ALFALFA SPANKY THE LITTLE RASCALS OUR GANG 8x10\" HAND COLOR TINTED PHOTOGRAPH
![ALFALFA SPANKY THE LITTLE RASCALS OUR GANG 8x10\](img-large/g/KjUAAMXQbcRQ52y-/s-l1600/ALFALFA-SPANKY-THE-LITTLE-RASCALS-OUR-GANG-8x10-HA.jpg "ALFALFA SPANKY THE LITTLE RASCALS OUR GANG 8x10\")
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ALFALFA SPANKY THE LITTLE RASCALS OUR GANG 8x10\" HAND COLOR TINTED PHOTOGRAPH:
$14.50
Up for sale is an awesome8 x 10\" full color photo print of a hand oil tinted photograph featuring actor,Carl Dean Switzer \"Alfalfa\", The Teacher & Geore McFarland \"Spanky\"from the 1937 movie, Hearts Are Thumps, The Little Rascals/ Our Gang.
This is a high-resolution (320 dpi/ 2,560 x 3,200 pixel) 8\" x 10\" vintage image, hand oil tinted and photo processed onto Fuji Film Archival Photo Paper. Fuji Film Archival Photo Paper is the highest quality paper and photo processing available. Fuji guarantees it not to fade for up to 70 years!
Carl Dean Switzer \"Alfalfa\", The Teacher, George McFarland \"Spanky\", Hearts Are Thumps, The Little Rascals \"Our Gang\" 1937
Carl Dean Switzer \"Alfalfa\", Rosina Lawrence \"The Teacher\" & George McFarland \"Spanky\", Hearts Are Thumps 1937. Carl Dean \"Alfalfa\" Switzer (August 7, 1927 – January 21, 1959) was an American child actor, professional dog breeder and hunting guide, most notable for appearing in the Our Gang short subjects series as Alfalfa, one of the series\' most popular and best-remembered characters.Early life and family
Switzer was born in Paris, Illinois, the second son, fourth and last child of Gladys C. Shanks (née Doerr) and G. Frederick Switzer. He was named Carl after the Switzer family and Dean after many relatives in his grandmother\'s family. He and his older brother, Harold Switzer, became famous around their hometown for their musical talent and performances; both sang and played a number of instruments.Our Gang
The Switzers took a trip to California in 1934 to visit with family members. While sightseeing they eventually wound up at Hal Roach Studios. Following a public tour of the facility, 8-year-old Harold and 6-year-old Carl entered into the Hal Roach Studio\'s open-to-the-public cafeteria, the Our Gang Café, and began an impromptu performance. Producer Hal Roach was present at the commissary that day and was impressed by the performance. He signed both Switzers to appear in Our Gang. Harold was given two nicknames, \"Slim\" and \"Deadpan,\" and Carl was dubbed \"Alfalfa.\"The Switzer brothers first appeared in the 1935 Our Gang short, Beginner\'s Luck. By the end of the year, Alfalfa was one of the main characters in the series, while Harold had more or less been relegated to the role of a background player.Although Carl Switzer was an experienced singer and musician, his character Alfalfa was often called upon to sing off-key renditions of pop standards and contemporary hits, most often those of Bing Crosby. Alfalfa also sported one of the most famous cowlicks in pop culture history.Switzer\'s country-boy sense of earthy humor could often be cruel. He enjoyed playing tricks on his fellow cast and crew members. One incident occurred when he put fishing hooks in the pants of Our Gang co-star George \"Spanky\" McFarland, and McFarland suffered severe cuts that resulted in his receiving stitches. Switzer tricked co-star Darla Hood into putting her hand in his pocket, telling her he had a ring for her, but in reality it was a switchblade knife. Hood almost lost her fingers from that incident.By the end of 1937, Alfalfa Switzer had supplanted Spanky McFarland, the series\' nominal star, in popularity. While the two boys managed to get along (save for Switzer\'s pranks), their fathers fought and argued constantly over their sons\' screen time and salaries. Ironically, Switzer\'s best friend among the Our Gang kids was Tommy Bond, who played his on-screen nemesis \"Butch\". In Bond\'s words, he and Switzer became good friends because \"neither of us could replace the other since we played opposites.\"After Hal Roach sold Our Gang to Metro-Goldwyn Mayer (MGM) in 1938, the now-adolescent Switzer\'s behavior was even more extreme, and he often sabotaged the production of the Our Gang films. Once, during a break in filming, Switzer urinated on the set\'s lights. When filming resumed, the lights heated up and filled the set with such a stench that filming had to be halted for the rest of the day. On another occasion, intending to get back at a rude cameraman, Switzer forced the other kids to chew as much gum as they could, and stuffed wads of spent chewing gum inside the camera. Switzer\'s attitude towards authority impressed one of his younger Our Gang co-stars, Robert Blake, who, as an adult, became known for his disposition as an iconoclast.Adult years
The tenure of both Switzers in Our Gang ended in 1940, when Carl was twelve. Carl continued to appear in movies in various supporting roles, including I Love You Again, Going My Way, Courage of Lassie, and It\'s a Wonderful Life and starred in the John Wayne film Island in the Sky where he coined the phrase \"Whatever\'s customary,\" about the only line he spoke throughout the film, but one he repeated several times in it.Switzer\'s last starring roles were in a brief series of imitation-Bowery Boys movies; he reprised his \"Alfalfa\" characterization, complete with comically sour vocals, in PRC\'s Gas House Kids comedies of 1946-1947. He returned to supporting roles, including a short stint as B-western sidekick \"Alfalfa Johnson.\" Switzer preferred not to recall his Our Gang work; in his 1946 resume he referred to the gang films generically as \"M-G-M short product.\"Switzer had a fleeting cameo in the 1954 musical film White Christmas where his picture was used to depict an Army buddy (named \"Freckle-Faced Haynes\") of lead characters (Wallace and Davis) played by Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye and also the brother of the female leads (the Haynes Sisters) played by Rosemary Clooney and Vera-Ellen. He also did some acting for television.His final film role was in 1958\'s The Defiant Ones and on the television series The Roy Rogers Show, where he was called upon to reprise his off-key \"Alfalfa-like\" singing. Switzer\'s difficult reputation and his typecasting as \"Alfalfa\" made it difficult for him to find quality work.Personal life
In the early 1950s, Switzer moved to Kansas. He lived and worked on a farm at Pretty Prairie, west of Wichita. There he met and married Diane Collingwood, the heiress of grain elevator empire Collingwood Grain. The marriage only lasted four months, but did result in the birth of a son whose name was a well-kept secret. In 2002, it was revealed that his son\'s name is Lance, per his cousin\'s statement on ancestry.com. In 1987, Spanky McFarland recalled a meeting with Switzer concerning the farm:“ The last time I saw Carl was 1957. It was a tough time for me, and him. I was starting a tour of theme parks and county fairs in the Midwest. Carl had married this girl whose father owned a pretty good size farm near Wichita. When I came through town, he heard about it called. He told me he was helping to run the farm, but he finally had to put a radio on the tractor while he was out there plowing. Knowing Carl, I knew that wasn\'t going to last. He may have come from Paris, Illinois, but he wasn\'t a farmer! We hadn\'t seen each other since we left the gang. So we had lunch, we talked—about all the things you\'d expect. And then I never saw him again. He looked pretty much the same. He was just Carl Switzer; kind of cocky, a little antsy, and I thought to myself he hadn\'t changed that much. He still talked big. He just grew up.” In addition to acting, Switzer bred hunting dogs and guided hunting expeditions. Among his more notable clients were Roy Rogers and Dale Evans (Switzer\'s godparents), and James Stewart.In January 1958, he survived being shot in the arm while getting into his car (his assailant was never identified.) Months later, Switzer was arrested in Sequoia National Forest for cutting down 15 pine trees. He was sentenced to a year\'s probation and ordered to pay a $225 fine.Death
Prior to a hunting guide job, Switzer had borrowed a hunting dog from Moses \"Bud\" Stiltz. When the dog was lost, Switzer offered a $50 reward for the dog\'s return. A man found the dog a few days later and brought it to the bar where Switzer was working. Switzer paid the man $35 and bought him $15 worth of drinks from the bar. Several days later on January 21, 1959, Switzer and his friend Jack Piott decided that Stiltz owed $50 paid to the man who found the dog. The pair allegedly arrived drunk at Stiltz\'s home in Mission Hills to collect the money Stiltz \"owed\" Switzer.He banged on Stiltz\'s front door, demanding, \"Let me in, or I\'ll kick in the door.\" Once Switzer was inside the home, he and Stiltz got into an argument. Switzer informed Stiltz that he wanted the money owed him, saying \"I want that 50 bucks you owe me now, and I mean now.\" When Stiltz refused to hand over the money, the two engaged in a physical fight. Piott allegedly struck Stiltz in the head with a glass-domed clock, which caused him to bleed from his left eye. Stiltz retreated to his bedroom and returned holding a .38-caliber revolver, but Switzer immediately grabbed the gun away from him, resulting in a shot being fired that hit the ceiling. Switzer then forced Stiltz into a closet, despite Stiltz having gotten his hands back on the gun. Switzer then allegedly pulled a switchblade knife and screamed, \"I\'m going to kill you\" and was attempting to stab him with it, but just as Switzer was about to charge Stiltz, Stiltz raised the gun and shot Switzer in the groin. Switzer died of massive internal bleeding and was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital.Controversy
Jack Piott gave a second version of events to investigators. According to Piott, he and Switzer went to collect a debt from Stiltz, when an argument broke out. Piott said a brief struggle ensued and Stiltz brandished a gun and shot Switzer, who was unarmed at the time, in the groin. Then, according to police reports, only by begging was Piott able to save his own life.The killing was held to be a justifiable homicide. Switzer had allegedly pulled a knife; therefore, the shooting was judged to be self-defense. During the inquest regarding Switzer\'s death, it was revealed that what was originally reported as a \"hunting knife\" was in fact merely a penknife. It had been found by crime scene investigators under his body, but with no blade exposed.On January 25, 2001, a third witness came forward and gave his version of the events of January 21, 1959. The witness, 56-year-old Tom Corrigan, son of Western movie star Ray \"Crash\" Corrigan and stepson of Moses Stiltz, was present the night Switzer was killed.\"It was more like murder,\" Corrigan told reporters. He said he heard the knock on the front door and heard Switzer. Corrigan\'s mother, Rita Corrigan, opened the door to find a drunk and demanding Switzer complaining about a perceived, months-old debt. Switzer entered the house followed by Jack Piott and stated that he was going to beat Stiltz. Stiltz greeted Switzer with a .38-caliber revolver in his hand. Tom Corrigan claimed to witness Switzer grab the revolver and the two began struggling to gain control over it. Piott broke a glass-domed clock over Stiltz\'s head whose eye swelled shut. During the struggle the gun fired into the ceiling and Tom Corrigan was struck in the leg by a piece of shrapnel. After the initial shot, his two younger sisters ran to a neighbor\'s house to call for help. \"Well, we shot Tommy, enough of this,\" he remembers Switzer saying before Switzer and Piott started to retreat. Corrigan had just stepped out the front door when he heard a second shot go off behind him. He did not see his stepfather shoot Switzer, but when he turned around he saw Switzer sliding down the wall with a surprised look on his face — shot in the groin. Corrigan said he spotted a closed penknife at Switzer\'s side which he presumed fell out of his pocket or his hand. He then witnessed his stepfather back Piott into the kitchen counter and threaten to kill him, but as the man begged for his life, they heard emergency sirens which is why Corrigan believed Stiltz did not shoot him. Corrigan recalled that his stepfather lied in his account of the event to the authorities.Following the shooting, Corrigan claims a now-deceased Los Angeles Police Department detective, Pat Pow, interviewed him and asked him if he would testify before a judge. Corrigan claims to have agreed, although for unknown reasons he was never called before the coroner\'s jury. \"He didn\'t have to kill him,\" Corrigan said.Legacy
Carl Switzer is interred at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Hollywood, California. His death went virtually unnoticed in the media, as Switzer died on the same day as Cecil B. DeMille. Switzer received only minor footnotes in most newspapers, while DeMille\'s obituary dominated the columns.
George Robert Phillips \"Spanky\" McFarland (October 2, 1928 – June 30, 1993) was an American actor most famous for his appearances in the Our Gang series of short-subject comedies of the 1930s and 1940s. The Our Gang shorts were later popular after being syndicated to television as \"The Little Rascals\".Early years
McFarland was born in Dallas, Texas, at Methodist Hospital in 1928 to Robert Emmett and Virginia McFarland. He had three siblings, Thomas (\"Tommy,\" who himself appeared in a few Our Gang episodes as \"Dynamite\"), Amanda, and Roderick (\"Rod\").Prior to joining the Our Gang comedies, Buddy, as he was called by his family, modeled children\'s clothing for a Dallas department store and also was seen around the Dallas area on highway billboards and in print advertisements for Wonder Bread. This established \"Buddy\" early on in the local public\'s eye as an adorable child model and provided experience before cameras.Our Gang
In January 1931, in response to a trade magazine advertisement from Hal Roach Studios in Culver City, California, requesting photographs of \"cute kids,\" Spanky\'s Aunt Dottie (Virginia\'s sister) sent pictures from Buddy\'s portfolio. An invitation for a screen test soon arrived, which happened that spring, leading to his acting career. Portions of Spanky\'s screen test are included in a 1932 Our Gang entry, aptly entitled Spanky.McFarland\'s nickname \"Spanky\" is erroneously said to have arisen from warnings by his mother not to misbehave during one of the initial discussions with Hal Roach in his office. As the story goes, he had a habit of reaching out and grabbing things, and on doing so his mother Virginia would say, \"Spanky, spanky, mustn\'t touch!\" While this story has considerable folksy appeal, Spanky himself refuted the tale, saying that the name was given by a Los Angeles newspaper reporter. Use of the \"Spanky\" name by McFarland for subsequent business or personal activities was expressly granted to McFarland in one of his studio contracts. In later years some in his family would affectionately refer to him as \"Spank.\"After his discovery at the age of three, he instantly became a key member of the Our Gang children\'s comedy movie series and one of Hollywood\'s stars. His earliest films show him as an outspoken toddler, grumpily going along with the rest of the gang. His scene-stealing abilities brought him more attention, and by 1935 he was the de facto leader of the gang, often paired with Carl \"Alfalfa\" Switzer, and always the enterprising \"idea man.\" Switzer\'s character became as much of a scene stealer as the young McFarland was, and the two boys\' fathers fought constantly over screen time and star billing for their children.Spanky McFarland\'s only starring feature-film vehicle was the 1936 Hal Roach film General Spanky, an unsuccessful attempt to move the Our Gang series into features. He also appeared as a juvenile performer in many non-Roach feature films, including the Wheeler & Woolsey comedy Kentucky Kernels and two Fritz Lang features of the 1940s.Following the 1938 Our Gang short Came the Brawn, McFarland \"retired\" from Our Gang, beginning a personal appearance tour. In mid-1938, Hal Roach sold the Our Gang unit to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, who began casting for a new \"team leader\" character in Spanky\'s vein and ended up rehiring McFarland himself. He remained in the MGM Our Gang productions until his final appearance in the series, Unexpected Riches, in 1942 at age thirteen.Later years
In 1952, at age 24, McFarland joined the U.S. Air Force. Upon his return to civilian life, indelibly typecast in the public\'s mind as \"Spanky\" from Our Gang, he found himself unable to find work in show business. He took less glamorous jobs, including work at a soft drink plant, a hamburger stand, and a popsicle factory. In the late 1950s, when the Our Gang comedies were sweeping the nation on TV, McFarland hosted an afternoon children\'s show, \"Spanky\'s Clubhouse,\" on KOTV television in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The show included a studio audience and appearances by other celebrities such as James Arness, and it ran Little Rascals shorts.After that stint, he continued at odd jobs - selling wine, operating a restaurant and night club, and selling appliances, electronics and furniture. He was selling for Philco-Ford Corporation, where he advanced to national sales director. After his self-described \"semi-retirement,\" Spanky loaned his name and celebrity to help raise money for charities, primarily by participating in golf tournaments. Spanky also had his own namesake charity golf classic for 16 years, held in Marion, Indiana.McFarland continued to make personal appearances and cameo roles in films and television, including an appearance on The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson. His final television performance was in 1993 in an introductory vignette at the beginning of the Cheers episode \"Woody Gets An Election\".Death
McFarland died suddenly of cardiac arrest on June 30, 1993 at age 64. His remains were cremated shortly thereafter.In January 1994, McFarland posthumously joined fellow alumnus Jackie Cooper to become one of only two Our Gang members to receive a star on Hollywood\'s Walk of Fame.
Rosina Lawrence (December 30, 1912 - June 23, 1997) was a Canadian-born American actress, singer, and dancer. She was a native of Ottawa, Ontario.Career
Lawrence had a short-lived but memorable career in the 1930s before she married in 1939 and retired from entertainment. She is best known for portraying Mary Roberts in Laurel and Hardy\'s 1937 film Way Out West.She is also recognizable as Miss Lawrence (or Miss Jones), the schoolteacher in the Our Gang comedies from 1936 to 1937 and as Alice Lowell in Charlie Chan\'s Secret in 1936.Lawrence and Juvenal P. Marchisio married in 1939, and she left acting to become a housewife. Marchisio died in 1973, and in 1987, Lawrence married John McCabe, biographer of her onetime co-stars Laurel and Hardy.Death
Rosina Lawrence died of cancer on June 23, 1997 at the age of 84.
Photograph features Carl Dean Switzer \"Alfalfa\", The Teacher & George McFarland \"Spanky\" from the 1937 movie, Hearts Are Thumps,TheLittle Rascals \"Our Gang\" & was Hand Oil Tinted by artist Margaret A. Rogers
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$14.50