The Little Rascals (Our Gang Comedies)

1 ANSWERS

1. Tom Reeds
   

   Anna Mae Bilson is usually listed as Anna May Bilson, and appeared in the Harold Lloyd short \"Now Or Never.\" She's the lead girl in the first Our Gang film, but Maltin & Bann mistakenly listed her as the mother.

   Jack Hanlon made at least a couple of late silent appearances, but was discovered only after the most recent edition of Maltin & Bann's book. He can also be seen in the Buster Keaton feature \"The General.\"

   Patrick Melrose is a character name, and I've only seen this name in the remade UK titles for the first Our Gang film. He may have had a different name in the original version. The boy that plays him might actually be John Hatton, but I still need to verify this (somehow).

   I don't have much info on Donnie Smith, other than that he was Jay R's younger brother.
   John Hatton: A friend emailed Richard Bann for more info on the first Our Gang film, and he revealed that he had made a mistake in regard to Anna Mae Bilson, who was not the widow, but rather, her daughter. He also mentioned that the rival merchant was played by Wallace Howe, which brings the name John Hatton into question. There was a child actor with this name around that time, who would have been about 7 years old, but I haven't verified that he's in the first Our Gang film.
   Dorothy Morrison: In "Tire Trouble," the kid with his name on a card looks a lot like the boy that Maltin & Bann list as Billy Lord for other films. The card is handwritten, so the last name Achater is just a guess, and might be totally fictitious. In any event, a recent photo on eBay of child actor Billy Lord reveals that he doesn't look like the kid from the Our Gang films, which is why I've taken his name off my lists.
   Sonny Boy Warde - He played 'Chan Toy' in "The First Born" in 1921, which is what tipped me off that he was the Asian boy of Our Gang. I'm guessing that 'Sing Joy' (as listed by Maltin & Bann) is simply a character name, as I don't see much difference from one film to the next. Jerry and Roberta McGowan - I haven't been able to turn up any info on these two. Surely somebody must know something, since one or both of them have been interviewed.
   David Sharpe - Born Feb. 2, 1910. He was a teenager when he appeared in "Ask Grandma." He later starred in the Boy Friends series for Hal Roach and did stunt work. He died Mar. 20, 1980 of Lou Gehrig's disease. Jackie 'Husky' Hanes - He appeared in several Hal Roach shorts as a toddler. That's all I know about him. Bobby Green - I haven't been able to identify this kid.
   Scooter Lowry - He's largely a mystery, but I've got a few tidbits of info. Johnny Downs mentioned that Scooter came from New York. He was the 'hard-boiled' kid before Harry Spear took that job. Jean Darling told me that she had been told that Scooter was a bit disruptive, and that this had to do with his dismissal. He went on to appear in the vaudeville version of Our Gang. Notably, he was the only true Our Gang member in vaudeville that hadn't outgrown the film series, so perhaps this was a convenient way to keep him busy without keeping him in the series. A photo on eBay was allegedly signed by him as 'Skippy' Lowry to his mother. Perhaps he later used this name, as it's definitely him in the photo.
   Bobby Mallon - He made several appearances, but I don't have any info on his non-Gang life.
   Johnny Aber - This name simply doesn't jibe with the films that Maltin & Bann list him for. I still don't know what he looks like. Bobby Dean - The boy that was brought in to replace Joe Cobb, but didn't. All I know is that he died of obesity.
    

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