George McFarland
Encyclopedia
George Robert Phillips "Spanky" McFarland (October 2, 1928 – June 30, 1993) was an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...

 most famous for his appearances as a child in the Our Gang
Our Gang
Our Gang, also known as The Little Rascals or Hal Roach's Rascals, was a series of American comedy short films about a group of poor neighborhood children and the adventures they had together. Created by comedy producer Hal Roach, the series is noted for showing children behaving in a relatively...

series of short-subject comedies of the 1930s and 1940s. The Our Gang shorts were later syndicated to television as The Little Rascals.

Early life

McFarland was born in Dallas, Texas, at Methodist Hospital in 1928 to Robert Emmett and Virginia McFarland. He had three siblings, Thomas ("Tommy," who himself appeared in a few Our Gang episodes as "Dynamite"), Amanda, and Roderick ("Rod").

Prior to joining the Our Gang comedies, Buddy, as he was called by his family, modeled children's clothing for a Dallas department store and also was seen around the Dallas area on highway billboard
Billboard (advertising)
A billboard is a large outdoor advertising structure , typically found in high traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertisements to passing pedestrians and drivers...

s and in print advertisements for Wonder Bread
Wonder Bread
Wonder Bread is the name of three North American brands of white bread: One produced by George Weston Bakeries in Canada, another by Hostess Brands in the United States, and the third by Grupo Bimbo in Mexico.- United States :...

. This established "Buddy" early on in the local public's eye as an adorable child model and provided experience before cameras.

Our Gang

In January 1931, in response to a trade magazine advertisement from Hal Roach Studios in Culver City
Culver City, California
Culver City is a city in western Los Angeles County, California. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 38,883, up from 38,816 at the 2000 census. It is mostly surrounded by the city of Los Angeles, but also shares a border with unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County. Culver...

, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

, requesting photographs of "cute kids," Spanky's Aunt Dottie (Virginia's sister) sent pictures from Buddy's portfolio. An invitation for a screen test soon arrived, which happened that spring, leading to his acting career. Portions of Spanky's screen test are included in a 1932 Our Gang entry, aptly entitled Spanky
Spanky (film)
Spanky is a 1932 Our Gang short comedy film directed by Robert F. McGowan. It was the 113th Our Gang short that was released.-Plot:...

.

McFarland's nickname "Spanky" is erroneously said to have arisen from warnings by his mother not to misbehave during one of the initial discussions with Hal Roach
Hal Roach
Harold Eugene "Hal" Roach, Sr. was an American film and television producer and director, and from the 1910s to the 1990s.- Early life and career :Hal Roach was born in Elmira, New York...

 in his office. As the story goes, he had a habit of reaching out and grabbing things, and on doing so his mother Virginia would say, "Spanky, spanky, mustn't touch!" While this story has considerable folksy appeal, Spanky himself refuted the tale, saying that the name was given by a Los Angeles newspaper reporter. The term "a spanky child" was late 19th century–early 20th century slang for an intelligent, gifted toddler. Spanky was an example of such a child in his earliest movies – a toddler who could act – so the name had meaning to the movie-going audience of that era that was lost for later generations. Use of the "Spanky" name by McFarland for subsequent business or personal activities was expressly granted to McFarland in one of his studio contracts. In later years some in his family would affectionately refer to him as "Spank."

After his discovery at the age of three, he instantly became a key member of the Our Gang children's comedy movie
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...

 series and one of Hollywood's stars. His earliest films show him as an outspoken toddler, grumpily going along with the rest of the gang. His scene-stealing abilities brought him more attention, and by 1935 he was the de facto leader of the gang, often paired with Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer
Carl Switzer
Carl Dean "Alfalfa" Switzer was an American child actor, professional dog breeder and hunting guide, most notable for appearing in the Our Gang short subjects series as Alfalfa, one of the series' most popular and best-remembered characters.-Early life and family:Switzer was born in Paris,...

, and always the enterprising "idea man." Switzer's character became as much of a scene stealer as the young McFarland was, and the two boys' fathers fought constantly over screen time and star billing for their children.

Spanky McFarland's only starring feature-film vehicle was the 1936 Hal Roach film General Spanky
General Spanky
General Spanky is a 1936 American comedy film produced by Hal Roach. A spin-off of Roach's popular Our Gang short subjects, the film stars George "Spanky" McFarland, Phillips Holmes, Rosina Lawrence, Billie "Buckwheat" Thomas, and Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer...

, an unsuccessful attempt to move the Our Gang series into features. He also appeared as a juvenile performer in many non-Roach feature films, including the Wheeler & Woolsey
Wheeler & Woolsey
Bert Wheeler and Robert Woolsey were a famous American film comedy team of the 1930s....

 comedy Kentucky Kernels and two Fritz Lang
Fritz Lang
Friedrich Christian Anton "Fritz" Lang was an Austrian-American filmmaker, screenwriter, and occasional film producer and actor. One of the best known émigrés from Germany's school of Expressionism, he was dubbed the "Master of Darkness" by the British Film Institute...

 features of the 1940s.

Following the 1938 Our Gang short Came the Brawn
Came the Brawn
Came the Brawn is a 1938 Our Gang short comedy film directed by Gordon Douglas. Produced by Hal Roach and released to theaters by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, it was the 165th entry in the Our Gang series-Plot:...

, McFarland "retired" from Our Gang, beginning a personal appearance tour. In mid-1938, Hal Roach sold the Our Gang unit to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...

, who began casting for a new "team leader" character in Spanky's vein and ended up rehiring McFarland himself. He remained in the MGM Our Gang productions until his final appearance in the series, Unexpected Riches
Unexpected Riches
Unexpected Riches is a 1942 Our Gang short comedy film directed by Herbert Glazer. It was the 211th Our Gang short .-Plot:...

, in 1942 at age thirteen.

Later years

In 1952, at age 24, McFarland joined the U.S. Air Force. Upon his return to civilian life, indelibly typecast
Typecasting (acting)
In TV, film, and theatre, typecasting is the process by which a particular actor becomes strongly identified with a specific character; one or more particular roles; or, characters having the same traits or coming from the same social or ethnic groups...

 in the public's mind as "Spanky" from Our Gang, he found himself unable to find work in show business. He took less glamorous jobs, including work at a soft drink plant, a hamburger
Hamburger
A hamburger is a sandwich consisting of a cooked patty of ground meat usually placed inside a sliced bread roll...

 stand, and a popsicle
Popsicle
Popsicle is the most popular brand of ice pop in the United States and Canada. The first ice pop was created by accident in 1905 when 11-year-old Frank Epperson left a cup of soda on his porch in cold weather overnight. The next morning he went to go get the soda and it was frozen, so he put two...

 factory. In the mid 1950s, when the Our Gang comedies were sweeping the nation on TV, McFarland hosted an afternoon children's show, The Spanky Show, on KOTV television in Tulsa
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 46th-largest city in the United States. With a population of 391,906 as of the 2010 census, it is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with 937,478 residents in the MSA and 988,454 in the CSA. Tulsa's...

, Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...

. The show included a studio audience and appearances by other celebrities such as James Arness
James Arness
James King Arness was an American actor, best known for portraying Marshal Matt Dillon in the television series Gunsmoke for 20 years...

, and it ran Little Rascals shorts. The Spanky Show became the target of creative interference as station executives prevented McFarland from developing and expanding the show's format, and by 1960 McFarland had quit the show.

After that stint, he continued at odd jobs - selling wine, operating a restaurant and night club, and selling appliances, electronics and furniture. He was selling for Philco-Ford Corporation, where he advanced to national sales director, and later became a sales executive for Ford's Lincoln-Mercury Division. During the 1990s, after his self-described "semi-retirement," Spanky lent his name and celebrity to help raise money for charities, primarily by participating in golf tournaments. Spanky also had his own namesake charity golf classic for 16 years, held in Marion
Marion, Indiana
Marion is a city in Grant County, Indiana, United States. The population was 29,948 as of the 2010 census. The city is the county seat of Grant County...

, Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...

.

McFarland continued to make personal appearances and cameo roles in films and television, including an appearance on The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson. He also traveled the country doing speaking engagements and lectures about his movie roles and his days in The Little Rascals. His final television performance was in 1993, playing himself in the cold open
Cold open
A cold open in a television program or movie is the technique of jumping directly into a story at the beginning or opening of the show, before the title sequence or opening credits are shown...

 of the Cheers
Cheers
Cheers is an American situation comedy television series that ran for 11 seasons from 1982 to 1993. It was produced by Charles/Burrows/Charles Productions, in association with Paramount Network Television for NBC, and was created by the team of James Burrows, Glen Charles, and Les Charles...

episode "Woody Gets An Election".

In January 1994, McFarland posthumously joined fellow alumnus Jackie Cooper
Jackie Cooper
Jackie Cooper was an American actor, television director, producer and executive. He was a child actor who managed to make the transition to an adult career. Cooper was the first child actor to receive an Academy Award nomination...

 to become one of only two Our Gang members to receive a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame
Hollywood Walk of Fame
The Hollywood Walk of Fame consists of more than 2,400 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along fifteen blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, California...

.

Death

McFarland died suddenly of cardiac arrest
Cardiac arrest
Cardiac arrest, is the cessation of normal circulation of the blood due to failure of the heart to contract effectively...

 on June 30, 1993 at age 64. His remains were cremated shortly thereafter.

Filmography

McFarland appeared as “Spanky” in 95 Our Gang films
Our Gang filmography
The following is a complete list of the 220 Our Gang short films produced by Hal Roach Studios and/or Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer between 1922 and 1944, in order of release.----...

between 1932 and 1942. He also appeared in:
  • One Track Minds (1933) as a train passenger
  • Day of Reckoning (1933) as Johnny Day
  • The Cracked Iceman (1934) as a student
  • Miss Fane's Baby Is Stolen (1934) as Johnny Prentiss
  • Kentucky Kernels (1934) as Spanky
  • Here Comes the Band (1935) as Billy Lowry
  • O'Shaughnessy's Boy
    O'Shaughnessy's Boy
    O'Shaughnessy's Boy is a 1935 film starring Wallace Beery and Jackie Cooper. The movie was directed by Richard Boleslawski.-Cast:*Wallace Beery as Windy O'Shaughnessy*Jackie Cooper as Stubby O'Shaughnessy...

    (1935) as Joseph "Stubby" O’Shaughnessy (as a child)
  • The Trail of the Lonesome Pine
    The Trail of the Lonesome Pine (1936 film)
    The Trail of the Lonesome Pine is a 1936 romance film based on the novel of the same name. It was directed by Henry Hathaway. It was the second full length feature film to be shot in three-strip Technicolor and the first in color to be shot outdoors, with the approval of the Technicolor Corporation...

    (1936) as Buddie Tolliver
  • Peck's Bad Boy with the Circus (1938) as Pee Wee
  • Katnip Kollege (1938) (uncredited voice work)
  • Johnny Doughboy (1942) (uncredited) as Spanky
  • I Escaped from the Gestapo (1943) as Billy
  • Seeing Hands (1943) (uncredited) as the boy leading the initiation
  • Cowboy and the Senorita (1944) (uncredited) as the kid who trips Teddy Bear
  • The Woman in the Window
    The Woman in the Window
    The Woman in the Window is a film noir directed by Fritz Lang that tells the story of psychology professor Richard Wanley who meets and becomes enamored with a young femme fatale....

    (1945) (uncredited) as the Boy Scout who finds Mazard’s body
  • Spanky's Clubhouse (1950s), host

  • The Aurora Encounter (1986) as the governor
  • Cheers
    Cheers
    Cheers is an American situation comedy television series that ran for 11 seasons from 1982 to 1993. It was produced by Charles/Burrows/Charles Productions, in association with Paramount Network Television for NBC, and was created by the team of James Burrows, Glen Charles, and Les Charles...

    , as himself in 1993 episode “Woody and the Election”

Further reading

  • Cooper, Jackie
    Jackie Cooper
    Jackie Cooper was an American actor, television director, producer and executive. He was a child actor who managed to make the transition to an adult career. Cooper was the first child actor to receive an Academy Award nomination...

     (1982). Please Don't Shoot My Dog: The Autobiography of Jackie Cooper. New York: Penguin Putnam. ISBN 0-425-07483-8.
  • Ramsey, Steve. Our Gang Online. Ramseyltd.com (No longer online). Retrieved version of site as it existed on August 3, 2002 using the Wayback Machine on March 10, 2005. (Appears to be back online a/o 10/21/07).

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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