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Post by collibosher on Feb 4, 2020 22:56:27 GMT -5
All this information, and I haven't a clue what his middle name was. In case you haven't come across it yet, it was Eugene. It's on his 1943 draft registration card. |
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Post by sillyrascal on Aug 4, 2021 9:08:31 GMT -5
The Buddy McDonald info came from an interview with Dick Bann years ago. "Wheezer was a special case. Wheezer felt like he was being picked on, or something. There was a problem of some kind associated with Wheezer, maybe it was because of his parents. He would cry at a moment's notice. We had to be careful around Wheezer, that we wouldn't hurt his feelings. Those were instructions, I believe, from Bob McGowan. Wheezer's dad was pushing McGowan and Hal Roach to feature Wheezer at the expense of the other kids, which they resisted. Roach and McGowan did. In our group at that time, Jackie Cooper was the star. You could see Stymie was going to be star, and then Spanky McFarland, too." SOURCE: www.laurel-and-hardy.com/archive/articles/2001-10-found1.htmlIt would appear that Wheezer did get to socialize with at least one of the kids (Dorothy De Borba), according to this issue of "Whatever Became Of..." from the internet archive: archive.org/details/whateverbecameof0000lamp_o6x1/page/14/mode/2up?q=wheezer%2BrascalHas anyone tried to access the divorce record of his parents? We may be able to confirm if there was abuse if it was listed as a contributing factor for the divorce. |
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Post by sillyrascal on Aug 4, 2021 10:06:10 GMT -5
I also found this from an issue of Variety, 1934: "...Freckle-faced Mickey Daniels, Stymie Beard, Wheezer and the rest of them have been in eclipse since they outgrew their gang parts. Hal Roach explains that as soon as they reach the gangling stage and lose their naturalness their value to pictures is nil. Most of them get hammy and artificial and are beyond direction. Salaries generally start at $50 a week and rarely go beyond $200."
I know I read somewhere people asking how much the kids made and speculating why Roach got rid of Wheezer, but couldn't find those exact questions to post a direct reply. Source: archive.org/details/sim_variety_1934-08-07_115_8/page/10/mode/2up?q=wheezer%2Brascal (see top section titled Film Kids) Start of article is pretty interesting too about the general lifespan of child actors, and mentions that there were "more than a hundred" that worked in the Hal Roach gang comedies since the inception. Source: archive.org/details/sim_variety_1934-08-07_115_8/page/n1/mode/2up?q=wheezer%2Brascal |
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Post by mtw12055 on Aug 4, 2021 10:11:24 GMT -5
The Buddy McDonald info came from an interview with Dick Bann years ago. "Wheezer was a special case. Wheezer felt like he was being picked on, or something. There was a problem of some kind associated with Wheezer, maybe it was because of his parents. He would cry at a moment's notice. We had to be careful around Wheezer, that we wouldn't hurt his feelings. Those were instructions, I believe, from Bob McGowan. Wheezer's dad was pushing McGowan and Hal Roach to feature Wheezer at the expense of the other kids, which they resisted. Roach and McGowan did. In our group at that time, Jackie Cooper was the star. You could see Stymie was going to be star, and then Spanky McFarland, too." SOURCE: www.laurel-and-hardy.com/archive/articles/2001-10-found1.htmlIt would appear that Wheezer did get to socialize with at least one of the kids (Dorothy De Borba), according to this issue of "Whatever Became Of..." from the internet archive: archive.org/details/whateverbecameof0000lamp_o6x1/page/14/mode/2up?q=wheezer%2BrascalHas anyone tried to access the divorce record of his parents? We may be able to confirm if there was abuse if it was listed as a contributing factor for the divorce. Thanks for posting this. I've always wanted to see one of these "Whatever Became Of..." books. I think "played along with the boys in their games" means "acted alongside them." I've been speaking with a researcher friend lately who has been able to get a decent idea of Wheezer's family history. Mom and Dad didn't divorce until sometime after the family relocated to Tacoma. Dad went back to California on his own for a bit, and then returned to Tacoma, living not too far away from his ex-wife. But exact dates for when the divorce happened couldn't be found. It's worth noting that someone recently came across interview quotes from Wheezer's pop who admitted that he felt like a fish out of water, being forced to move from blue collar life to a Hollywood manager (parents usually managed their kids back then). |
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Post by sillyrascal on Aug 4, 2021 10:15:55 GMT -5
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Post by sillyrascal on Aug 4, 2021 11:04:50 GMT -5
It would appear that Wheezer did get to socialize with at least one of the kids (Dorothy De Borba), according to this issue of "Whatever Became Of..." from the internet archive: archive.org/details/whateverbecameof0000lamp_o6x1/page/14/mode/2up?q=wheezer%2BrascalHas anyone tried to access the divorce record of his parents? We may be able to confirm if there was abuse if it was listed as a contributing factor for the divorce. Thanks for posting this. I've always wanted to see one of these "Whatever Became Of..." books. I think "played along with the boys in their games" means "acted alongside them." I've been speaking with a researcher friend lately who has been able to get a decent idea of Wheezer's family history. Mom and Dad didn't divorce until sometime after the family relocated to Tacoma. Dad went back to California on his own for a bit, and then returned to Tacoma, living not too far away from his ex-wife. But exact dates for when the divorce happened couldn't be found. It's worth noting that someone recently came across interview quotes from Wheezer's pop who admitted that he felt like a fish out of water, being forced to move from blue collar life to a Hollywood manager (parents usually managed their kids back then). Luckily the Washington State Archives has his mother's 2nd marriage on file - she married on 22 Jul 1939, so at least the divorce date range can be narrowed down a tiny bit.  Source: Pierce County Auditor, Marriage Records, 1876-1947; 1984-Present, Washington State Archives, Digital Archives, http://digitalarchives.wa.gov. |
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