Billie "Buckwheat" Thomas
Billie "Buckwheat" Thomas | |
---|---|
Born | William Thomas Jr. March 12, 1931 Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
Died | October 10, 1980 Los Angeles, California, U.S. | (aged 49)
Occupation | Child actor |
Years active | 1935–1944 |
William "Billie" Thomas Jr. (March 12, 1931 – October 10, 1980) was an American child actor best remembered for portraying the character of Buckwheat in the Our Gang (Little Rascals) short films from 1934 until the series' end in 1944. He was a native of Los Angeles.
Our Gang
Billie Thomas first appeared in the 1934 Our Gang shorts
Thomas began appearing as "Buckwheat" with 1935's Mama's Little Pirate. Despite Thomas being a male, the Buckwheat character remained a female—dressed as a Topsy-esque image of the African-American "pickaninny" stereotype with bowed pigtails, a large hand-me-down sweater and oversized boots. After Stymie's departure from the series later in 1935, the Buckwheat character slowly morphed into a boy, first referred to definitively as a "he" in 1936's The Pinch Singer. This is similar to the initial handling of another African-American Our Gang member, Allen "Farina" Hoskins, who worked in the series during the silent and early sound eras.[1]
Despite the change in the Buckwheat character's sex, Billie Thomas's androgynous costuming was not changed until his appearance in the 1936 film
Thomas remained in Our Gang for ten years, appearing in all but one of the shorts,
Thomas remained in Our Gang when the series changed production from Hal Roach Studios to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1938. Thomas was the only cast member to appear in all 52 of the MGM-produced entries and was the only holdover from the Hal Roach era to remain in the series until its end in 1944. By 1940, Thomas had grown out of his speech impairment, and with Lee having been replaced by Robert Blake, Thomas's Buckwheat character was written as an archetypal black youth. He was twelve years old when the final Our Gang film, Dancing Romeo, was completed in November 1943.
The character of Buckwheat in later years became synonymous with the derogatory "
Later life
Thomas enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1954 at the age of 23, and was released from active military service in 1956 decorated with a National Defense Service Medal and a Good Conduct Medal.
After returning to civilian life, Thomas faced a dilemma shared by many of his co-stars from Our Gang. Though offered many film and stage roles, he had no desire to return to Hollywood as an actor: “After the Army, I wasn't really interested in the hassle of performing," he explained shortly before his death in 1980. "Even the big stars had to chase around and audition; it seemed like a rat race to me, with no security."[1]
However, Thomas still enjoyed the film industry at large, and had a successful decades-long career as a film lab technician with the
At "Hollywood 80", the second annual meeting of
Death
On October 10, 1980, ten weeks after his July 31 appearance at the Hilton, Thomas died of a
Legacy
In 1950, Billie had a son whom he also named William Thomas, Jr.
William Thomas Jr. the younger went on to graduate from California State Northridge University in 1975, then in 1992, created the Buckwheat Memorial Scholarship for students at Northridge in his honor.[10] In 2010, he wrote the book "Otay!" The Billy "Buckwheat" Thomas Story. On November 30, 2012, he died at the age of 62.
Controversies
In 1990, the
The next week, 20/20 acknowledged on-air that English's claim had been false, and apologized for the interview. The fallout from this incident included the resignation of a 20/20 producer[13] and a negligence lawsuit filed by the son of William Thomas.[14] A conservative radio station owner got in hot water in July 2023 for calling the White House press secretary "Buckwheat".[15]
References
- ^ ISBN 9780517583258. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
- ^ General Spanky at Turner Classic Movies Presents Leonard Maltin's Classic Movie Guide (Penguin, 2015)
- ISBN 9780791466254.
- ^ Pilgrim, David (October 2000). "The Picaninny Caricature". Jim Crow Museum. Ferris State University. Retrieved May 2, 2018.
- ^ a b c Siegel, Robert (December 25, 2015). "'Our Gang' Chronicles Lives Of African-American Actors In 'The Little Rascals'". All Things Considered. NPR. Retrieved May 2, 2018.
- ISBN 978-0816698226.
- ^ "Yes, I Met Buckwheat" (The Terrible Catsafterme, May 22, 2007)
- Menefee, David W. (February 1, 2010). "Otay!" The Billy "Buckwheat" Thomas Story. Bear Manor Media. Retrieved February 5, 2019.
- YouTube
- ^ Wallace, Amy (November 8, 1992). "Scholarship Keeps Controversial Image in the Spotlight : Education: Despite criticism, the son of the actor who played Buckwheat sees grant as a way to preserve his father's legacy". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 2, 2018.
- ^ a b Gehrt, Vicki. "His gang Spanky McFarland remembers his long stint as a `Little Rascal'", Chicago Tribune (1993-03-26).
- ^ "Bill English dies; original Buckwheat". The Hour. Norwalk, Connecticut. Associated Press. November 25, 1994. Retrieved February 5, 2020.
- ^ "'20/20' Producer Resigns Over Buckwheat Interview." Los Angeles Times. Oct. 12 1990. Part F. Page 25.
- ^ "Buckwheat actor's son sues ABC over phony". The Bulletin. Bend, Oregon. Associated Press. December 19, 1991. Retrieved May 18, 2014.
- ^ "Karine Jean-Pierre called 'Buckwheat' by radio host who insists he was giving her a 'compliment'". July 14, 2023.
External links
- Billie "Buckwheat" Thomas at the American Film Institute Catalog
- Billie "Buckwheat" Thomas at IMDb
- Billie "Buckwheat" Thomas at AllMovie
- Billie "Buckwheat" Thomas at Find a Grave
- "Otay!" The Billy "Buckwheat" Thomas Story at the Wayback Machine (archived February 12, 2010)
- The Sons of the Desert Convention/Our Gang Reunion
- Yes, I Met Buckwheat