Filmographies


The following is a list of the filmographies which I've compiled so far. I've been gradually going through the cast and crew members for the series, more or less chronologically. Admittedly, these pages are less of a priority than the film pages elsewhere on the website, so it's been pretty slow-going when it comes to adding new ones. I'm also not quite as diligent about checking the facts on the filmographies as I am on the film pages, and often lean on the Internet Movie Database, so this is definitely an area where input from readers is both desired and encouraged. My thanks to Matthew Lydick for his assistance on many of these pages. If you see anything that needs changing on any of these pages, be sure to contact me at BtheW@aol.com, and let me know.


Our Gang Kids

Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer
1935 to 1940. Alfalfa was usually the protagonist of the stories, perpetually smitten by Darla, and intimated by rival Butch.
Harold "Bouncy" Wertz
1932. Bouncy was brought on board as the new "fat boy" of the series, but only lasted for three films.
Kendall "Breezy Brisbane" McComas
1931 to 1932. Breezy was the resident "tough kid" who served as the leader between Jackie Cooper and Dickie Moore.
Billie "Buckwheat" Thomas
1934 to 1943. Buckwheat replaced Stymie in the series, but was originally a revisiting of the Farina character, starting as a girl and gradually morphing into a boy. After a change in hairstyle, his character was more akin to Eugene Jackson, and was usually teamed up with his pal Porky.
Tommy "Butch" Bond
1932 to 1934, and 1937 to 1939. Tommy started off as a regular member of the group, and returned a few years later as the greatest of all Our Gang bullies.
Norman "Chubby" Chaney
1929 to 1931. Chubby was the resident fat boy of Our Gang during the first two seasons of talkies.
Darla Hood
1935 to 1941. Darla was the "sweetheart" of the series, and was also able to belt out a song when needed.
Dickie Moore
1932 to 1933. Dickie was brought into the series as the lead boy, but only stayed for a year, otherwise having a prominent career in feature films.
Dorothy "Echo" DeBorba
1930 to 1933. Dorothy was brought on board to supercede Mary Ann Jackson as "leading lady" of the series. The nickname was never used onscreen, but remained with her in publicity material for the entire three years.
Allen "Farina" Hoskins
1922 to 1931. Farina started early in the first season as an infant and stayed with the series for nine years, returning shortly afterwards for one reunion appearance. He appeared in 106 Our Gang films, more than any other person.
Harry Spear
1927 to 1929. Harry was the "hard-boiled" kid of the late silent era, and also appeared in the first handful of talkies.
Jack Davis
1922 to 1923. Jack was added to the cast early in the first season and left midway through the second.
Jackie Condon
1922 to 1928. Jackie started as the younger tagalong as the series was inaugurated and stayed for six years.
Jackie Cooper
1929 to 1931. Jackie joined as the talkie era was beginning and quickly became the lead boy in the series, a status he maintained until he graduated to feature films and became a major child star.
Jacquie Lyn
1932. Born in England, blond-haired Jacquie had a very brief brush with the Our Gang series, appearing in only two of the films.
Jay R. Smith
1925 to 1928. Jay joined the series as the freckle-faced replacement for the soon-to-be-departed Mickey Daniels. He returned for one last appearance in 1929.
Jean Darling
1926 to 1929. Jean was the blonde "leading lady" of the series during the late silent era, and also appeared in the first handful of talkies.
Joe Cobb
1922 to 1929. Joe joined up midway through the first season and stayed for seven years. Often nicknamed "Fatty" in the press, he was always known by his real name in the series. He returned on three occasions during the 1930s.
Johnny Downs
1924 to 1927. Johnny was a belated replacement for Jack Davis midway through the third season, and stayed for two years.
Marianne Edwards
1934 to 1935. Initially a day player, Marianne was susequently given a longterm contract to be the leading lady of the series, only to suddenly be replaced by Darla.
Mary Kornman
1922 to 1926. Mary was the "leading lady" of the series during its initial wave of popularity and stayed for four seasons, returning twice as an adult during the 1930s.
Mary Ann Jackson
1928 to 1931. Mary Ann was a rare tomboy among the leading ladies of the series, and as such, was given plenty of comedic opportunities.
Mickey Daniels
1922 to 1926. Mickey joined very early on and quickly established himself as the leader of the gang, and was typically the lead character in the films. Often nicknamed "Freckles" in the press, he was always known by his real name in the series. He stayed for four years and returned twice as an adult in the 1930s.
Mildred Kornman
1925 to 1928. Mildred was Mary's baby sister, debuting before her first birthday and exiting the series before her third. She did, however, make several appearances as an extra during the 1930s.
Paul Dominick
1935. Paul was the "good luck charm" of the Chicago Cubs, which led to his joining the Gang, but he was let go after only two weeks and never wound up in any of the films.
Eugene "Pineapple" Jackson
1924 to 1925. Gene, as he was known in the films, briefly appeared as Ernie Morrison's replacement for several months during the third seasons.
Gordon Eugene "Porky" Lee
1935 to 1939. Along with Buckwheat, Porky was often seen getting the better of older kids Spanky and Alfalfa.
Elmer "Scooter" Lowry
1926 to 1927. Scooter was brought in as a younger tagalong and companion to Farina. He was part of the series for a little over a year.
Scotty Beckett
1934 to 1935, 1939. Scotty was Spanky's pint-sized sidekick during the mid-1930's, and returned years later to play the overly-refined Wilbur for two films in the MGM era.
Sherwood Bailey
1931 to 1932. Officially nicknamed "Spud," he alternated between being a snotty rich kid and a regular member of the Gang.
Shirley Jean Rickert
1930 to 1931. Shirley briefly served as a leading lady in the series during a period when the Our Gang had a surplus of girls. Presumably, this accounts for Shirley's early departure.
George "Spanky" McFarland
1931 to 1942. Spanky started off as the laugh-inspiring tagalong of the troupe, and gradually grew into the role of undisputed leader. In spite of being absent for a few months during 1938, he managed to be a member for over 10 years, longer than any other kid.
Matthew "Stymie" Beard
1930 to 1935. Stymie joined the series as Farina's little brother and replaced him within a year. He was retired from the series after five years, but returned for one last reunion appearance.
Ernie "Sunshine Sammy" Morrison
1922 to 1924. Popularly known as "Sunshine Sammy," Ernie was the first Our Gang kid to be signed to a long-term contract, and stayed with the series through its first two seasons.
Bobby "Wheezer" Hutchins
1927 to 1933. Wheezer was the tagalong younger kid during most of his time with the series. As he grew into the older set of kids, he was pushed into more of a supporting role while newer members took the spotlight.

Producers
Hal Roach
Roach was credited onscreen as the presenter of the films, and offscreen as both a producer and story writer. His role as producer was curtailed somewhat during the late silent and early talkie eras, as Robert McGowan was given onscreen credit for this.

Supervisors
Charley Chase
Chase was director-general at the studio when the Our Gang series began, and thus received supervisory credit on the first few episodes. He later made occasional cameos in the films.

Directors
Robert F. McGowan
McGowan directed most of the Our Gang films until the end of 1933, and returned two years later to direct one more. During the latter part of his tenure with the series, he also received production and story credits.
Tom McNamara
McNamara shared directorial duties with McGowan for the first year of the series, and also was involved with writing and illustrating the title cards.
Fred Newmeyer
Newmeyer directed the pilot version of the first Our Gang film, and returned in the mid-30s to direct on an occasional basis.
Charles Oelze
Oelze was involved in the property department, but served as assistant director on many Our Gang films, and was even given directorial credit a few times during the late silent era.
Mark Goldaine
Goldaine was briefly a writer and director for the series in late 1923 and early 1924.
James Parrott
Parrott was a writer for the series in the early '30s, and possibly earlier. He also directed one Our Gang short in 1934.

Assistant Directors
Clarence Morehouse
Morehouse was an assistant director for the series until the end of 1923.

Photographers
Art Lloyd
Lloyd photographed most of the Our Gang films made between 1924 and 1938.
Len Powers
Powers was the earliest known photographer of the Our Gang series, but moved on to other projects after the first year. He later touched base with the series from time to time.
Harry W. Gerstad
Gerstad was the series photographer during 1923, and was also involved at the end of 1925.
Frank Young
Young photographed a handful of Our Gang films in early 1924.
Bob Walters
Walters photographed at least one Our Gang film in 1924.

Editors
Richard Currier
Currier was the head film editor at the Roach studio between 1925 and 1932.
Thomas J. Crizer
Crizer was the head film editor at the Roach studio until 1925.
Bert Jordan
Jordan spent many years as a cutter in the editing department, and received editing credit for a handful of Our Gang films between 1933 and 1937.

Writers
H. M. Walker
Walker wrote the titles for the vast majority of silent episodes, and wrote dialogue for the early talkies.
A. H. Giebler
Giebler wrote the titles for at least one of the Our Gang shorts in 1924, and wrote the screenplay for one of their early MGM shorts in the late '30s.
Leo McCarey
McCarey was one of the earliest gag writers for the series. He was later director-general at the studio, but was not directly involved with the Our Gang series, which was semi-autonomous by that time.

Props
Sherbourne Shields
Shields handled props for one Our Gang short in 1926/27, and perhaps others.

Animal trainers
Tony Campanaro
Campanaro provided the series with his dog, Pal, and later ran the Roach Ranch. He also trained the final version of Pete the Pup.
C. I. Norris and Cal Norris
These two monkey trainers worked on the Dippy Doo Dads series, which means that they may have occasionally provided monkeys for the Our Gang series during 1923.

Teachers
Fern Carter
Carter was the studio schoolteacher for the Our Gang kids for almost the entire run of the series.

Studio Personnel
Warren Doane
Doane was general manager of the Roach studio until 1931.
L. A. French
He was an assistant general manager, production manager, purchasing agent, etc. etc. at the Roach studio. Whatever casual involvement he had with Our Gang probably ended when he became Laurel & Hardy's production manager in 1936.
C. H. Roach
Roach was secretary-treasurer at the Roach studio until 1936.
C. E. Christensen
He was a technical chief, technical director, head of the construction department, etc. etc. at the Roach studio.
John L. Murphy
He was a purchasing superintendent at the Roach studio, and left to join Harold Lloyd at his new studio in 1923.
Roy Seawright
Seawright started off as a prop man, and then became the studio animator in 1927. This position expanded over the years to include the various special effects used in the Roach films.
Gene Kornman
Kornman was a still photographer at the studio, and left in 1923 to join Harold Lloyd at his new studio.
Clarence "Stax" Graves
Graves was a still photographer at the Roach studio throughout the years in which Our Gang was produced there.
Bob Davis
Davis was a bus driver for the studio starting in 1923, eventually earning the title of transportation director.

© Robert Demoss.


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