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Post by tboneator64 on Jan 31, 2016 10:50:03 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Feb 7, 2016 17:00:03 GMT -5
So how many surviving Our Gang actors/actresses are there remaining? I'm thinking there's no more than three.
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Post by mtw12055 on Feb 7, 2016 18:43:21 GMT -5
So how many surviving Our Gang actors/actresses are there remaining? I'm thinking there's no more than three. Good question. Via Wikipedia. The majority of the kids on this list weren't main players. Others are questionable (didn't Shirley Coates pass on some time ago?) Dorothy Morrison (born 1919) Lassie Lou Ahern (born 1920) Gene Reynolds (born 1923) Donnie "Beezer" Smith (born 1924) Mildred Kornman (born 1925) Jerry Tucker (born 1925) Dix Davis (born 1926) Joy Wurgaft (born 1927) Shirley Coates (born 1927) Jack Lindquist (born 1927) Sidney Kibrick (born 1928) Georgie Jean LaRue (born 1928) Peggy Lynch (born 1929) Betta St. John (born 1929) Paul Hilton (born 1929) Priscilla Montgomery (born 1929) Betsy Gay (born 1929) Dickie "Happy" Hall (born 1934) Barry "Ken" Downing (born 1931) Annie Ross (born 1930) Payne Johnson (born 1930) Patsy Currier (born 1930) Valerie Lee (born 1931) Darryl Hickman (born 1931) Juanita Quigley (born 1931) Billy Mindy (born 1931) Leon Tyler (born 1932) Patsy Barry (born 1932) Jo-Jo La Savio (born 1932) Robert Blake (born 1933) Leonard Landy (born 1933) Dwayne Hickman (born 1934) Clyde Willson (born 1935) Jackie Horner (born 1933) Laura June Kenny (born 1931) Clyde "Fatty" Dembeck (born 1934) |
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Post by tboneator64 on Feb 7, 2016 19:01:41 GMT -5
Shirley Coate's online information seems to be a bit sketchy, but according to this wikia page, she passed away "Somewhere in British Columbia" on August 14, 1979: ourgang.wikia.com/wiki/Shirley_Coates |
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Post by bigshotjones on Feb 9, 2016 13:10:02 GMT -5
That may or not be true. There's evidence pointing to her the same as one Shirley Hartshorn (widow of Donald H.), still living in California.
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Post by farina on Feb 9, 2016 15:58:49 GMT -5
There's also evidence of a Shirley Coates passing away in Pine Arizona in 1991
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Post by Deleted on Feb 9, 2016 17:05:28 GMT -5
Robert Blake was definitely a main child actor, and he is still alive according to the list. I think most of the actors/actresses were likely walk-ons or non-regulars.
I bet there is a very, very small number of main child actors remaining now.
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Post by tboneator64 on Feb 9, 2016 17:40:15 GMT -5
Robert Blake was definitely a main child actor, and he is still alive according to the list. I think most of the actors/actresses were likely walk-ons or non-regulars. I bet there is a very, very small number of main child actors remaining now. In terms of the Hal Roach shorts, I'd say Jean Darling was the last surviving 'Our Gang' regular, with Robert Blake now the last living regular from its later MGM incarnation. With all due respect to the other remaining surviving members, such as Jerry Tucker, I believe they were occasional to semi recurring 'Our Gang' members, at best. I don't even really count Darryl and Dwayne Hickman in that category, as they each only appeared in a single MGM 'Our Gang' short, but that's just my opinion! CHEERS!  |
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Post by puddinntane on Feb 9, 2016 19:06:38 GMT -5
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Post by mtw12055 on Feb 9, 2016 19:12:11 GMT -5
Regular Vs. Semi-regular Rascal is sort of difficult to determine when it comes to some of the kids. Maltin and Bann more or less considered Jerry, Wally Albright, Butch, and Waldo regulars, but not Butch's pal Woim, nor Janet Burston (supposedly, they never had any interest in interviewing her. That's actually kind of sad). Then you have kids like Pineapple, Bouncy, and Shirley Jean Rickert, who were intended to be long term regulars, but left very quickly for one reason or another (Pineapple got out of a three year contract to pursue other films, while Bouncy's folks got their boy out of a five year contract, supposedly due to fear of his well-being on a film set. Shirley was also under a five year contract).
As far as notable semi-regulars go, Woim, Jerry, Leonard Landy, and Mildred Kornman are still with us.
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Post by tboneator64 on Feb 9, 2016 20:13:06 GMT -5
Regular Vs. Semi-regular Rascal is sort of difficult to determine when it comes to some of the kids. Maltin and Bann more or less considered Jerry, Wally Albright, Butch, and Waldo regulars, but not Butch's pal Woim, nor Janet Burston (supposedly, they never had any interest in interviewing her. That's actually kind of sad). Then you have kids like Pineapple, Bouncy, and Shirley Jean Rickert, who were intended to be long term regulars, but left very quickly for one reason or another (Pineapple got out of a three year contract to pursue other films, while Bouncy's folks got their boy out of a five year contract, supposedly due to fear of his well-being on a film set. Shirley was also under a five year contract). As far as notable semi-regulars go, Woim, Jerry, Leonard Landy, and Mildred Kornman are still with us. I can see the argument for Tommy "Butch" Bond, as he actually was an 'Our Gang' regular prior to his more memorable (though somewhat sporadic!) stint as Butch. However, I do consider Janet Burston as a sort of evolving from occasional guest to semi recurring, to pretty much a regular in the last year of the MGM incarnation of the 'Our Gang' series. While I'm in agreement with Maltin and Bann in terms of Janet's limited talent, in my opinion, this doesn't alter the fact that she was the Gang's go to female lead after Darla Hood's departure from the series at the end of 1941. As such, I feel that Janet should have been asked to be interviewed by either of them, if for no other reason than to record her side of things. To ironically paraphrase a common Leonard Maltin catchphrase, "Their Loss--And Ours"! CHEERS! |
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Post by mtw12055 on Feb 9, 2016 21:56:56 GMT -5
I can see the argument for Tommy "Butch" Bond, as he actually was an 'Our Gang' regular prior to his more memorable (though somewhat sporadic!) stint as Butch. However, I do consider Janet Burston as a sort of evolving from occasional guest to semi recurring, to pretty much a regular in the last year of the MGM incarnation of the 'Our Gang' series. While I'm in agreement with Maltin and Bann in terms of Janet's limited talent, in my opinion, this doesn't alter the fact that she was the Gang's go to female lead after Darla Hood's departure from the series at the end of 1941. As such, I feel that Janet should have been asked to be interviewed by either of them, if for no other reason than to record her side of things. To ironically paraphrase a common Leonard Maltin catchphrase, "Their Loss--And Ours"! CHEERS! Thankfully, Brad Farrell and Bob Satterfield had interest in paying Janet a few visits. Despite all of the jokes we make about her (or at least the character she played - I personally try to avoid poking fun at Janet the actress!), she seemed like a swell gal. She really can't be blamed for the performance she gave. None of the kids can. And I really would have liked to hear her memories of MGM and the Gang.  www.catsafterme.com/blog/archives/2460 |
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Post by tboneator64 on Feb 9, 2016 23:34:23 GMT -5
I can see the argument for Tommy "Butch" Bond, as he actually was an 'Our Gang' regular prior to his more memorable (though somewhat sporadic!) stint as Butch. However, I do consider Janet Burston as a sort of evolving from occasional guest to semi recurring, to pretty much a regular in the last year of the MGM incarnation of the 'Our Gang' series. While I'm in agreement with Maltin and Bann in terms of Janet's limited talent, in my opinion, this doesn't alter the fact that she was the Gang's go to female lead after Darla Hood's departure from the series at the end of 1941. As such, I feel that Janet should have been asked to be interviewed by either of them, if for no other reason than to record her side of things. To ironically paraphrase a common Leonard Maltin catchphrase, "Their Loss--And Ours"! CHEERS! Thankfully, Brad Farrell and Bob Satterfield had interest in paying Janet a few visits. Despite all of the jokes we make about her (or at least the character she played - I personally try to avoid poking fun at Janet the actress!), she seemed like a swell gal. She really can't be blamed for the performance she gave. None of the kids can. And I really would have liked to hear her memories of MGM and the Gang. www.catsafterme.com/blog/archives/2460I am thankful to Brad and Bob for taking the time to visit with Janet, for having read Brad's interviews, I was certainly left with the sense of her being a really kind, sweet person! Truth be told, the environment around the MGM lot didn't seem conducive to drawing out the best possible performances from the 'Our Gang' cast, which over time even had some negative effect on the longtime Hal Roach originating players. In Bobby Blake's case, I believe it was some timely exposure to feature film work that helped to bring out better performances, and set him on a path of growth that Janet Burston never really had an opportunity to experience! CHEERS! |
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Post by mtw12055 on Feb 10, 2016 14:26:17 GMT -5
So how many surviving Our Gang actors/actresses are there remaining? I'm thinking there's no more than three. Good question. Via Wikipedia. The majority of the kids on this list weren't main players. Others are questionable (didn't Shirley Coates pass on some time ago?) Dorothy Morrison (born 1919) Lassie Lou Ahern (born 1920) Gene Reynolds (born 1923) Donnie "Beezer" Smith (born 1924) Mildred Kornman (born 1925) Jerry Tucker (born 1925) Dix Davis (born 1926) Joy Wurgaft (born 1927) Shirley Coates (born 1927) Jack Lindquist (born 1927) Sidney Kibrick (born 1928) Georgie Jean LaRue (born 1928) Peggy Lynch (born 1929) Betta St. John (born 1929) Paul Hilton (born 1929) Priscilla Montgomery (born 1929) Betsy Gay (born 1929) Dickie "Happy" Hall (born 1934) Barry "Ken" Downing (born 1931) Annie Ross (born 1930) Payne Johnson (born 1930) Patsy Currier (born 1930) Valerie Lee (born 1931) Darryl Hickman (born 1931) Juanita Quigley (born 1931) Billy Mindy (born 1931) Leon Tyler (born 1932) Patsy Barry (born 1932) Jo-Jo La Savio (born 1932) Robert Blake (born 1933) Leonard Landy (born 1933) Dwayne Hickman (born 1934) Clyde Willson (born 1935) Jackie Horner (born 1933) Laura June Kenny (born 1931) Clyde "Fatty" Dembeck (born 1934) Of the names on this list, I had to familiarize myself with Jack Lindquist and Betta St. John. As it turns out, Bella was one of the dancers in "Waldo's Last Stand." Don't know about Jack, but I do know that he was the president of the Disneyland parks for quite some time. The Wikipedia entry also lists one Diane Elizabeth East as a surviving OG player, but I found no information on her. Possibly a case of vandalism. There is one Wiki contributor who gets a kick out of adding phony names to the Our Gang cast lists on both Wikipedia and the Our Gang Wiki. It's possible that this was his work, but I'm not 100% sure. |
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Post by tboneator64 on Feb 10, 2016 14:41:55 GMT -5
Good question. Via Wikipedia. The majority of the kids on this list weren't main players. Others are questionable (didn't Shirley Coates pass on some time ago?) Dorothy Morrison (born 1919) Lassie Lou Ahern (born 1920) Gene Reynolds (born 1923) Donnie "Beezer" Smith (born 1924) Mildred Kornman (born 1925) Jerry Tucker (born 1925) Dix Davis (born 1926) Joy Wurgaft (born 1927) Shirley Coates (born 1927) Jack Lindquist (born 1927) Sidney Kibrick (born 1928) Georgie Jean LaRue (born 1928) Peggy Lynch (born 1929) Betta St. John (born 1929) Paul Hilton (born 1929) Priscilla Montgomery (born 1929) Betsy Gay (born 1929) Dickie "Happy" Hall (born 1934) Barry "Ken" Downing (born 1931) Annie Ross (born 1930) Payne Johnson (born 1930) Patsy Currier (born 1930) Valerie Lee (born 1931) Darryl Hickman (born 1931) Juanita Quigley (born 1931) Billy Mindy (born 1931) Leon Tyler (born 1932) Patsy Barry (born 1932) Jo-Jo La Savio (born 1932) Robert Blake (born 1933) Leonard Landy (born 1933) Dwayne Hickman (born 1934) Clyde Willson (born 1935) Jackie Horner (born 1933) Laura June Kenny (born 1931) Clyde "Fatty" Dembeck (born 1934) Of the names on this list, I had to familiarize myself with Jack Lindquist and Betta St. John. As it turns out, Bella was one of the dancers in "Waldo's Last Stand." Don't know about Jack, but I do know that he was the president of the Disneyland parks for quite some time. The Wikipedia entry also lists one Diane Elizabeth East as a surviving OG player, but I found no information on her. Possibly a case of vandalism. There is one Wiki contributor who gets a kick out of adding phony names to the Our Gang cast lists on both Wikipedia and the Our Gang Wiki. It's possible that this was his work, but I'm not 100% sure. I confess that at first glance, Jackie Horner struck me as another possible fake name. However, she is listed as having appeared in a number of the MGM shorts (Notably as the Eleanor Powell dancer in CALLING ALL KIDS), and as the girl with the ! Sweater in OUR GANG FOLLIES OF 1938. A bit of screenshot comparisons between the above two shorts seems to be in order! CHEERS! |
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