Although Sidney Kibrick would go on to make a few further appearances at other Way Out West Tent functions, Hollywood ’80 was his one-and-only convention appearance. And thereby, it was the only opportunity I have had to date to meet him. Mr. Kibrick played the freckle-faced, red-headed sidekick to Tommy “Butch” Bond in the Our Gang series. Kibrick’s character name in the films was “The Woim.” He didn’t have a slew of lines in the films, but his menacing presence left an impression on me in his 26 film appearances. I remember specifically being very excited to meet “Woim”, whose name (I had no idea at the time) was derived from a Brooklyn-esque pronunciation of “Worm.”
Sidney Kibrick became a very successful real estate investor and multi-millionaire later in life, even partaking in some projects with President Gerald Ford. He was and is a very nice guy. On January 25, 1986, he even sponsored an Our Gang reunion at one of his properties in Cathedral City – the Desert Shadows RV Park. My friend Bob still stays in touch with Woim, and has gotten me a few autographed photos from him over the years. All I got signed during our meeting in 1980 was my little, blue autograph book. My Dad snapped the photo below.
Only a prudent businessman like Woim would think to conserve space by sharing his autograph with another Little Rascal
Several years ago, Bob arranged for me to get an interview with Sidney Kibrick, which I stupidly never followed up on. Yes, I’ve done some really cool things…but I’ve missed out on some equally cool opportunities. Hopefully, I can rectify this one sometime in the near future.
A signed photo Bob got for me circa 1987
Continue with the celebrities and autographs of Hollywood ’80…
That was a cool reunion too. We even got Bobby Blake to attend, only because he wanted to see Spanky again. But he came!
Bob
October 17th, 2007