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Post by Buppster on Jun 27, 2018 14:08:38 GMT -5
Judge for yourself... Everything matches, the shape of his nose and ears, his haircut and even the little limp cowlick. He had a very distinctive Alfalfa like accent in both scenes. As he had an invitation to the party, that he was going to attend, where was he during the party if he wasn't the boy with the blindfold? Here he is, immediately behind Froggy, seen face on during the party. Note how his hair is parted so that it hangs over his right eye, just as it was when he was reading the party invitation in the street.
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Post by Buppster on Jun 27, 2018 14:10:08 GMT -5
Bob Demoss' archived site says Tommy and "Spud" are two different kids. I don't know which of you is right! Who does he list as playing 'Spud' if not Tommy?
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Post by mtw12055 on Jun 27, 2018 18:28:46 GMT -5
Bob Demoss' archived site says Tommy and "Spud" are two different kids. I don't know which of you is right! Who does he list as playing 'Spud' if not Tommy? Undetermined actor. But now that I've gotten a better look, I think you're right.
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Post by Buppster on Jun 28, 2018 5:57:26 GMT -5
Apparently Tommy Tucker is listed as being one of the Gang in Election Daze too, so I might watch that today and try to grab a screen capture or two of him, to compare with those from Surprised Parties.
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Post by Buppster on Jun 28, 2018 12:16:08 GMT -5
No wonder I'm seeing a psychologist, I mean I obviously need to when I chose to watch two MGM produced Our Gang shorts in only two days. Today I watched Election Daze (1943) and although it was made a year after Surprised Parties (1942) Tommy Tucker looked essentially the same. Again he got to speak a couple of lines and this time they even showed him in a pretty close up face on shot. I think that it's pretty obvious from this profile shot that he was indeed the same boy who played Spud in Surprised Parties.
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Post by mtw12055 on Jun 28, 2018 13:11:10 GMT -5
The archived Lucky Corner site says that it's Tommy, too.
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Post by Buppster on Jun 29, 2018 4:40:08 GMT -5
I've no doubt at all it was the same lad. Tommy was a good looking lad, with a pleasant speaking voice and he appeared to be able to act too, so I can't understand why he never got further than he did with his acting career, which appears to have consisted mainly of uncredited roles in which he spoke only a line or two of dialogue. I guess that it's a bit late to try and revive his career now, as according to IMDb he died on 11th July 1989, aged only 56. However he's still getting a mention online, almost 30 years later, so I guess that he is remembered, which is probably more than could be said of most of us thirty years after our deaths. Then again he wasn't even listed among Our Gang personnel on Wikipedia, until I just added him. He gets barely a mention on the Our Gang Wikia either, listed as Tommy Tucker for one short and Thomas Tucker for the other but he doens't have a character page. As his two known appearances in Our Gang shorts were a year apart I suppose that this means that I'll have to grit my teeth and work my way through yet more MGM produced shorts, just to see if I can spot him, as an uncredited Gang member, in any more of them. I think I'll start a Justice and Recognition for Tommy Tucker campaign
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Post by mtw12055 on Jun 29, 2018 18:49:04 GMT -5
He's in the opening scene of "Going to Press."
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Post by Buppster on Jun 30, 2018 4:34:12 GMT -5
Thanks for that info, I don't mind watching that one again, in order to grab a screen shot or two, as it was one of the better MGM produced shorts.
Little seems to be known about Tommy, other than the scant info on his IMDb page and even that wasn't all correct. I've submitted a request that they should delete his date of death, which is currently given as 11th July 1989, as I believe that was entered in error. It's actually the date of death of a completely different Tommy Tucker, who was a band leader. Tommy Tucker was simply a stage name that the band leader used as his real name was Gerald L. Duppler. By a strange coincidence Mister Duppler was born (on 18th May 1903) in Souris, North Dakota, which was also the birthplace (on 22nd June 1933) of Tommy Tucker the young actor. Presumably Tommy's parents must have decided to name their son after the most famous person from their small community, who was already making a name for himself in the entertainment industry by 1933, the year of Tommy's birth.
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Post by Buppster on Jun 30, 2018 4:47:16 GMT -5
I've just downloaded three movies that Tommy is listed as appearing in on IMDB.
Test Pilot (1938) when he was five. The Blue Bird (1940) when he was seven, and California (1947) when he was fourteen.
In two of them he's uncredited but in California (although still uncredited) he played a named part, of someone called Elwyn Smith, so he should be fairly easy to spot.
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Post by Buppster on Jun 30, 2018 10:11:34 GMT -5
Well I've just watched Going To Press (1942) and without a doubt it was Tommy Tucker, as a non subscriber to the Gang's newspaper, at the beginning of a short. Once again he had a line or two of dialogue and once again he wasn't getting on well with Froggy. I managed to grab three screen captures of Tommy but he's shown only in profile or from the back, however his distinctive nose and accent made him instantly recognisable. As Don't Lie was the next short on the disc I forced myself to watch that too, however Tommy had the good sense not to be in it.
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Post by Buppster on Jun 30, 2018 13:58:04 GMT -5
Having an autistic fixation on something or someone can be a detrimental to your sanity at times. It must be because I've just sat through all of the remaining MGM Our Gang shorts on disc four of the Our Gang Collection. So I can state with some degree of confidence that Tommy Tucker does not appear in...
Wedding Worries Melodies Old and New Don't Lie! Doin' Their Bit Rover's Big Chance Mighty Lak a Goat Unexpected Riches Benjamin Franklin, Jr. Family Troubles
I can also confirm just how utterly dire and devoid of humour most (all) of those shorts were. I sn1ggered (the correct spelling is apparently a naughty word?) only once, at the sight of kids dressed up and bearing the flags of the allies of the USA in Doin' Their Bit, as those allies included Russia, China, El Salvador and Cuba.
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Post by mtw12055 on Jun 30, 2018 15:15:06 GMT -5
Having an autistic fixation on something or someone can be a detrimental to your sanity at times. It must be because I've just sat through all of the remaining MGM Our Gang shorts on disc four of the Our Gang Collection. So I can state with some degree of confidence that Tommy Tucker does not appear in... Wedding Worries Melodies Old and New Don't Lie! Doin' Their Bit Rover's Big Chance Mighty Lak a Goat Unexpected Riches Benjamin Franklin, Jr. Family TroublesI can also confirm just how utterly dire and devoid of humour most (all) of those shorts were. I sn1ggered (the correct spelling is apparently a naughty word?) only once, at the sight of kids dressed up and bearing the flags of the allies of the USA in Doin' Their Bit, as those allies included Russia, China, El Salvador and Cuba. Quick little tip, "Farm Days" and "Radio Bugs" don't have any kids outside of the main Gang in them. That should save you 20 minutes.
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Post by Buppster on Jun 30, 2018 15:38:50 GMT -5
Thanks for the tip off, two less to watch is very welcome news. Most of them are seriously unfunny (deliberate pun). But I've had my fill of Mickey, Fatty, Janet and Froggy for one day. I'll work my way through disc five tomorrow. I am so looking forward to watching Calling All Kids and Little Miss Pinkerton that you wouldn't believe it, and you'd be right not to believe it too.
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Post by Buppster on Jun 30, 2018 17:46:42 GMT -5
Not content with watching 100 minutes of Our Gang shorts earlier today I've just rounded my evening off by spending 97 minutes watching California (1947) which starred Ray Milland, Barbara Stanwyck and Barry Fitzgerald. More importantly though was a brief appearance, around 7 minutes into the movie by an uncredited young actor playing a character called Elwyn. The picture quality wasn't very good, the scene was shot from middle distance, with no close up shots, but Tommy Tucker once again had dialogue and he was immediately recognisable as the same boy who'd been in the Our Gang shorts, even though he was thirteen or fourteen years old in this movie. Oh, and did I mention that the movie was in colour?
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