Billie "Buckwheat" Thomas
Actor
Matthew Beard (American actor)...the original gang members (Allen "Farina" Hoskins) and be replaced by one that would stay on until the series disbanded (Billie "Buckwheat" Thomas). The name "Stymie" was provided by Our Gang director Robert McGowan, who was always... In this article: Our Gang, Matthew Beard, Billie "Buckwheat" Thomas, Trademark, The First Round-Up, Synanon, Heroin, Hal Roach, Dickie Moore, and Robert McGowan |
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Wikipedia | October 30, 2009
General Spanky
...popular Our Gang short subjects , the film stars George "Spanky" McFarland, Phillips Holmes, Rosina Lawrence, Billie "Buckwheat" Thomas, and Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer. Directed by Fred Newmeyer and Gordon Douglas , it was originally...
In this article: Hal Roach, General Spanky, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Our Gang, Civil War, Turner Entertainment, Phillips Holmes, Warner Bros, and Rosina Lawrence
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Darla Hood
She was 48. The Our Gang community was stunned at Hood's unexpected passing. Fellow Our Gang member Billie "Buckwheat" Thomas said, "I hate to hear it. It's a shock. She was an awfully nice person, a fine woman. We got along real good as...
In this article: Darla Jean Hood, Our Gang, Little Rascals, and New York City
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Bucwheed
...a rap group called The Wascals and took the name Buckwheat (later changed to Bucwheed) due to his resemblance of Billie "Buckwheat" Thomas. During this time Buckwheat was approached by Ruthless Records and appeared on Eazy-E's EP, '' on...
In this article: Bucwheed, Delicious Vinyl, The Pharcyde, The Wascals, Fatlip, Soul Assassins, Ruthless Records, Battle Axe Records, Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde, and St. Imey
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Eugene Gordon Lee
...in forty-two Our Gang comedies over four years. Lee, McFarland, and Our Gang co-stars Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer, Billie "Buckwheat" Thomas, and Darla Hood constituted what is today the most familiar incarnation of Our Gang. This group moved...
In this article: Eugene Gordon Lee, Our Gang, Hal Roach, Texas, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Gordon Douglas, Little Rascals, and Cancer
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Billie Thomas
Billie Thomas (originally William Thomas, Jr.) (March 12, 1931 - October 10, 1980) was an American child actor best remembered for portraying the character of Buckwheat in the Our Gang (Little Rascals) short films from 1934 until the series'...
In this article: Billie Thomas, Our Gang, Eddie Murphy, Eugene "Porky" Lee, Saturday Night Live, Washee Ironee, George "Spanky" McFarland, and Little Rascals
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USATODAY.com | September 04, 2009
New on DVD: 'Last Days of Disco,' two immigrant sagas
...Hal Roach's vehicles for Little Rascals that included Spanky McFarland, Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer, Darla Hood and Billie "Buckwheat" Thomas. In 1938, the studio took over producing, and this five-disc box showcases 52 late-run episodes. These...
In this article: The Last Days of Disco, DVD, Whit Stillman, Blu-ray, Disney, Kate Beckinsale, Russell Crowe, Chloe Sevigny, and New York
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www.nypost.com
Li'l Blake acts innocent in Gang set
...was brought in to supplement series mainstays George "Spanky" McFarland, Darla Hood, Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer and Billie "Buckwheat" Thomas, who were literally growing out of their costumes after nearly a decade in their roles. Most...
In this article: Hal Roach, MGM, Our Gang, Robert Blake, The Little Rascals, and B-movie
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Washee Ironee
...to return to normal life. He had served for a short time but got many lead roles, including one on this episode. It was also Billie Thomas' third episode but not yet as Buckwheat. Willie Mae Taylor holds that role on this episode. But from...
In this article: Our Gang, Wally Albright, Washee Ironee, Billie Thomas, Tommy Bond, James Parrott, DVD, and Hal Roach
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New York Times | November 10, 2008
New DVDs: It's Spanky and Gang: Hold on to Your Beanies
...familiar from the television package coalesces around 1934: George McFarland (Spanky), Matthew Beard (Stymie), Carl Switzer (Alfalfa), Billie Thomas (Buckwheat), Darla Hood. But it's also around this time that the films become more...
In this article: Our Gang, Hal Roach, Robert F. McGowan, Spanky, MGM, Irving Berlin, Warner Home Video, This Is the Army, and Luis Bunuel
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Our Gang Follies of 1938
starring = Carl Switzer <br /> George McFarland <br /> Eugene Lee <br /> Darla Hood <br /> Billie Thomas <br /> Henry Brandon music = Marvin Hatley <br /> Gioacchino Rossini <br /> Arthur Johnston <br /> Sam Coslow Our Gang Follies of...
In this article: Spanky, Our Gang Follies of 1938, Darla Hood, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Carl Switzer, Broadway, The Broadway Melody, The Barber of Seville, and Henry Brandon
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More on Billie "Buckwheat" Thomas
Description from Wikipedia:
Billie Thomas (originally William Thomas, Jr.) (March 12, 1931 – October 10, 1980) was an American child actor best remembered for portraying the character of Buckwheat in the Our Gang (Little Rascals) short films from 1934 until the series' end in 1944. He was a native of Los Angeles, California.
Although the character he played was often the subject of controversy in later years for containing elements of the "pickaninny" stereotype, Thomas always defended his work in the series, pointing out that Buckwheat and the rest of the black Our Gang kids were treated as equals with the white kids in the series. The 1980s Little Rascals animated series adapted from the Our Gang comedies addressed the problem by changing Buckwheat into a clever inventor who is always building ingenious machines for the gang.
After Our Gang was discontinued in 1944, Thomas played some small parts in other films, but soon left show business altogether. As an adult, he worked as a film lab technician with the Technicolor corporation.
Thomas died of a heart attack on October 10 1980, in Los Angeles, California, at the age of 49.
In 2007, Louisiana State Representative Carla Dartez, a Democrat, came under fire from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People for calling one of her female volunteers "Buckwheat." The local chapter of the NAACP threw its support behind her Republican opponent, who won the November 17, 2007 run-off election.
- Birth Date:
- March 12, 1931
- Birthplace:
- Los Angeles, California
- Death Date:
- March 12, 1931
- Place of Death:
- Los Angeles, California
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