The Death of Froggy

[scotty1958]

The Los Angeles County Library finally sent me the research results on the accident that took the life of Billy "Froggy" Laughlin. They sent me photocopies of one main article on the accident from the local La Puente, CA newspaper, as well as two smaller articles and an obituary from the Los Angeles Times. The photocopies were sent to me in a PDF file, so I can't show them as I would a picture, but I'll reprint them word for word.

There are a couple of details that I was surprised by, one that I wasn't. Okay, the main article first...

La Puente Valley Journal

September 2, 1948 (page 1 article)

Youth Dies From Injuries

William Robert Laughlin, 16, son of Mr. and Mrs. Robert V. Laughlin of 1357 Galemont died Tuesday as a result of injuries suffered when a motorscooter on which he was a passenger and a truck collided on Valley boulevard between Seventh and Eighth.

The scooter was operated by John Wilbrand, 16, of Arcadia who suffered only minor injuries.

The driver of the truck, Paul Otto Bauman of Maywood, told deputy sheriffs that the scooter ahead of him started a U-turn from the north side of the highway. He said he was unable to stop and ran directly into the scooter.

Officers reported that the Laughlin boy was thrown 40 feet down the center of the highway and the other boy was tossed 30 feet from the point of impact.

Funeral services for the traffic victim will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday in Pierce Brothers mortuary at 345 West Main street Alhambra. Burial will be at Rose Hills Memorial Park at Whittier.

He is survived by his parents, two brothers, Pfc Claude Thomas Laughlin of Randolph Field and Mickey: and his grandmother Mrs Lillian Cruckshank of Alhambra.

(Next article)

Los Angeles Times

September 2, 1948 (page 2)

Crashes Kill Youth of 16 and Man 91

Two more persons died yesterday as a result of traffic accidents in Los Angeles County.

As a result of a collision between his motor scooter and a truck, William R Laughlin, 16, of 1357 Galemont Ave, Puente, died in Covina Hospital. The accident occurred in front of 1224 W Valley Blvd.

The driver of the truck Paul Baumen, 25, of 4347 E 61, was not held.

(The article goes on to report another unrelated accident that took the life of a 91 year old man)

(The final two articles are brief obituaries from the Los Angeles Times)

September 3, 1948 (part II, page 8)

William Laughlin

The funeral services for William Laughlin, 16, former actor in "Our Gang Comedies" who died Tuesday will be conducted tomorrow at 1 p.m. in Pierce Brothers Alhambra Mortuary. Interment is to be at Rosedale Memorial Park. Born in San Gabriel, he lived with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Robert V. Laughlin, at 1357 Gailmont Ave., Puente.

September 3, 1948 (page 14)

LAUGHLIN, William, beloved son of Mr. and Mrs. Robert V. Laughlin, brother of Claude and Mickey Laughlin, grandson of Mrs. Lillian Cruckshank. Services 1 p.m. Saturday at Pierce Brothers' Alhambra.

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So there you have it, the heartbreaking death of Froggy as it was reported in the newspapers of the day. I always assumed that Billy was the one operating the motor scooter since it apparently belonged to him, but it turns out that he was the passenger and his friend was the operator that day. It appears that they tried to make some sort of U-turn that put them directly in the path of a truck. The driver of the truck was questioned, but not charged with anything.

I guess being a passenger would make Billy more vulnerable to injury in any accident, which would be consistent with him dying and the other boy surviving with only minor injuries. So if this accident was mostly the boys fault, Billy can't be blamed because he wasn't the one in control of the scooter.

BTW this is a 1948 Cushman Motor Scooter, probably very much like the one they were riding. As you can see there is nothing to hang on to if you're a passenger in the back, and it's no match for a truck.



If anyone wants to see the original articles that I have reprinted I would be willing to email the PDF file to you. I guess you could private message me with your email address where you want it sent.

Edit to add: Billy's memorial at Find A Grave says that both boys died in the accident, which wasn't the case according to these articles. I sent them a copy of the articles in case they want to make a change.

[collibosher]

Thanks for the research. Interesting, although very sad story.

[scotty1958]

Thanks. I was always a little confused about the vague and sometimes conflicting information available on the internet about Billy's death. Well, once upon a time there was a thing called the library, with real facts and records. Thankfully they still exist today.

Based on the quote from the L.A. Times article dated 9/2/1948 that says "William R. Laughlin, 16, of 1357 Galemont Ave, Puente, died in Covina Hospital", it appears that Billy was still alive and barely hanging on to life when he was taken from the scene, and died in the hospital shortly after. No newspaper article says that Billy died instantly on the scene as some internet sites say, and no news account from 1948 report the other boy dying in the accident.

The truth of the matter is, two inexperienced teenage boys on a motor scooter made a fatal decision to make a sudden U-turn, which accidentally took them into the path of an oncoming truck. The truck driver stopped and talked to the police, who examined the evidence. This qoute from the L.A. Times tells the truth behind what happened...

"The driver of the truck, Paul Baumen, 25, of 4347 E 61, was not held"

Which means he didn't do anything wrong. It was a sad situation for everyone involved.

And I'll add...It's important to note that Billy was the passenger on the motor scooter, not the operator (his friend).

(BTW one article spells the truck driver's name as "Bauman", another as "Baumen") So it goes in 1948.

P.S. - After doing a search on the name, I think "Bauman" is the correct spelling.

[bigshotjones]

Looks like:
Bauman died in the mid 1960s in his 40s. Wonder what happened to him.
Froggy's brother Claude died just last year, and was a former teacher.
I could find no information on any John Wilbrand, so I wonder if that name was misspelled.

[scotty1958]

Jul 15, 2013 10:03:18 GMT -5 bigshotjones said:

I could find no information on any John Wilbrand, so I wonder if that name was misspelled.

I have to admit I had a little trouble making out the exact spelling of the last name of Froggy's friend because of the old newsprint and a possible spelling mistake. I took a picture of the name in the article so you can see what you think. At first I thought it was "Wilbrand", but it kind of looks like they spelled it "Wllbrand" and forgot the "i", which would make the correct spelling "Willbrand", a more common name.

Here are the pictures. See what you think. The paragraph...



A closer look...



As I said, if anyone wants a copy of the whole PDF file with all four articles I'll glady email you a copy. You just need to let me know the email address to send it to.

BTW these pictures came out much darker than the original file. The file is easier to read.

For right now I'll stay with "Wilbrand", although I'm not 100% sure.

[scotty1958]

I showed the main article to the secretary where I work, a woman in her 60's with tons of experience dealing with documents of all kinds, and she took one look at the name and said "John Wilbrand" without hesitation. She pointed out the dot above the "i" as well as the distinctive slant on the bottom of the letter that differs from the "l" that follows it. She was 100% sure.

That was my first impression as well, so "John Wilbrand" it is. Whatever became of him is another matter. Who knows where he may have ended up in the years following that awful accident.

[scotty1958]

At least Froggy is at rest in a nice place called Rose Hills Memorial Park in Whittier, California next to his parents. These pics were sent to me from an Our Gang fan who visited his grave. These pictures are big, so I'll just link to them...

Mother / Father / Billy
imageshack.us/a/img838/6323/fg7q.jpg

Billy "Froggy" Laughlin
img38.imageshack.us/img38/2058/rr5q.jpg

[scotty1958]

To finish off my research on the death of Billy "Froggy" Laughlin I was able to obtain a copy of his death certificate from the Los Angeles County Clerk's Office in Norwalk, CA through the mail for a fee of sixteen dollars. It arrived in the mail today. It confirms some basic facts that were reported in the newspaper articles, and adds a few more details.

According to his death certificate, Billy died on August 31, 1948 at 11:10 PM at Covina Hospital in Covina, California. His length of stay in the hospital was six hours.

His immediate cause of death is listed as "Hemorrhage and shock" due to "Multiple injuries". The death certificate confirms that his injuries were due to an accident between a motor scooter and a truck in La Puente, California on 8/31/48. The accident happened in a public place, and under 'While at work', "Yes" is written in (Delivering newspapers maybe?).

Hemorrhage and shock basically means that he lost so much blood that his circulatory system shut down resulting in organ failure and death. And the fact that he was in the hospital for six hours confirms that he did not die instantly at the scene like some websites report. The accident happened in La Puente, California and he was taken to a hospital in nearby Covina, California. Since Billy died at 11:10 at night, we can assume that the accident happened late in the afternoon.

I don't have a scanner hooked up to my computer at the moment. If I ever get the chance to scan the document and post it, I will.

I just hope Billy was unconscious and not suffering during those final six hours of life. It must have been a horrible ordeal for his family and friends.

[Hard-boiled Harry]

It's a sad tale but then again I guess any death is a sad tale. Perhaps Froggy's youth, like that of Wheezer, makes his death seem so tragic but Jay R. Smith's death at the hands of a homeless man wasn't any less traumatic simply because he was an elderly man. Death is always upsetting for those who remain behind and care for those that have gone.

[littlerascal4891]

Thank you for sharing this information with us.

It's really a shame what happened to Froggy. It's always sad to hear stories like this.

[scotty1958]

Aug 5, 2013 22:53:21 GMT -5 littlerascal4891 said:

Thank you for sharing this information with us.

It's really a shame what happened to Froggy. It's always sad to hear stories like this.

The more I learn about Billy Laughlin, the more I have a special place in my heart for him and his fate. Apparently he was made fun of by other kids when he was very young because of his crossed eyes and thick glasses. He took up acting as a way to boost his confidence and found success in the Our Gang comedies with his signature "Froggy" voice. Robert Blake says the following about Billy in his book...

"Billy 'Froggy' Laughlin was a dearly loved, sweet, gentle soul. His mother and father showered him and his brother with love, affection..."

It was a cruel twist of fate that he had to leave this life at such a young age in such a violent and painful way. God rest his soul.

I just finished watching the 1944 movie "Johnny Doesn't Live Here Anymore", the only other film Billy acted in besides the Our Gang shorts. It wasn't that great of a movie, but Billy was very funny in his bit part. He speaks in his normal voice as well as his "Froggy" voice. Here is his main scene starting at 2:32...

(I tried to link right to the scene, but it didn't work. Just fast forward to 2:32)



Someday I'm going to drive out to California and pay my respects to Froggy and Alfalfa in person at their final resting places, as well as see the sights. Someday.

[mtw12055]

Aug 9, 2013 18:10:48 GMT -5 scotty1958 said:

I just finished watching the 1944 movie "Johnny Doesn't Live Here Anymore", the only other film Billy acted in besides the Our Gang shorts. It wasn't that great of a movie, but Billy was very funny in his bit part. He speaks in his normal voice as well as his "Froggy" voice. Here is his main scene starting at 2:32...

(I tried to link right to the scene, but it didn't work. Just fast forward to 2:32)

Thanks for posting that. I've been meaning to check it out. It sure does take some getting used to hearing what Froggy really sounded like. But his ability to throw his voice so easily sure what phenomenal.
"Someone's stolen my soap!"

[scotty1958]

Well, he was still acting so it wasn't his completely natural voice like it would be in real life with family and friends, but it's as close as we'll get. He was an interesting and maybe underrated character...

He's a close second to Alfalfa as my favorite Our Gang member.

Edit to add - Billy's character in that video clip, Jerry Malone, is doing an imitation of the woman's accent, being a wiseguy, I'm pretty sure. The actress is Simone Simon who speaks with a French accent.

[Hard-boiled Harry]

I edited down the movie clip so that it's just Billy's appearance...

[scotty1958]

Aug 10, 2013 17:26:18 GMT -5 Hard-boiled Harry said:

I edited down the movie clip so that it's just Billy's appearance...

Thank you for doing that. If you watch the whole movie he has a few other appearances with very brief lines, mostly just one word in either his Froggy voice or his real voice. His character is supposed to be kind of a brat who uses the bathroom of Johnny's apartment whenever he feels like it. In that main scene he is imitating the accent of the woman who is subletting the apartment. Thankfully that movie is available to watch on YouTube and amazon.com for anyone who is interested.