Hollywood - (NEA) - George Robert Phillips McFarland, who will be eight years old on Oct. 2, is climaxing his five years as a leading man by starring in a feature picture. He has the title role, too, for the flicker will be called "General Spanky."
Spanky isn't sure that he wants to be called Spanky any longer. Sounds infantile and is, in fact, a relic of his earliest days with Hal Roach and the ";Our Gang" comedies. Mr. McFarland is a veteran now, and seems to be still in the ascendancy. His salary has been boosted from $750 to $1,250 a week.
But Spanky still gets spanked occasionally. Sometimes for swearing. Adults around the Roach studio have been trained for years to avoid profanity, but the kid star has picked up an impressive vocabulary somewhere.
His other most frequent offense is rough-housing with his brother in the living room when their parents have company. You see, he's an exhibitionist, as are most actors.
Not Much Play Time
His brother Tom is 5, doesn't look at all like George Robert Phillips McFarland, and is not in the movies. The four McFarlands, together with an off-white mongrel named Tiny, live in a four-story house on the summit of a Hollywood hill.
Spanky ordinarily has little chance for recreation at home; gets up at 7:45 a.m., is brought from the studio at 5 p.m., and goes to bed about 8.
Fortuitously, he still is small for his age; stands 42½ inches and weighs 52 pounds. He has had measles and whooping cough, and now has slight attacks of asthma.
The Male Garbo
Interviewers never get anywhere with Spanky. He'll shake hands politely enough, but after that he is about as garrulous as Garbo. This doesn't seem to be shyness; he's just bored.
He has a vivid imagination, and to playmates and studio executives he spins the wildest yarns.
He's independent and a shade sassy, but not temperamental. When a director calls him before the camera, Spanky invariably says, "Ah, nuts!" When he is confident of his lines and ready for the camera to roll, he says "Okay, Toots."
Once his father asked him if he'd like to see Clark Gable. Spanky asked, "What's Clark Gable - a horse?"
When he met Constance Bennett, the actress gushed a greeting and kissed him. Spanky reared back and made the most frightful face he could muster.
Parent and Director Differ
Robert McGowan, the kid expert who was his first director, declared that "Spanky is a natural - the first genius I've directed since Jackie Cooper."
Mrs. McFarland: "I wouldn't say that Sonny (his parents always have called him Sonny) is a genius, or has a superior intelligence. He's all boy and has a wonderful personality. His personality is what has made him popular."
At the studio he works four hours a day, studies three, plays one. He gets good grades, especially in spelling and drawing. Most of his spare time is spent making sketches.
Spanky still doesn't learn his lines by reading them from the script; a director teaches him line by line, and explains the scene. He can remember as many lines as the average adult actor, and almost never blows up. But he often fails to deliver the proper expression.
Spaghetti Eater
He's an honorary deputy sheriff of Los Angeles County, and proud of it. Spaghetti is his grand passion, but he's permitted to have it only once a week. He has no set allowance for spending money, and his parents are investing practically all his salary in real estate and annuities.
They have to mail about 1,000 pictures each month to Spanky's fans. His own favorite actor is Fred MacMurray.
Spanky and Tom have a room of their own, with twin beds. The place is cluttered with plaster dolls of the kind people sometimes win at carnival concessions. That's how Spanky got them; to him they're trophies, not dolls.