The Death of Froggy

[scotty1958]

I found some additional information on the death of Billy "Froggy" Laughlin, and thought I would share it. I recently bought an old paperback book from 1977 called "Lamparski's Whatever Became of.... Giant 2nd Annual" by Richard Lamparski, and this book dedicated five pages to Froggy, including some pictures. It was written when Froggy's mother was still alive, and she contributed information to the book. It discusses Froggy's career, and says the following about his death...

"In 1946, his father, who was a meat cutter, moved the family to Hacienda Heights, California, and Billy got a newspaper route. He kept after his father until Mr. Laughlin bought him a motorbike, but only after Billy promised not to let the other kids ride it. On August 31, 1948, "Froggy" allowed a friend to drive the bike while he threw papers from the back. There was a collision with a truck. His friend was slightly injured, but Billy "Froggy" Laughlin never regained consciousness."

So that piece of information confirms that the boys were delivering newspapers at the time of the accident, and sheds some light on why Billy was the passenger and the other boy was driving. It was Billy's paper route, just as I suspected. The article ends with a very cool picture of Billy at age 16, a facial shot with the caption "Froggy" Laughlin had just turned sixteen years old when he was killed in a traffic accident on August 31, 1948. This is the first picture I've ever seen of Billy as a teenager. He still has the glasses, looks older, and was a handsome young man. I don't have a scanner hooked up anymore, so I can't try to scan it unfortunately.

Used copies of this book are available for a very cheap price on amazon.com if anyone is interested. Any "Froggy" fan should see his teenage picture, and the whole article spans five pages. Here is a link to the book at amazon...

Lamparski's Whatever Became of...Giant 2nd Annual (1977)

The article on Froggy is on pages 364-368 in the book.

P.S. - There is one glaring error in the article about Billy's brother Mickey (referred to as "Gordon"), but other than that it's interesting and fairly accurate.

[Hard-boiled Harry]

It's an unfortunate fact that in motorcycle/motor scooter collisions the pillion rider tends to suffer the worse injuries. It's probably down to a simple lever effect, the front of the bike stops suddenly on impact with a car or other object but momentum causes the rear of the bike to be flicked upwards or sideways, this essentially catapults the pillion rider off.

[tim05key]

Hey nice vehicle i never seen the vehicle. Its looks very nice . I really want to ride on it.

[bigshotjones]

May 12, 2014 18:13:35 GMT -5 scotty1958 said:

P.S. - There is one glaring error in the article about Billy's brother Mickey (referred to as "Gordon"), but other than that it's interesting and fairly accurate.

So what was the glaring error? His given name was indeed Gordon.

[scotty1958]

May 13, 2014 8:21:36 GMT -5 bigshotjones said:

May 12, 2014 18:13:35 GMT -5 scotty1958 said:

P.S. - There is one glaring error in the article about Billy's brother Mickey (referred to as "Gordon"), but other than that it's interesting and fairly accurate.

So what was the glaring error? His given name was indeed Gordon.

Well, if that's the case then it isn't an error. I've only seen Billy's younger brother referred to as "Mickey". I thought it was a mistake. I've seen so many mistakes in articles about "Our Gang" members

[scotty1958]

Yup, you're right. Mickey Laughlin was born Gordon Price Laughlin...

Mickey Laughlin bio

Thanks for pointing that out, it gives me much more faith in the accuracy of the article as a whole. It really is an excellent article and includes pictures of Gordon Laughlin as a child and as an adult. I only knew him as Mickey Laughlin and the article never calls him by that name, so I was confused about that. I tend to look at these articles with a certain degree of suspicion after all of the conflicting information I've read from different sources. But this one seems really good.

P.S. - To show you what I mean, this article gives his name as Michael "Mickey" Laughlin, which would make more sense, but is apparently wrong...I guess!

Michael "Mickey" Laughlin

[tracylac936]

Thanks for sharing your information and give the time here. I think Billy was a good man. I appreciate

[arthur]

I was on the internet last week researching a few things about La Puente where I grew up and I discovered the littlerascals.proboards.

I was wondering since on littlerascals the sentiments were so heartfelt, if there was any way I might possibly answer some lingering questions about the accident or perhaps provide some specific background information about the setting of this sad event.

You see, I had just turned 12 years old a few days before the accident and from apprx 50-60 yards I witnessed the very second Froggy was hit by that truck. I was standing in the front yard of my uncle's home at 8th Ave and Valley Blvd.

It was horrific. Tore my heart apart, though I didn't know it was Froggy at the time. Just two teenagers. Two young humans.

In fact, to this day I could--not that I would--walk to the apprx spot on Valley Blvd where Froggy was fatally injured. I can describe the general scene and add a few details that might give to those who interested a better sense of where Froggy was hit.

I would also point out that to verify what I tell you, you can do due diligence--which you should do if you're ever interested in facts--and obtain property and county records to confirm what only one who had lived at 8th Ave and Valley Blvd would know.

For now I can assure you that the press clippings I read online are essentially correct except for one error regarding the accident.

If you're interested drop me a line on proboards. Ask what you want. I'll get back to you but not right away. It's not that I'm lazy--just very busy.

[eileen1998]

Jan 7, 2016 3:20:56 GMT -5 arthur said:

I was on the internet last week researching a few things about La Puente where I grew up and I discovered the littlerascals.proboards.

I was wondering since on littlerascals the sentiments were so heartfelt, if there was any way I might possibly answer some lingering questions about the accident or perhaps provide some specific background information about the setting of this sad event.

You see, I had just turned 12 years old a few days before the accident and from apprx 50-60 yards I witnessed the very second Froggy was hit by that truck. I was standing in the front yard of my uncle's home at 8th Ave and Valley Blvd.

It was horrific. Tore my heart apart, though I didn't know it was Froggy at the time. Just two teenagers. Two young humans.

In fact, to this day I could--not that I would--walk to the apprx spot on Valley Blvd where Froggy was fatally injured. I can describe the general scene and add a few details that might give to those who interested a better sense of where Froggy was hit.

I would also point out that to verify what I tell you, you can do due diligence--which you should do if you're ever interested in facts--and obtain property and county records to confirm what only one who had lived at 8th Ave and Valley Blvd would know.

For now I can assure you that the press clippings I read online are essentially correct except for one error regarding the accident.

If you're interested drop me a line on proboards. Ask what you want. I'll get back to you but not right away. It's not that I'm lazy--just very busy.

[eileen1998]

Hi I'm new here.

I just read the article on the death of Billy "Froggy" Laughlin.

It is very sad to know that he died at only 16 years.

I have a lot of doubts about the accident.

Who was John Wilbrand?

[bigshotjones]

Who was [Carl] John Willbrand? Apparently just another neighborhood kid, the one who was 'piloting' the scooter that Froggy was riding on.

[mg77]

What was the error regarding the accident?