Free Republic

Comedian Gabriel Iglesias defended the cartoon mouse Speedy Gonzalez, whom Iglesias is voicing in the upcoming Space Jam sequel, against claims that the mouse perpetuates “corrosive stereotypes.” Iglesias took to Twitter on Saturday, shooting down any attempt at potentially canceling the cartoon mouse over claims that he or his cartoon friends contribute to harmful stereotypes of Mexicans. “I am the voice of Speedy Gonzales in the new Space Jam. Does this mean they are gonna try to cancel Fluffy too?” Iglesias, who is nicknamed Fluffy, posted with an image of Speedy Gonzalez. “U can’t catch me cancel culture. I’m the...

Dick Moore, a public relations executive who was known as Dickie when he was a Hollywood child star, playing the movies’ first talking Oliver Twist and later giving Shirley Temple her first on-screen kiss, died on Monday in Connecticut. He was 89. Helene Feldman, who works for his company, Dick Moore & Associates, confirmed the death but said she was not sure where it had occurred. Mr. Moore lived in Wilton, Conn. Mr. Moore was not yet a year old and evidently cute as a button when he made his movie debut in the 1927 silent feature “The Beloved Rogue,” which...

Jean Darling, one of the last surviving members of the silent movie Our Gang comedies, has died. Her death was reported on Sunday September 6 on social media sites by her friends. She had turned 93 years old only two weeks earlier. Our Gang were also called Hal Roach's Rascals. The series was known as The Little Rascals on television. In its long history, from the 1920s into the 1940s, the Our Gang roster changed a lot, with some notable members including Jackie Cooper, Farina Hoskins, Stymie Beard, Spanky McFarland, Darla Hood, and Alfalfa Switzer. Jean Darling joined Our Gang in...

William "Billie" 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.

AND NOW . . . amidst billowing clouds of fragrant, aromatic first- and second-hand premium cigar smoke. . . it is time for . . . that harmless, lovable little fuzz ball, the highly-trained broadcast specialist, having more fun than a human being should be allowed to have, from behind the golden EIB microphone, firmly ensconced in the prestigious Attila-the-Hun chair at the Limbaugh Institute of Advanced Conservative Studies, serving humanity simply by showing up, and he’s not retiring until every American agrees with him, do NOT doubt him, with shrieks of joy at the mere mention of his name...

Shirley Jean Rickert, a former child actress who was the cute little blond with the spit curls in "Our Gang" comedies in the early 1930s and later became a long-haired burlesque stripper known as Gilda and Her Crowning Glory, has died. She was 82. Rickert, who in recent decades went by her married name of Measures, died Friday after a long illness in a nursing home in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., said her daughter, Melody Kennedy.

Our Gang Little Rascals "Fishy Tales" (1937)Our Gang-"Mush and Milk"-Part 1 of 2Our Gang-"Mush and Milk"-Part 2 of 2Our Gang-"Bored Of Education"The Kid From Borneo Part 1The Kid From Borneo Part 2Our Gang-"Mama's Little Pirate"-Part 1 of 2Our Gang-"Mama's Little Pirate"-Part 2 of 2 Our Gang-"Free Eats"-Part 1 of 2Our Gang-"Free Eats"-Part 2 of 2Our Gang-"Mike Fright"-Part 1 of 2Our Gang-"Mike Fright"-Part 2 of 2 Our Gang-"Helping Grandma"-Part1 of 3Our Gang-"Helping Grandma"-Part2 of 3Our Gang-"Helping Grandma"-Part3 of 3Our Gang-"Hearts Are Thumps"Our Gang-Alfalfa`s Aunt

<<Back LuAnne Sorrell, ReporterLas Vegas Man Sentenced for Murder of Former Little RascalFeb 24, 2005, 10:41 PM Jay R. Smith Charles Crombie with Jay R. Smith Photo from Our Gang Click here to contact Reporter LuAnne Sorrell.A Las Vegas man convicted of killing a former child actor, who starred in the old "Our Gang" comedies, was given two life sentences. During the 1920s, Jay R. Smith was known as the freckle face kid in the Our Gang movies. They were better known to TV audiences as the "Little Rascals." In October of 2002, the 87-year-old's body was found in a remote area...

MINNEAPOLIS Oct 21, 2005 — Gordon Lee, the chubby child actor who played Spanky McFarland's little brother Porky in the "Little Rascals" comedies, has died. He was 71. Lee died Sunday in a Minneapolis nursing home after battling lung and brain cancer, said Janice McClain, his partner of 13 years. Lee played one of the younger members in the "Our Gang" shorts in the 1930s, appearing in more than 40 of them from 1935 to 1939. The comedies, produced by Hal Roach, became known as "The Little Rascals" when shown on TV in the 1950s. Among the films Lee appeared...

Sunday September 25, 2005 LOS ANGELES (AP) Thomas Ross Bond, who played Butch the bully in the ``Our Gang'' and ``The Little Rascals'' serials of the 1930s, has died. He was 79. Bond died Saturday afternoon from complications of heart disease at Northridge Hospital, said his manager, Frank Marks. Born Sept. 16, 1926 in Dallas, Bond got his start in movies at the age of 5 when a talent scout for the Hal Roach studios approached him as he was leaving a movie theater with his mother. The scout ``asked him if he'd be interested in acting, (said) he had...

"OUR GANG" Whatever happened to these people? Well, here is is.....the "rest of the story" of Our Gang/center> ALFALFA Carl Switzer was shot to death at age 31. CHUBBY 300-pound Norman Chaney died at age 22 following an operation. BUCKWHEAT William Thomas died at age 49 of a heart attack. DARLA HOOD The Our Gang leading lady contracted hepatitis and died at age 47. BRISBANE Kendall McCormas, known as Breezy Brisbane, committed suicide at age 64. MICKEY DANIELS He died of liver disease at 55. STYMIE Mathew Bear led a life of crime and drugs. He died of a stroke...

GARFIELD, N.J. -- An 80-year-old woman was mauled to death by two pit bull dogs that she had known since they were puppies, Bergen County authorities said Tuesday. Wounds caused by claws or teeth covered more than 80 percent of Julia Mazziotto's body, and the medical examiner found she had also suffered a broken right wrist, county Prosecutor John L. Molinelli said. Blood soaked her clothing and was spattered on the walls and floor of her apartment, he said.

LAS VEGAS -- An 87-year-old man found stabbed to death in the desert has been identified as a former child actor in the "Our Gang" film series. The body of Jay R. Smith was found Oct. 5 near Interstate 15, about 25 miles north of Las Vegas, police said. He died from multiple stab wounds, the Clark County coroner's office said. As a freckle-faced boy, Smith was in three dozen of the "Our Gang" short comedies from 1925-29, most of them silent. The series, better known to TV audiences as "The Little Rascals," ran from the 1920s to the early...

St. Louis Post-Dispatch May 18, 2002 Saturday Five Star Lift Edition SECTION: NEWS; Pg. 18 LENGTH: 165 words HEADLINE: DEATHS ELSEWHERE DARWOOD SMITH, who played Waldo in the "Our Gang Series," died Wednesday (May 15, 2002) after he was struck on the head while on a daily walk in Riverside, Calif. He was 72. Smith died after someone drove up in a truck and hit him. He was rushed to Riverside Community Hospital, where he died later that night. No arrests have been made. Smith was known as Darwood Kaye when he was a child. He appeared in 22 of...

On the evening of May 4, 2001, actor Robert Blake (Baretta, In Cold Blood) and his wife, Bonny Lee Bakley, ate dinner at an Italian restaurant in the Studio City section of Los Angeles. Afterward, according to Blake, the couple walked the block and a half to their car, whereupon Blake realized he'd left his gun inside the restaurant -- a gun he was carrying because Bakley believed her life was in danger. Blake left Bakley in the car and walked back to the restaurant. Nobody in the restaurant remembers Blake actually retrieving anything: He apparently drank a glass of...