Billie Thomas is best remembered as “Buckwheat” in the TV series, “The Little Rascals” and “Our Gang”. He was in the show for ten years, from 1934 to its ending in 1944.
William Thomas Jr. (March 12, 1931 – October 10, 1980), known as Billie Thomas, 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. He was a native of Los Angeles, California.
Billie Thomas became “Buckwheat” in the 1935 episode called, Mama’s Little Pirate. But he continued to play the role as a girl. Since the character, “Buckwheat” was originally a girl, Hal Roach and the studio must have wanted to keep it that way — even though the new actor for Buckwheat was the boy, Billie Thomas.
Buckwheat : No, we don’t! Buckwheat : Hey, Spanky, me and Porky have an idea. George “Spanky” McFarland : Keep it, you might need it when you grow up!
Who played Buckwheat in Pete’s Sake?
He got a role and his first episode was called, For Pete’s Sake! But he wasn’t playing the role of “Buckwheat” — that character was played by female child actress named Carlena (who happened to be Matthew “Stymie” Beard’s sister). Another young girl, Willie Mae Taylor played the role of Buckwheat for three more episodes before Billie Thomas took it …
In the 1936, The Pinch Singer, Billie Thomas, as Buckwheat, was now a “he” not a “she”. But talk about confusing — his costume didn’t change until the feature film, “ General Spanky” when he began to wear overalls and lost the pig tails.
Since the character, “Buckwheat” was originally a girl, Hal Roach and the studio must have wanted to keep it that way — even though the new actor for Buckwheat was the boy, Billie Thomas.
Who played Buckwheat in Little Rascals?
1935–1944. William “Billie” Thomas Jr. (March 12, 1931 – 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. He was a native of Los Angeles .
The “Buckwheat” and “Porky” characters both became known for their collective garbled dialogue, in particular their catchphrase, “O-tay!”. originally uttered by Porky, but soon used by both characters.
Eddie Murphy performed a series of Buckwheat sketches on Saturday Night Live during the 1980s when he was a cast member. But Thomas’s co-star George McFarland, who played “Spanky” in Little Rascals, made it clear that he hated Murphy’s imitations. “I didn’t care for them a bit. Mr. Murphy did a very poor imitation. He made Buckwheat into a stereotype that he wasn’t, at the expense of the people in his family who are still alive.”
According to Julia Lee, author of Our Gang: A Racial History of The Little Rascals, Thomas and the others were “considered saviors in many ways” by the black community as the most popular black stars in the United States during the 1920s and 1930s.
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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.
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