of age.

Wild fact: None of the Our Gang children received any residuals or royalties from reruns or licensed products with their likenesses. 

Petey the Dog in The Little Rascals original cast

And this brings us to one of the favorites of Our Gang – Petey, an American Pit Bull Terrier who began his career in the Buster Brown series in the 1920s. The circle around his eye was not there naturally; it was created by Max Factor’s founder who drew the circle for the Buster Brown series. Roach liked it so much that he kept it on the canine, creating one of the most recognized dogs in show biz.

Wild fact: Original Our Gang shorts where mostly filmed outdoors featuring a menagerie of animal characters such as Dinah the Mule.

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