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Post by bigshotjones on May 3, 2007 21:17:32 GMT -5
OK, here is a thread from a while back on Harry Spear. Personally, I, too, believe that Harry S. Bonner was Harry Spear. littlerascals.proboards20.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=display&thread=1162395496I'd like to clean up Wikipedia's entry (OK, stop laughing), and correct the info on IMDB, but. . . . I don't know how long it would last before some chucklehead came along using outdated info and changed it right back. Again, I'm satisfied that Bonner was Spear, but what credible citations other than circumstantial evidence can we provide to get this info changed. I know it's no big deal, but people do reference these sites, and I do try to change stuff that I know is incorrect and can back it up. Anyone???
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Post by rhapsody on May 4, 2007 9:55:12 GMT -5
I'm the one who started the thread, and I really wish I could provide more support for the conclusion. The public records available are very strong circumstantial evidence, but I can't find an obit for Bonner on-line and I don't have Nexus subscription. But I did find this while searching today: en.allexperts.com/q/Classic-Film-2786/Shirley-Coates-Harry-Spear.htmQuote: "Harry Spear, of course, is the classic example of an Our Gang kid that faded into obscurity. Brad Farrell of the A-Haunting We Will Go tent of Sons of the Desert mentioned trying to interview Harry. He was quite certain that he had the right Harry, but Harry insisted he was not THAT Harry Spear. I never did find out what made Brad so sure he had the right guy." Brad Farrell must be the fellow who wrote the article I remember reading about Bonner being Spear. So I'd say if someone could track down Farrell, he could probably provide more info. I read the article a long time ago and unfortunately can't remember the details of his search for Harry.
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Post by bigshotjones on May 19, 2007 10:27:09 GMT -5
With your info, I actually did find an email for the fellow in question (Brad Farrell). Unfortunately, he didn't respond to my inquiry, so this might be a dead issue. Thanks for the lead, though.
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Post by rhapsody on May 19, 2007 11:01:46 GMT -5
Bad pun intended, but it probably is a dead issue for him now. For anyone interested, here are Harry S. Bonner's birth and death records. Note the date of birth and the maternal maiden name of Spear. The key is the date of birth which matches the date Maltin gives. If Maltin got the date from a known accurate source (i.e. the studio), I'd say odds are close to 99% that Spear and Bonner and were one and the same. (I used to be a "people locater" for a large law firm. How baby boys named Harry were born in the LA area on 12/16/21 and connected to the name Spear? Only one.) Name: Harry S Bonner Birth Date: 16 Dec 1921 Gender: Male Mother's Maiden Name: Spear Birth County: Los Angeles Name: Harry S. Bonner SSN: 557-26-4992 Last Residence: 92117 San Diego, San Diego, California, United States of America Born: 16 Dec 1921 Died: 22 Sep 2006 State (Year) SSN issued: California (Before 1951 )
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Post by bigshotjones on Jun 29, 2007 20:38:02 GMT -5
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Post by mtw12055 on Jun 29, 2007 21:42:04 GMT -5
WOW! That was interesting. For some reason, I had a feeling Harry Spear wasn't a nice guy. I seriously don't think this is a good reason, but in The Glorious Fourth, during the scene where Joe was blaming Farina in front of that fence, right before the scenes where they go inside and try to catch Pansy with that net, is it just me, or was Harry smiling when Joe was blaming Farina in that scene? Also, is he smiling when Joe's mother spanks him at the end? I know that it was just acting and all, but I honestly don't think Harry was one of the best actors.
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Post by rhapsody on Jun 30, 2007 22:59:55 GMT -5
Wow. Thanks so much for following up on this. (And I'm guessing you are the one who fixed up Wiki and IMDb? ) The death certificate indicates he was a newspaper writer. For me, that just seems to deepen the mystery of why he stayed in the shadows. If he were a renowned physician (as some claimed) and just didn't want to be bothered with his past, it would make more sense to me. But a journalist? Weird. I love to track down some of the stuff he wrote. Creepy guy or not, you'd think he'd want to cash in on his past. But I guess we'll never know what the real Trouble with Harry was. (caveat: He and Thelma may have had a son. When I was looking for info on him earlier this year, I came across a man born in the 1950's associated with their address. Can't remember his name.) As far as Harry as a kid, I never got much of a sense of his personality one way or the other. I do, however, think he was one of the most unappealing of all the children. But you gotta love a good mystery.....
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Post by bigshotjones on Jul 1, 2007 7:00:08 GMT -5
I'm guessing you are the one who fixed up Wiki and IMDb? Guilty. I'm also moving the credits for the "Harry Spear" who had some uncredited 1960s roles to a different name. Since they are all uncredited roles, I suspect that someone had access to a cast list to supply the names. I really doubt that the 1960s extra named "Harry Spear" is the same as the "Our Gang" Harry Spear. He might actually be the one who died in 1969. He seems to be a bit older than the "Our Gang" Spear should be, and have a thinner face than the pudgy-faced youngster might have grown into as an adult. Unfortunately, IMDB has a new policy about uncredited-only actors (basically, they don't want 'em), and I'm concerned that instead of moving the 1960s credits to a different entry, they might just delete his roles altogether, since he has no listed credits. But we'll see.
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Post by rhapsody on Jul 1, 2007 10:32:29 GMT -5
As it looks like Harry may have been a career Navy man, I'd say you are probably right about Harry-the-1960's-extra being a different Harry.
BONNER, HARRY SHERMAN YNC US NAVY WORLD WAR II, KOREA, VIETNAM DATE OF BIRTH: 12/16/1921 DATE OF DEATH: 09/22/2006 BURIED AT: SECTION CBI ROW 3 SITE 646 FT. ROSECRANS NATIONAL CEMETERY
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Post by bigshotjones on Jul 9, 2007 20:41:41 GMT -5
One other interesting point that just dawned on me: Spear's last "appearance" in the gang was in "Bouncing Babies," in which his face is never seen beneath the skeleton costume. So, starting with his last Gang appearance, he was basically undercover for the rest of his life.
(And, unrelated, but how Leonard Maltin thinks Joe Cobb is in this one is another mystery. He sho' ain't in the ghost costume, the only other kid role.)
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Post by mtw12055 on Jul 10, 2007 10:04:19 GMT -5
Right after Chubby says, "It's Farina and Wheezer. Let's go scare em Harry", you can just barely see Harry right before he puts his mask back on. If you watch that part frame by frame, you can get a pretty good shot of Harry's face right before he hides it from the audience forever.
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Post by mtw12055 on Jul 16, 2007 19:20:41 GMT -5
Well, we now know what happend to Harry Spear, but we still dont know what happened to rascals like Scooter Lowry, "Sonny Boy" Warde, and Shirly "Muggsy" Coates.
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Post by bigshotjones on Jul 17, 2007 14:32:05 GMT -5
Also, some other names that had notable "Gang" appearances, some of whom are as yet unidentified:
‘Big Shot,’ who played Buckwheat’s little brother in a few episodes (obviously not to be confused with Big Shot Jones, Buckwheat’s pal in “Tale of a Dog”). Dickie Hutchins, Wheezer’s little brother, who was almost certainly the kid who says “re-MARK-a-ble!” Buckwheat’s dad in “Helping Hands” and “Wedding Worries.” The prominent characters in “Calling All Kids:” “Marlene ‘Judy Garland’ Kinghorn, Marlene ‘Virginia O’Brien’ Mains, David ‘Fred Astaire’ Polonsky, Jackie ‘Eleanor Powell’ Horner (who I still want to believe has a “Dirty Dancing” connection) The unidentified twins from “Party Fever” and “Football Romeo” The *watermelon roller in "A Lad an' a Lamp," and the organ grinder in "Bubbling Troubles." From my memory, they look a lot alike and are the same person (just from my memory), but I suspect that's just because they both spoke with accents and had mustaches. And, last, but not least, songstress extraordinaire Beverly Hudson.
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Post by mtw12055 on Jul 17, 2007 15:13:53 GMT -5
So far, all I know about Scooter Lowry is that he apparently was sort of a disruptive kid, and had to leave the gang early. He was put on a vaudeville version of Our Gang with Johnny Downs and Mary Kornman, and later one with Jean Darling, Harry Spear, and Peggy Eames. He was also refered to as Skippy Lowry later on.
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Post by rhapsody on Jul 17, 2007 17:06:09 GMT -5
So far, all I know about Scooter Lowry is that he apparently was sort of a disruptive kid, and had to leave the gang early. He was put on a vaudeville version of Our Gang with Johnny Downs and Mary Kornman, and later one with Jean Darling, Harry Spear, and Peggy Eames. He was also refered to as Skippy Lowry later on. A couple of other bits of information from various sources. He was supposedly from New York City (Jean Darling?) and born in 1920 (seems about right as he was about Farina's age.) He had a sister named "Lila" (from Mary Kornman's photo gallery - jfmanluke.atspace.com/mary/photos/photo409.html and jfmanluke.atspace.com/mary/photos/photo410.html ) Here is a post Our Gang vaudeville era publicity photo of Scooter, Mary and Johnny Downs: jfmanluke.atspace.com/mary/photos/photo212.htmlBy the way, in case any one hasn't seen them, that Mary Kornman site has some great photos. I particularly like the candids of the kids at the beach.
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