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Film actor

George McFarland
McFarland equally "Spanky" in Our Gang Follies of 1938
Born	George Robert Phillips McFarland or George Emmett McFarland^[ane] ^[2] (1928-10-02)October two, 1928 Dallas, Texas, U.Southward.
Died	June 30, 1993(1993-06-30) (aged 64)^[3] ^[four] Grapevine, Texas, U.Southward.
Occupation	Child actor
Years active	1931–1944
Spouse(s)	Doris McFarland (k. 1967) ^[five]
Children	3

George McFarland (October 2, 1928 – June xxx, 1993) was an American actor well-nigh famous for his appearances equally a child as Spanky in the Our Gang series of short-field of study comedies of the 1930s and 1940s. The Our Gang shorts were subsequently syndicated to television as The Piffling Rascals.

Early life [edit]

McFarland was born in Dallas, Texas, on October 2, 1928, to Virginia Winifred (née Phillips) and Robert Emmett McFarland.^[six] ^[7] He had three siblings: Thomas ("Tommy", who appeared in a few Our Gang episodes as "Dynamite"), Amanda, and Roderick ("Rod"). He attended Lancaster High Schoolhouse in Lancaster, Texas.

Before joining the Our Gang comedies, "Sonny", as he was called by his family, modeled children's article of clothing for a Dallas department store and was also seen around the Dallas area on highway billboards and in print advertisements for Wonder Staff of life. This established Sonny early in the local public's centre as an adorable kid model and provided experience before cameras.

Career [edit]

Our Gang [edit]

In Jan 1931, in response to a trade magazine ad from Hal Roach Studios in Culver Metropolis, California, requesting photographs of "cute kids", Spanky's Aunt Dottie (Virginia's sister) sent pictures from Sonny's portfolio. An invitation for a screen examination arrived that spring, leading to his acting career.^[8] Portions of Spanky'southward screen test are included in a 1932 Our Gang entry, Spanky.

The 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 in his office. McFarland contradicted the tale, saying that the name was given past a Los Angeles newspaper reporter. The term "a spanky child" was late-19th- to 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 pregnant to the flick-going audition of that era that was lost for later generations. Utilise of the "Spanky" name by McFarland for subsequent business concern or personal activities was expressly granted to McFarland in one of his studio contracts. In later years some family members would affectionately refer to him as "Spank".^[8]

Upon being discovered at age three, he instantly became a key member of the Our Gang children's comedy movie 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 past 1935 he was the de facto leader of the gang, frequently paired with Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer, and always the enterprising "idea man".^[8] Switzer's graphic symbol became equally much of a scene-stealer every bit the young McFarland was, and the two boys' fathers fought constantly over screen fourth dimension and star billing for their children.^[9]

Spanky McFarland'south just starring feature-pic role was in the 1936 Hal Roach film General Spanky, an unsuccessful attempt to move the Our Gang series into features. He too appeared equally a juvenile performer in many non-Roach characteristic films, including the Wheeler & Woolsey comedy Kentucky Kernels and two Fritz Lang features of the 1940s.

Following the 1938 Our Gang brusque Came the Brawn, McFarland "retired" from Our Gang, beginning a personal appearance tour.^[10] In mid-1938, Hal Roach sold the Our Gang unit of measurement to Metro-Goldwyn-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 serial Unexpected Riches in 1942, at historic period 14.^[8]

Later years [edit]

In 1952, at age 24, McFarland joined the United states of america Air Strength. Upon his render to civilian life, indelibly typecast in the public's heed as "Spanky" from Our Gang, he institute himself unable to observe work in show business. He took less glamorous jobs, including work at a soft drink plant, a hamburger stand, and a popsicle manufacturing plant. In the mid-1950s, when the Our Gang comedies were sweeping the nation on Television set, McFarland hosted an afternoon children's testify, The Spanky Bear witness, on KOTV television in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The show included a studio audience and appearances by other celebrities such as James Arness, and information technology ran Piffling Rascals shorts.^[8] Station executives prevented McFarland from developing and expanding the show'south format, and by 1960 McFarland had quit the prove.^{[ citation needed ]}

Later on that stint, he continued at odd jobs: selling wine, operating a restaurant and dark club, and selling appliances, electronics, and piece of furniture. He was selling for Philco-Ford Corporation, where he advanced to national sales training managing director. During this time, McFarland continued to make personal appearances and cameo roles in films and television, including an appearance on The Mike Douglas Show with Darla Hood and William "Buckwheat" Thomas. Equally general manager, McFarland helped launch the classic movie channel The Nostalgia Aqueduct in 1985.^[11] During the 1990s, afterward his self-described "semi-retirement", Spanky lent his name and celebrity to help raise money for charities, primarily by participating in golf tournaments. Spanky as well had his own namesake charity golf classic for 16 years, held in Marion, Indiana.^[8] He also traveled the country doing speaking engagements and lectures about his movie roles and his days on The Little Rascals. His final goggle box performance was in 1993, playing himself in the cold open of the Thanks episode "Woody Gets An Election".^[12]

In January 1994, McFarland posthumously joined fellow alumnus Jackie Cooper to become ane of only ii Our Gang members to receive a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame.

Death [edit]

McFarland was in his bedroom in Keller, Texas, getting dressed on June 30, 1993, when he suddenly collapsed. Paramedics tried to revive him for approximately thirty minutes earlier transporting him to Baylor Academy Medical Heart in Grapevine, Texas. He was pronounced dead inside 40 minutes of existence admitted, at age 64. It was believed that McFarland had died of "a heart attack or an aneurysm"; his remains were cremated shortly thereafter.^[13] A cenotaph for McFarland to be placed at the Texas State Cemetery in Austin, Texas, has been approved, but co-ordinate to the cemetery'southward website, has yet to be installed.^[fourteen] ^[fifteen]

Namesake [edit]

Sixties folk-rock grouping Spanky and Our Gang named themselves afterward McFarland'due south grapheme because vocaliser Elaine "Spanky" McFarlane'southward concluding name was similar to his. However, this is disputed past biographer Bruce Eder, who has said her boyfriend musician Arnie Lanza gave her the nickname "Spanky," based on what he saw as her resemblance to George McFarland who played "Spanky" in the Our Gang comedies.^[16]

In 1990, McFarland filed a $100,000.00 lawsuit against a bar owner in Saint Paul, Minnesota. McFarland claimed that "Spanky'southward" bar on East 7th Street used his name and face for 13 years without permission. The lawsuit besides chosen for McFarland to receive all of the internal merchandise and equipment featuring his likeness. The instance was eventually settled, and the owner changed the name to Checker's Bar. ^[17]

Filmography [edit]

McFarland appeared equally "Spanky" in 95 Our Gang films betwixt 1932 and 1942. He also appeared in:

The Famous Ferguson Case (1932) every bit newsboy
One Track Minds (1933, Curt) as Spanky (uncredited)
Day of Reckoning (1933) every bit Johnny Solar day
Miss Fane'south Baby Is Stolen (1934) as Johnny Prentiss
The Croaky Iceman (1934, Brusque) every bit male child who says 'Only skip it'
Kentucky Kernels (1934) as Spanky
Here Comes the Band (1935) as Spanky Lowry
O'Shaughnessy's Male child (1935) every bit Joseph "Chubby" O'Shaughnessy (every bit a child)
The Trail of the Lonesome Pino (1936) as Buddie Tolliver
Full general Spanky (1936) as Spanfield George 'Spanky' Leonard
Peck'due south Bad Boy with the Circus (1938) as Pee Wee
Johnny Doughboy (1942) as Spanky
I Escaped from the Gestapo (1943) as Billy
Seeing Hands (1943, Short) as the male child leading the initiation (uncredited)
Cowboy and the Senorita (1944) every bit the child who trips Teddy Bear (uncredited)
The Woman in the Window (1944) as the boy spotter who finds Mazard'southward torso (uncredited)
Spanky'due south Clubhouse (1950) as host
The George Gobel Show (1955) every bit self^[18] ^[xix]
The Aurora Run into (1986) equally the governor
King B: A Life in the Movies (1993) as himself
Cheers (1993, Episode: "Woody Gets an Election") as himself (final advent)

References [edit]

^ Donald Clarke (1987). W to Eden: Texans in Hollywood. p. 13.
^ Joseph F. Clarke (1977). Pseudonyms. BCA. p. 107.
^ Speed, F.Thou.; Cameron-Wilson, J. (1994). Pic Review. Westward. H. Allen. p. 174. ISBN9780863698422 . Retrieved Nov 11, 2018.
^ Monush, Barry (August 13, 2018). Screen World Presents the Encyclopedia of Hollywood Film Actors: From the silent era to 1965. Hal Leonard Corporation. ISBN9781557835512 – via Google Books.
^ Barron, James (July 1993). "Spanky McFarland, 64, Actor In the 'Our Gang' Comedies". The New York Times.
^ Gifford, Denis (July iii, 1993). "Obituary: George McFarland". The Contained . Retrieved December eleven, 2019.
^ Texas Birth Index, 1903-1997. Texas: Texas Department of Land Wellness Services. Microfiche.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^eastward ^f Maltin, Leonard and Bann, Richard Westward. (1977, rev. 1992). The Little Rascals: The Life and Times of Our Gang, p. 118. New York: Crown Publishing/Iii Rivers Press. ISBN 0-517-58325-9
^ Maltin, Leonard and Bann, Richard W. (1977, rev. 1992). The Piffling Rascals: The Life and Times of Our Gang, p. 178–180. New York: Crown Publishing/Iii Rivers Printing. ISBN 0-517-58325-9
^ Lee, Julia Sun-Joo (2015). Our gang : a racial history of The trivial rascals. Minneapolis. p. 168. ISBN978-1-4529-4977-2. OCLC 930782094.
^ "'Nostagia' goes back to drawing board". Anchorage Daily News. July four, 1984. Retrieved June three, 2012.
^ ComedyFan2010 (July 13, 2014). ""Cheers" Woody Gets an Election (TV Episode 1993)". IMDb.
^ Knight-Ridder Newspapers (July ane, 1993). "George 'Spanky' McFarland, former Little Rascal, is dead". The Reading Hawkeye . Retrieved December 27, 2011.
^ Cemetery, Texas Land (September 11, 2001). "George Robert Phillips McFarland [10744]". Texas Land Cemetery . Retrieved May thirty, 2019.
^ Spanky McFarland at Find a Grave
^ Eder, Bruce. "Spanky & Our Gang". AllMusic . Retrieved November 21, 2020.
^ "Saloon Ordered to Go along "Spanky" Out of Name". AP NEWS.
^ ""The George Gobel Show" Fred MacMurray, "Spanky" MacFarland (Tv set Episode 1955) - IMDb" – via world wide web.imdb.com.
^ http://hometownbyhandlebar.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/spanky-improvement-six-7-55-dmn.jpg