|
Post by rhapsody on Oct 30, 2010 12:38:16 GMT -5
Curious as to what part of the country you're from, bigshotjones. The pronunciation is probably a regional thing. I've lived in New England for most of my life and the Philadelphia area for part of it, and it's usually pronounced "weeze". I've heard a few stories about the origin of the band's name, some involving a nickname of member Rivers Cuomo. One is that kids teased him at school with the name because he had asthma, another that his parents called him Wheezer specifically after Our Gang's Wheezer. There is speculation that the second story is true, and that the band just wants to distance itself from the Little Rascals. (probably because naming your band after them is such a common thing to do!) The band may be most famous for it's classic "Buddy Holly" video from the early 1990s which utilized time travel to transport the them back to the Happy Days set in the 1970's where people pretended to be in the 1950's listening to post-new wave 1990's music. Good stuff. www.youtube.com/watch?v=kemivUKb4f4&ob=av2e
|
|
|
Post by bigshotjones on Oct 30, 2010 13:06:41 GMT -5
Southeastern US. And I find I have to amend my comments after a little more research indicates that I am actually a part of the regionalism, and that the pronunciations that I don't use are the more common.
|
|
|
Post by axlegrease on Oct 30, 2010 18:05:33 GMT -5
Can't believe I forgot to mention this: In the 60's, there was a pop group that went by the name Spanky And Our Gang. Spanky was a girl, I believe. Apparently, she got the nickname because her last name was McFarlane. One of my all-time favorite bands. I've met 3 of them www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjrIOzOPPW0
|
|
|
Post by littlerascal4891 on Oct 30, 2010 18:08:00 GMT -5
I always think of Wheezer from "Our Gang" whenever the band Weezer is mentioned.
|
|
|
Post by bigshotjones on Oct 30, 2010 19:59:58 GMT -5
Shirley McLaine's character in (Louisiana-based) "Steel Magnolias" was named "Weezer," although the spelling was a little different (Ouiser).
|
|
|
Post by littlerascal4891 on Oct 30, 2010 23:38:07 GMT -5
I recently saw an episode of "Full House," and Uncle Jesse was freaking out about his kids getting their hair cut, saying that he didn't want them to end up looking like Alfalfa.
|
|
|
Post by mickeygubitosifan on Nov 2, 2010 18:20:19 GMT -5
That's very interesting! I had not previously seen those commercials. I'm not surprised at the selection of Seth Green for the part of Alfalfa; he did a lot of acting work at approximately that age, including roles in The Hotel New Hampshire (1984) and Radio Days (1987). Does anyone have any idea about who played Scotty in the Jell-O ads? Scotty Beckett was always my favorite Our Gang member, and I'd love to know who reprised the role for these commercials. The main Our Gang pop culture reference that I remember was on The Jack Benny Program, when Darla Hood was the special guest star. I couldn't remember right off the top of my head whether Rochester played the part of Buckwheat or Farina, but I guess it was Buckwheat. The funniest line of the skit, in my recollection, is when Jack Benny (as Alfalfa) stopped skipping rope, out of breath, and said something like, "Why am I so winded? I'm only nine years old!" Darla Hood and Don Wilson were fantastic, as well, and Dennis Day as the "rich kid" Rodney, rival for Darla's affections, was very funny, too. I loved that episode. :-)
|
|
|
Post by mtw12055 on Nov 2, 2010 21:16:00 GMT -5
The main Our Gang pop culture reference that I remember was on The Jack Benny Program, when Darla Hood was the special guest star. I couldn't remember right off the top of my head whether Rochester played the part of Buckwheat or Farina, but I guess it was Buckwheat. The funniest line of the skit, in my recollection, is when Jack Benny (as Alfalfa) stopped skipping rope, out of breath, and said something like, "Why am I so winded? I'm only nine years old!" Darla Hood and Don Wilson were fantastic, as well, and Dennis Day as the "rich kid" Rodney, rival for Darla's affections, was very funny, too. I loved that episode. :-) I remember somebody selling this particular episode on eBay (looking back now, I wished I had bought it). I'm not really sure who Rochester was supposed to be playing (some sources say Buckwheat and others say Farina). And let's not forget the Our Gang/Little Rascals comic book series. Walt Kelly produced an Our Gang comic series from 1942-1949. His original 'gang' consisted of the then current gang: Spanky, Mickey, Buckwheat, Froggy, and Janet. After Spanky left, Kelly (like MGM) replaced him with Happy. After Our Gang finished production in 1944, Kelly dropped some of the characters and added his own. Mickey went to military school in 1945 and was replaced by tough leader 'Red'. Happy moved away not too long after than and was replaced by 'Two-by-Two'. Froggy left around 1946 and was replaced by 'Egghead', a former member of the Gas House Gang. Buckwheat (whom Kelly had depicted by this point as a High School track star) and Janet left in 1947, and were resepectively replaced by 'Button-Nose' and 'Anastasia'. Dell Comics produced a "Little Rascals" comic book series from 1956-1962. This series featured Spanky, Alfalfa, Buckwheat, Farina, and a new character named 'Fatso'. Most of the remaining characters in this series were stereotypes of certain characters that reguarly showed up in the Our Gang world (i.e. the kids' teacher, 'Miss Pretty' was an obvious Miss Crabtree/Miss Lawrence type, while Toughy McGurk was an obvious Butch type of character). Other returning characters included rich kid Waldo (who is designed off of Wally Albright rather than Darwood Kaye), grouchy old Mr. Grump, and Alfalfa's overbearing Aunt Margaret. These stories took place in a modern day setting. For some reason, the writers tended to occasionally switch Spanky's and Alfafla's roles. In one of the stories, Spanky is nervous because of a fight he has to get into with bully Toughy McGurk. Persistent Alfafla tries everything he can to stop Spanky from leaving town. Another story was a remake of "Fishy Tales", but again with Spanky's and Alfalfa's roles switched. In some of the earlier stories, Buckwheat was referred to as 'Farina', while Farina was left nameless. Both boys went by their proper names in later stories.
|
|
|
Post by myhomeo on Nov 4, 2010 16:27:37 GMT -5
If I remember right, Rochester played Buckwheat. Considering Buckwheat 'impersonated' him in an MGM short (Done by dubbing the real Rochester's voice over Buckwheat's lip-synching), it's only fair. I think Dennis Day played Waldo, though they did seem to confuse him a little with nasty rich kid Stinky Davis from the rival 'Mickey McGuire' series; like Stinky (but unlike Waldo), Dennis wore a Little Lord Fauntleroy outfit.
Several issues of the Walt Kelly OUR GANG series were recently collected in trade paperbacks, but it's been awhile since I've had a chance to check so I don't know how many books were released. There were at least three, though.
|
|
|
Post by mtw12055 on Nov 4, 2010 16:35:27 GMT -5
I have the first two of those OUR GANG trade paperbacks. I think the fourth one was released a few months ago.
And with the Stinkie/Waldo mistake, I think people often tended to get Our Gang mixed up with other series. Back then, it was probably more common to get Our Gang mixed up with Mickey McGuire because of the latter series' popularity in theaters. The writers may have recalled this series and thought of it as part of Our Gang.
Something similar occurs in one of the Little Rascals comic stories. At one point Alfalfa (or maybe Spanky?) spots neighborhood bully Toughy McGurk and mistakenly refers to him as "Tough McGuire, himself", a name reminiscent Mickey (himself) McGuire.
|
|
|
Post by mickeygubitosifan on Nov 13, 2010 1:58:30 GMT -5
Taking a look through the j-archive (the work-in-progress online archive of clues used on the quiz show Jeopardy!), I find at least the following Our Gang themed clues that have been used on the show:
(October 14, 2010) Category: "BUCK" EYES $400: He was a little rascal, O-Tay? (Answer: Who is Buckwheat?)
(March 19, 2008) Category: A BUNCH OF HOODS $800: Darla Hood was a member of this Hal Roach troupe (Answer: What is The Little Rascals/Our Gang?)
(January 26, 2006) Category: WALK INTO A "BAR" $1200: It's O-Tay to know this plant of the buckwheat family or that in slang, it's a term for quarrel (Answer: What is rhubarb?)
(July 6, 2005) Category: CELEBRITY CRITTERS $1200: Petey was the beloved pitbull pet on this series of short comedy films (Answer: What is The Little Rascals/Our Gang?)
(April 28, 2005, The Ultimate Tournament of Champions) Category: AND DOGGIE MAKES THREE $1000: Spanky, Alfalfa &... (Answer: Who is Petey?)
(October 31, 2000) Category: THE HOLLYWOOD FOREVER CEMETERY $100: Pete the dog is pictured on the marker for Carl Switzer, Alfalfa of this group (Answer: What is The Little Rascals/Our Gang?)
(June 30, 2000) Category: TV CROSSWORD CLUES "O" $100: "____ Gang" (3) (Answer: What is Our?)
(December 13, 1999) Category: ANIMALS IN SHOWBIZ $1000: He was the Little Rascals' dog (Answer: Who is Pete the Pup?)
(June 4, 1999) Category: THE TEN COMMANDMENTS $600: Carl Switzer, who had a bit role as a slave, is best known as this "Little Rascal" (Answer: Who is Alfalfa?)
(September 21, 1998) Category: HAIR CARE $100: A dab of phytospecific relaxer might have controlled this standout on Alfalfa's head (Answer: What is a cowlick?)
(June 29, 1998) Category: HONORARY OSCARS $1000: Our gang on the board of governors voted this little rascal of a producer a 1983 honorary award (Answer: Who is Hal Roach?)
(June 5, 1998) Category: BAD HAIR DAYS $300: We loved this Little Rascal, even though he never had a good hair day in his life (Answer: Who is Alfalfa?)
(May 28, 1997) Category: BUG NAMES $300: This producer brought together "Our Gang", those cute little rascals (Answer: Who is Hal Roach?)
(November 21, 1995, Tournament of Champions) Category: TOUGH FACTS $300: Spanky was part of "Our Gang" & Jiang Qing, Mao's widow, was part of this gang (Answer: What is The Gang of Four?)
(December 12, 1984) Category: HOLLYWOOD LEGENDS $400: In her 1st film she sang with "Alfalfa" Switzer; in her next, she was paired with Lassie (Answer: Who is Elizabeth Taylor?)
(December 4, 1984) Category: MOVIE TRIVIA $100: Turned down to be an "Our Gang" member, she became top box office star of 1935 (Answer: Who is Shirley Temple?)
It's quite possible that other Our Gang clues have been used on the show, but these are the only ones that have been archived up to this point in time. There were two other clues that I didn't include because they used visual media: One was about alfalfa sprouts, which as a hint referenced Carl Switzer, and the other was a video Daily Double, calling on the player to identify the actor in the film clip, who had sung a duet with Elizabeth Taylor in the 1942 movie, There's One Born Every Minute (it was Carl Switzer.)
|
|
|
Post by mtw12055 on Nov 13, 2010 15:23:09 GMT -5
(October 31, 2000) Category: THE HOLLYWOOD FOREVER CEMETERY $100: Pete the dog is pictured on the marker for Carl Switzer, Alfalfa of this group (Answer: What is The Little Rascals/Our Gang?) This is slightly off topic, but I'm surprised that even the producers of Jeopardy! (or whoever comes up with the topics for the show) fell for that rumor about Pete being on Alfalfa's gravestone. The dog on his stone was actually meant to represent Alfie's hunting expeditions with dogs. Apparently, somebody later visited the cemetery and drew a ring around the dogs' eye.
|
|
|
Post by littlerascal4891 on Nov 13, 2010 17:21:42 GMT -5
I love Jeopardy! Alex Trebek kind of seems like a jerk sometimes though. But it's fun to play along at home.
|
|
|
Post by mickeygubitosifan on Nov 14, 2010 0:26:07 GMT -5
(October 31, 2000) Category: THE HOLLYWOOD FOREVER CEMETERY $100: Pete the dog is pictured on the marker for Carl Switzer, Alfalfa of this group (Answer: What is The Little Rascals/Our Gang?) This is slightly off topic, but I'm surprised that even the producers of Jeopardy! (or whoever comes up with the topics for the show) fell for that rumor about Pete being on Alfalfa's gravestone. The dog on his stone was actually meant to represent Alfie's hunting expeditions with dogs. Apparently, somebody later visited the cemetery and drew a ring around the dogs' eye. That is interesting. From what I know, the Jeopardy! writers spend at least one hour (and sometimes quite a bit longer) on each clue that they write, going to the extreme to verify through multiple sources the information that's used on the show; still, they occasionally will make a factual error. I had not heard the story about the dog pictured on Carl Switzer's marker, and people thinking that it was Pete.
|
|
|
Post by ymymeatemup on Nov 14, 2010 15:31:48 GMT -5
They're also not being terribly accurate when they connect 'O Tay' with Buckwheat, since it was Porky's catchphrase. The story of Shirley Temple being turned down is also questionable at best. It apparently comes from something Roach said and has been vehemently denied by Shirley herself. Roach seems to have played fast and loose with the facts over the years; he generally didn't let accuracy get in the way of a good anecdote. A good example of this would be the famous "Big Business" story in which they destroyed the front of somebody's home, only to find they had gone to the wrong house. Stan Laurel was quite adamant that the story was false.
|
|