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So although later I purchased a nice postcard with his image – the one seen above – I never had the opportunity to have him sign it or any other photo. Needless to say, he was far removed from the public spotlight when he passed away unexpectedly on October – just ten weeks after I met him.īeing only eight, I was quite naive in thinking that all of the celebrities of Hollywood ’80 would be accessible for the entire duration of the convention, when in fact, many of them only appeared for one night. Outside of this, he only made one additional known appearance at a Los Angeles greeting card shop.

The reason that it is so rare to have met Buckwheat is that he only made one single Sons appearance and this was it. He was made even more notorious by Eddie Murphy’s portrayal of him on “Saturday Night Live” in the mid-1980’s. William “Buckwheat” Thomas, of course was one of the most famous of all of the Little Rascals, appearing in 93 of the Our Gang comedies. So bear with me as I relay the details just one more time… You might say that as far as I’m concerned, meeting Buckwheat is one of my personal claims to fame. All I had with me at the time was my little blue autograph album so this is what I had him sign. And yet, the black child actors often got around the clichés imposed on them, presenting what Gates calls “a model of harmonious localized integration.” The changing cast (actors were replaced as they grew older) including skinny and fat kids, boy and girls and even a character called Farina whose “gender became the source of national curiosity.I’m never really sure if people are as impressed as I think they should be when I tell them that I once met the original “Buckwheat.” The date was Thursday, Jand the event was the Our Gang Mixer in the Sierra Room of the Los Angeles Hilton at the Hollywood ’80 Sons of the Desert convention. Gates and the book’s author, Julia Lee, concede that the screenplays were riddled with stereotypes, some meant to present African-American characters (adults as well as children) as harmless, fearful creatures. If integrated casting is the goal, then “The Little Rascals” are still at the leading edge 90 years after producer Hal Roach first unleashed them. Shirley Temple didn’t come in and take charge. They were a racially integrated bunch of kids, making mischief together and thumbing their noses at the rules without being under the leadership of any white child star.

#Buckwheat original little rascals movie

But “The Little Rascals” were a startling sight on movie screens during the 1930 and television screens in the ‘50s and ‘60s. Nowadays we expect at least token integration in movies and television-a black buddy or soul sister if nothing else. For him, watching “The Little Rascals” (aka “Our Gang”) on TV as a child during the opening phase of the civil rights movement, those short flicks were “a metaphor for that change” on the horizon. writes in his forward to Our Gang: A Racial History of The Little Rascals (published by University of Minnesota Press), it’s not that simple.

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In consequence, many episodes from this series of short movies from the 1930s have been shelved or censored to remove objectionable moments.īut as Henry Louis Gates Jr.

#Buckwheat original little rascals professional

Some people, especially the professional complainers of political correctness, have called “The Little Rascals” racist.