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Post by mickeygubitosifan on Jan 11, 2011 21:56:29 GMT -5
In various places on the internet I've seen partial compilations of names of the Our Gang actors who are still living. No single list that I've come across seems to be complete, though, which brings me to my question: How many surviving members of The Gang are there today?
From what I can discern, an at least partial list is as follows: Jackie Cooper, Jean Darling, Marianne Edwards, Mickey Gubitosi, Payne Johnson, Sidney Kibrick, Mildred Kornman, Leonard Landy, Dickie Moore, Jackie Lynn Taylor, Jerry Tucker.
I know that confirming the current status of all the kids who have ever appeared in the films would be nearly impossible, but does the above list seem correct? Have I missed anyone obvious?
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Post by mickeygubitosifan on Jan 11, 2011 22:06:07 GMT -5
Oh, now I just came across this Wikipedia page (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_Gang_personnel) which suggests that as many as thirty players in the films may still be around. I'm not sure how many of them were actual members of The Gang and how many were one-time bit players like Billy Lee, but some of them are surprises to me. I didn't know that Dickie Jackson was still living, for one. I also didn't realize that Donnie Smith was still alive. I guess I did know that Dickie Jones hadn't passed, but for some reason I didn't think of him as a living Gangster.
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Post by mtw12055 on Jan 11, 2011 23:00:39 GMT -5
Keep in mind that wikipedia isn't the most reliable source in the world. However, I'm pretty sure Dickie Jones is still with us. Sadly, Billy Lee left us in 1989, while Dickie Jackson seems to have dissapeared. On a good note, back in 2005 Donnie Smith's daughter posted on here stating that her father is still with us. littlerascals.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=general&thread=234&page=1And we certainly can't forget that Laura June Kenny is still with us. While never a regular member of the cast, she certainly has kept the spirit of the series alive after all these years. Incidentally, along with Dickie Jackson, Scooter Lowry, "Sonny Boy" Warde, Shirley Coates, Philip Hurlic, and several others seem to have vanished. Anybody know what happened to these 'lost' players? The rest of the kids listed on the Wikipedia page are most certainly still with us, though I haven't the slightest idea who Payne Johnson is (I've heard of him, I just can't place what films he did). |
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Post by mickeygubitosifan on Jan 11, 2011 23:12:07 GMT -5
As far as Billy Lee is concerned, I didn't intend it to sound as if he were on the Wikipedia list of living Gangsters. I knew that he was gone; I was just using him as an example of an actor who had a one-time bit role in the Our Gang films, but wasn't really a member of The Gang. I believe that Delmar Watson would be another actor in that category.
It's nice to hear that Donnie Smith is likely still around.
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Post by mickeygubitosifan on Jan 11, 2011 23:22:10 GMT -5
Incidentally, along with Dickie Jackson, Scooter Lowry, "Sonny Boy" Warde, Shirley Coates, Philip Hurlic, and several others seem to have vanished. Anybody know what happened to these 'lost' players? The rest of the kids listed on the Wikipedia page are most certainly still with us, though I haven't the slightest idea who Payne Johnson is (I've heard of her, I just can't place what films she did). I could be wrong, but I think that Payne Johnson is a male actor. All of the references that I've found on TheLuckyCorner.com seem to indicate that Payne is a he. In a couple of different places, I've seen June 6, 2008 listed as the death date for Scooter Lowry. I'm not sure how this would have been discovered, but it's listed as the date of death on both his Our Gang Wikia Wiki page and www.youngentertainersdirectory.com/. I should note that on the latter site, only the year of death is given. |
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Post by mtw12055 on Jan 11, 2011 23:52:05 GMT -5
Incidentally, along with Dickie Jackson, Scooter Lowry, "Sonny Boy" Warde, Shirley Coates, Philip Hurlic, and several others seem to have vanished. Anybody know what happened to these 'lost' players? The rest of the kids listed on the Wikipedia page are most certainly still with us, though I haven't the slightest idea who Payne Johnson is (I've heard of her, I just can't place what films she did). I could be wrong, but I think that Payne Johnson is a male actor. All of the references that I've found on TheLuckyCorner.com seem to indicate that Payne is a he. In a couple of different places, I've seen June 6, 2008 listed as the death date for Scooter Lowry. I'm not sure how this would have been discovered, but it's listed as the date of death on both his Our Gang Wikia Wiki page and www.youngentertainersdirectory.com/. I should note that on the latter site, only the year of death is given. Thanks for pointing that out. I'm not sure how accurate Scooter's information is. Here's what the IMDB (again, not the most trusted source) says about Scooter: Born: January 11, 1919 in Manhattan, New York City Died: June 6, 2008 in Ashton, West Virginia |
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Post by zootmoney on Jan 12, 2011 0:01:22 GMT -5
I believe Bob DeMoss, from theluckycorner, verified Elmer "Scooter" Lowry's information.
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Post by bigshotjones on Jan 12, 2011 10:22:48 GMT -5
Vincent Graeff (whom the Matlin/Bann book curiously lists as "Billy Ray Smith"), who played "Boxcar" in a number of the later ones is still alive.
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Post by bigshotjones on Jan 12, 2011 11:32:26 GMT -5
I'm not sure how accurate Scooter's information is. Well, here's the obit:
Dr. Elmer "Jack" F. Lowry, Jr. 89, of Ashton died Friday, June 6, 2008 at Chateau Grove Senior Living in Barboursville.
He was a World War II and Korean veteran serving in the U.S. Navy. He was a psychiatrist who graduated from Harvard Medical School in 1943.
He was born Jan. 11, 1919 in Guam, the son of the late Elmer F. Sr. and Ennis McNeill Lowry.
He is survived by his wife, Alice Rickwood Lowry of Kennett Square, Pa.; son, Andrew S. (Bambi) LowryI'm not expert at this sort of thing, but at a glance it would appear that the only thing they have in common is the name "Lowry," unless the obit is a fabrication. |
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Post by mtw12055 on Jan 12, 2011 11:45:55 GMT -5
I'm not sure how accurate Scooter's information is. Well, here's the obit:
Dr. Elmer "Jack" F. Lowry, Jr. 89, of Ashton died Friday, June 6, 2008 at Chateau Grove Senior Living in Barboursville.
He was a World War II and Korean veteran serving in the U.S. Navy. He was a psychiatrist who graduated from Harvard Medical School in 1943.
He was born Jan. 11, 1919 in Guam, the son of the late Elmer F. Sr. and Ennis McNeill Lowry.
He is survived by his wife, Alice Rickwood Lowry of Kennett Square, Pa.; son, Andrew S. (Bambi) LowryI'm not expert at this sort of thing, but at a glance it would appear that the only thing they have in common is the name "Lowry," unless the obit is a fabrication. And they both have the first name of "Elmer". |
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Post by ymymeatemup on Jan 12, 2011 17:31:30 GMT -5
Payne Johnson was purely a background player. He can be seen in "The Pigskin Palooka" and "Cousin Wilbur," just to name two. I emailed with him several times about a year ago. He comes from one of those families with a whole cartload of Hollywood kids in it. He was the youngest of seven, and the next oldest was Cullen, of "First Round-Up" fame. There were five older kids that appeared in films in the silent era, one of whom continued as an adult in the talkie era, but was professionally known as Dick Winslow.
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Post by rhapsody on Jan 12, 2011 19:01:58 GMT -5
I'm not sure how accurate Scooter's information is. Well, here's the obit:
Dr. Elmer "Jack" F. Lowry, Jr. 89, of Ashton died Friday, June 6, 2008 at Chateau Grove Senior Living in Barboursville.
He was a World War II and Korean veteran serving in the U.S. Navy. He was a psychiatrist who graduated from Harvard Medical School in 1943.
He was born Jan. 11, 1919 in Guam, the son of the late Elmer F. Sr. and Ennis McNeill Lowry.
He is survived by his wife, Alice Rickwood Lowry of Kennett Square, Pa.; son, Andrew S. (Bambi) LowryI'm not expert at this sort of thing, but at a glance it would appear that the only thing they have in common is the name "Lowry," unless the obit is a fabrication. The obit's legit, but it's a different Elmer Lowry. Scooter was born in NYC, and he was definitely never an MD. The last record I ever found of him was in a piece written by a syndicated columnist who ran into him while he was waiting tables sometime in the mid-50's. I've never found any record of his death. |
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Post by rhapsody on Jan 12, 2011 19:17:11 GMT -5
I believe Peggy Ahearn, who was in a small handful of mid-20's silents, is still alive. According to imdb, she'll be 94 in March, which may make her the oldest surviving "kid".
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Post by bigshotjones on Jan 12, 2011 19:55:34 GMT -5
How reliable is the info that "Elmer" was Scooter's real name?
Also, for Dr. Elmer Lowry, his dad (Elmer F. Lowry Sr.) was apparently a Navy doctor, which probably accounts for his being in Guam. I'll try to get the IMDB dates deleted. Is it safe to say that we don't have any reliable DOB or even birth year for Scooter? I don't have a feel for the age he appeared to be in the shorts.
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Post by rhapsody on Jan 12, 2011 20:56:32 GMT -5
How reliable is the info that "Elmer" was Scooter's real name? Also, for Dr. Elmer Lowry, his dad (Elmer F. Lowry Sr.) was apparently a Navy doctor, which probably accounts for his being in Guam. I'll try to get the IMDB dates deleted. Is it safe to say that we don't have any reliable DOB or even birth year for Scooter? I don't have a feel for the age he appeared to be in the shorts. His name was definitely Elmer. The studio records confirm it, as do various news articles from his post-Gang vaudeville years. He was listed as being one month old on the January 1920 census, so he was very likely born in November or December of 1919. |
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