the original little rascals cast and crew

Despite Thomas being a male, the Buckwheat character remained a female-dressed as a Topsy-esque image of the African-American “pickaninny” stereotype with bowed pigtails, a large hand-me-down sweater and oversized boots. Thomas began appearing as “Buckwheat” with 1935’s Mama’s Little Pirate.

The “Buckwheat” character was a female at this time, portrayed by Our Gang kid Matthew “Stymie” Beard’s younger sister Carlena in For Pete’s Sake!, and by Willie Mae Walton in three other shorts. Although the character he played was often the subject of controversy in later years for containing elements of the “pickaninny” stereotype, Thomas always defended his work in the series, pointing out that Buckwheat and the rest of the black Our Gang kids were treated as equals to the white kids in the series.īillie Thomas first appeared in the 1934 Our Gang shorts, For Pete’s Sake!, The First Round-Up, and Washee Ironee as a background player.

He was a native of Los Angeles, California. (Ma– October 10, 1980) was an American child actor best remembered for portraying the character of Buckwheat in the Our Gang (Little Rascals) short films from 1934 until the series’ end in 1944.

The original little rascals cast and crew