View Full Version : The Little Rascals: Cursed?


tv star collector
05-04-2009, 06:29 PM
Were the stars of the Our Gang movie shorts (later retitled The Little
Rascals for television syndication) "cursed"? Seven members of that
troupe died before reaching the age of 70:

Norman "Chubby" Chaney (18)
Billy "Froggy" Laughlin (16)
Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer (32)
Darla Hood (47)
Billy "Buckwheat" Thomas (49)
Matthew "Stymie" Beard (56)
George "Spanky" McFarland (64)

The following actors are among the exceptions:

Tommy Bond (79)
Eugene "Porky" Lee (71)

And Jackie Cooper has outlived most of his contemporaries. He is 86.

Marvo301
05-04-2009, 06:50 PM
Snopes calls the idea of an Our Gang curse false.

http://www.snopes.com/movies/other/ourgang

Zoneboy
05-04-2009, 07:21 PM
A few others that died before age 70:

Robert "Wheezer" Hutchins (20)
Scotty Beckett (39)
Mary Kornman (58)
Jackie Condon (59)
Allen "Farina" Hoskins (59)
Mickey Daniels (65)

Other exceptions:

Joe Cobb (85)
Harry Spear (85)
Jay R. Smith (92)

Oddly enough the only person associated with Our Gang/The Little Rascals who lived the longest was Hal Roach who died in 1992 at the age of 100.