View Full Version : Thomas "Butch" Bond "Our Gang"/"The Little Rascals" actor dies at 79


bossradio93
09-25-2005, 04:39 AM
'Little Rascals' Actor Thomas Bond Dies

50 minutes ago

LOS ANGELES - Thomas Ross Bond, who played Butch the bully in the "Our Gang" and "The Little Rascals" serials of the 1930s, has died. He was 79.

Bond died Saturday of complications from heart disease at Northridge Hospital, said his manager, Frank Marks.

Bond played a member of the Gang named Tommy. After his first year he was dropped from the cast but returned later in the role of Butch, the archenemy of Alfalfa.

Bond appeared in dozens of "Our Gang" and "Little Rascals" features before outgrowing the role.

Born Sept. 16, 1926 in Dallas, Bond got his start at the age of 5 when a talent scout for Hal Roach studios approached him as he was leaving a movie theater with his mother.

The scout "asked him if he'd be interested in acting, (said) he had a great face and he could set up an appointment with Hal Roach in L.A.," Marks said.

His grandmother drove him in what, at the time, was a rugged journey: "It was all dirt roads from Dallas to L.A," Marks said.

In the 1940s, Bond played Jimmy Olsen in two Superman movies and appeared as Joey Pepper in several installments of the "Five Little Peppers" serial.

In 1951, Bond quit acting and went into television directing and production work before retiring in 1991.

Bond is survived by his wife, Pauline, son Thomas Ross Bond III and a grandson.

Yahoo! News/AP-September 25, 2005

Jenya
09-25-2005, 01:06 PM
'Little Rascals' Actor Thomas Bond Dies

ASSOCIATED PRESS (http://www.ap.org/)

Sunday, September 25, 2005

LOS ANGELES - Thomas Ross Bond, who played Butch the bully in the "Our Gang" and "The Little Rascals" serials of the 1930s, has died. He was 79.

Bond died Saturday of complications from heart disease at Northridge Hospital, said his manager, Frank Marks.

Bond played a member of the Gang named Tommy. After his first year he was dropped from the cast but returned later in the role of Butch, the archenemy of Alfalfa.

Bond appeared in dozens of "Our Gang" and "Little Rascals" features before outgrowing the role.

Born Sept. 16, 1926 in Dallas, Bond got his start at the age of 5 when a talent scout for Hal Roach studios approached him as he was leaving a movie theater with his mother.

The scout "asked him if he'd be interested in acting, (said) he had a great face and he could set up an appointment with Hal Roach in L.A.," Marks said.

His grandmother drove him in what, at the time, was a rugged journey: "It was all dirt roads from Dallas to L.A," Marks said.

In the 1940s, Bond played Jimmy Olsen in two Superman movies and appeared as Joey Pepper in several installments of the "Five Little Peppers" serial.

In 1951, Bond quit acting and went into television directing and production work before retiring in 1991.

Bond is survived by his wife, Pauline, son Thomas Ross Bond III and a grandson.

SOURCE: Yahoo News (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050925/ap_on_en_tv/obit_bond)

ABlairican Pie
09-25-2005, 01:31 PM
That's very sad. So many of these actors from the 30's and 40's are passing away. :( I was a little scared of what Butch would do to poor Alfalfa and them. I did not like bullies.

Mijada
09-25-2005, 01:50 PM
That's too bad. I love The Little Rascals. I have a book that tells all about them and what became of them after the Our Gang comedies ended. The other actors all said that despite playing a bully, Tommy Bond was in real life one of the nicest kids on the set. It was actually Alfalfa who was the real life bully.

ABlairican Pie
09-25-2005, 01:58 PM
That's too bad. I love The Little Rascals. I have a book that tells all about them and what became of them after the Our Gang comedies ended. The other actors all said that despite playing a bully, Tommy Bond was in real life one of the nicest kids on the set. It was actually Alfalfa who was the real life bully.I read that the guy who played Alfalfa was shot and killed in a gambling dispute in the 1950's, if that says something about him.

Penny Lane
09-25-2005, 03:47 PM
RIP Butch! :(

KJH278
09-27-2005, 01:10 AM
is butch's friend worm still alive