Post by Buppster on Feb 28, 2018 9:20:34 GMT -5
As well as the regular cast members and extras some of the Our Gang shorts featured single appearances by child actors of the time. Many of these had little or no dialogue but others did get a line or two. If we consider only child actors who made less then five appearances that would include for example Delmar Watson who appeared in Pigskin Palooka. Delmar's younger brother Bobs Watson clocked up two Our Gang appearances. Frank Coghlan Jr (Junior Coghlan) appeared in Giants Vs Yanks then of course there were others like Dickie Jones, Philip McMahon and Billy Lee.
So my question for you is: which child actor who made less than five appearances in Our Gang made the best impression for you. Which, if any of them, was maybe deserving of more appearances than they actually made?
I'll surprise you by not opting for Tommy Bupp, even though he's my favourite actor of all time, but instead I'll opt for Darryl Hickman who did a great job of playing Frank, the leader of the Gas House Gang, in Going To Press. His performance managed to lift that short out of the dreary quagmire that most of the other shorts from that period had sunk into. MGM missed a great opportunity by not turning Frank and his Gas Work Gang into recurring presences throughout the rest of Our Gang. Giving Our Gang some rivals would have provided ample opportunities for some good story lines and it would also have created a much needed bully character, who the series had noticeably lacked since the departure of Tommy Bond.
So my vote is for Frank, played by Darryl Hickman.
So my question for you is: which child actor who made less than five appearances in Our Gang made the best impression for you. Which, if any of them, was maybe deserving of more appearances than they actually made?
I'll surprise you by not opting for Tommy Bupp, even though he's my favourite actor of all time, but instead I'll opt for Darryl Hickman who did a great job of playing Frank, the leader of the Gas House Gang, in Going To Press. His performance managed to lift that short out of the dreary quagmire that most of the other shorts from that period had sunk into. MGM missed a great opportunity by not turning Frank and his Gas Work Gang into recurring presences throughout the rest of Our Gang. Giving Our Gang some rivals would have provided ample opportunities for some good story lines and it would also have created a much needed bully character, who the series had noticeably lacked since the departure of Tommy Bond.
So my vote is for Frank, played by Darryl Hickman.