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Post by mickeygubitosifan on Feb 12, 2011 14:53:01 GMT -5
Not sure what to think...he sure had some convincing stories. Maybe Carl Spitzer isnt dead after all I believe that the death of Carl Switzer at age thirty-one from a gunshot wound has been documented fairly well. Of all the Our Gang players who have been reported as deceased, I would surmise that Carl Switzer's is one of the surer cases. Is it possible that he played the role of Alfalfa as part of one of the search contests that were held in towns across the U.S., to find lookalikes for the production of a local film that wasn't part of the regular Our Gang canon? Unless, of course, Alfalfa's character didn't join The Gang until after those contests were no longer being held.
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Post by jimcapt on Feb 12, 2011 14:58:53 GMT -5
Good question...he's an usher at a local church, has been for 15 years so I guess I will have to ask him the next time I see him.
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Post by zootmoney on Feb 12, 2011 17:28:51 GMT -5
That is the funny thing about these impostors. They think that there were characters, played by multiple different people, instead of nicknames for specific kids, who basically played themselves, with the exception of Buckwheat being usedmore than once. Before Carl Switzer, there was no Alfalfa. After Carl Switzer, there was no Alfalfa.
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Post by RJH on Feb 14, 2011 0:31:53 GMT -5
The vast majority of birth and death dates and locations in the Our Gang Wikia Wiki is copied from IMDb (I have some first-hand knowledge of that), so I wouldn't use that as an independent source. Donnie's Smith's information has just been copied to the Wiki, so let's hope it's accurate.
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Post by mickeygubitosifan on Feb 15, 2011 0:08:58 GMT -5
Regarding the Alfalfa line of talk, it might be worth noting that Carl Switzer's date of birth was almost certainly sometime in August of 1927. I've seen some slight discrepancy about the exact day, but as far as I can tell there's no compelling reason to question the month and year as they are commonly given. Therefore, Carl Switzer would be eighty-three years old if he were alive today, rather than eighty-one. The vast majority of birth and death dates and locations in the Our Gang Wikia Wiki is copied from IMDb (I have some first-hand knowledge of that), so I wouldn't use that as an independent source. Donnie's Smith's information has just been copied to the Wiki, so let's hope it's accurate. I had hoped that perhaps Donnie Smith's birth information had been confirmed for IMDB by his son or daughter (aka Stardanceraz), who started that thread about him here on the boards in 2005. The first question that was asked of Stardanceraz after the instigation of the thread pertained to Donnie Smith's birth date, so I thought that at the time there might have been no birth date available for Donnie Smith at all, and his son or daughter might have been the one who supplied it.
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Post by myhomeo on Feb 15, 2011 20:32:25 GMT -5
Might as well mention the con artist --I believe he was a preacher or somesuch-- who tried to dupe older followers by claiming he was Alfalfa. When someone mentioned Carl Switzer, he produced a still picture from 'Alfalfa's Double' (That's the one where Alf meets a rich kid who looks exactly like him and they switch places for a day) and claimed Carl was one Alfalfa and he was the other.
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Post by mickeygubitosifan on Feb 18, 2011 0:49:27 GMT -5
Another Gangster that I've been lately thinking might still be alive is Billy Mindy. I would guess that he was a few years younger than Carl Switzer, so I wouldn't be surprised if he were no older than eighty now, if he were still alive today. Like in the case of Dickie De Nuet, though, there just isn't much information about Billy Mindy that seems to be available online. Other than a note about his alternate name, Billy Minderhout, and a list of the Our Gang comedies in which he appeared, nothing substantial seems to be accessible. Does anyone here know if there's a chance that Billy Mindy might still be around? Might as well mention the con artist --I believe he was a preacher or somesuch-- who tried to dupe older followers by claiming he was Alfalfa. When someone mentioned Carl Switzer, he produced a still picture from 'Alfalfa's Double' (That's the one where Alf meets a rich kid who looks exactly like him and they switch places for a day) and claimed Carl was one Alfalfa and he was the other. That's an exceptional story. Do you know how the mistruth came to eventually be uncovered?
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Post by rhapsody on Feb 18, 2011 3:15:53 GMT -5
Another Gangster that I've been lately thinking might still be alive is Billy Mindy. I would guess that he was a few years younger than Carl Switzer, so I wouldn't be surprised if he were no older than eighty now, if he were still alive today. Like in the case of Dickie De Nuet, though, there just isn't much information about Billy Mindy that seems to be available online. Other than a note about his alternate name, Billy Minderhout, and a list of the Our Gang comedies in which he appeared, nothing substantial seems to be accessible. Does anyone here know if there's a chance that Billy Mindy might still be around? A William Minderhout born in January 1931 is listed as currently living in Pacific Palasades, CA according to Zaba.
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Post by mickeygubitosifan on Feb 18, 2011 14:40:28 GMT -5
A William Minderhout born in January 1931 is listed as currently living in Pacific Palasades, CA according to Zaba. Ah, now that sounds to be a fairly promising indication that Billy Mindy might still actually be alive. A 1931 birth date would place his eightieth birthday sometime this year, matching my prior basic approximation of that number. It might not be conclusive enough for us to be able to confidently place Billy Mindy on the list of surviving Gangsters, but my sense of the matter is that we can think of Billy Mindy as probably still being alive, unless some evidence to the contrary arises.
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Post by rhapsody on Feb 18, 2011 15:09:59 GMT -5
A William Minderhout born in January 1931 is listed as currently living in Pacific Palasades, CA according to Zaba. Ah, now that sounds to be a fairly promising indication that Billy Mindy might still actually be alive. A 1931 birth date would place his eightieth birthday sometime this year, matching my prior basic approximation of that number. It might not be conclusive enough for us to be able to confidently place Billy Mindy on the list of surviving Gangsters, but my sense of the matter is that we can think of Billy Mindy as probably still being alive, unless some evidence to the contrary arises. It's probably him, it's a fairly unusual last name and the age is about right. And as he's not listed in the SS Death Index, he's very likely alive. His number is also listed, so you could probably verify it with him directly if you were so inclined.
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Post by jimcapt on Feb 21, 2011 20:31:09 GMT -5
That is the funny thing about these impostors. They think that there were characters, played by multiple different people, instead of nicknames for specific kids, who basically played themselves, with the exception of Buckwheat being usedmore than once. Before Carl Switzer, there was no Alfalfa. After Carl Switzer, there was no Alfalfa. I was able to get the guys last name its Bainum...Fred Bainum. I could not find anything about him online....also went by Larry when he was a kid.
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Post by mickeygubitosifan on Feb 22, 2011 1:02:17 GMT -5
When I typed in "Fred Bainum" on Google, the top link that surfaced in response led to the MyLife.com profile of a "Fred Larry Bainum", age seventy-seven, from Santa Cruz, California. I have very little idea how MyLife.com works, but aside from the slight difference in reputed age, he sounds much like the Fred Bainum that you know. However, I couldn't get any further than this, because I don't have a paid account with the website.
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Post by mickeygubitosifan on Mar 15, 2011 0:14:43 GMT -5
I'm sad to say that it appears Vincent Graeff should be taken off the list of surviving Our Gang actors. I hadn't heard anything about this prior to today, but according to online reports, Vincent Graeff passed away in Henderson, Nevada on February 8, approximately a year after the death of his older brother, Paul. Here is a link to his obituary, a link which is also provided on the Our Gang Wikia Wiki: www.davisfuneralservices.com/services.asp?locid=48&page=odetail&id=17045
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Post by bigshotjones on Mar 15, 2011 10:07:26 GMT -5
Aw man. I actually had a couple of letter exchanges with him a few years ago. At the time, he seemed like a great guy. The obit pretty much confirms it.
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Post by rascalwatcher on Mar 15, 2011 12:29:59 GMT -5
It is amazing how much information has become available since the Internet. If only this information was out there in the early 80s when I was trying to find some of the gang. I did locate and correspond with a few of them, thanks to the Maltin/Bann book and the telephone books at our local library. And of course, through Robert Satterfield and Luther Hathcock - but if the Internet had been around in 1982 in small-town Minnesota, that would have greatly helped my efforts.
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