"Don't touch me, I'm sterile." - Ed Norton, "The Honeymooners"
Standing: Buckwheat Thomas, Edith Fellows, Pineapple Jackson, Marvin “Bubbles” Trin, Sidney “Woim” Kibrick, Joe Cobb, fan Bob Satterfield, “Sunshine Sammy” Morrison, Leonard Landy, Spanky McFarland, “Butch” Bond, Delmar Watson, “Butch” Bond Jr. – Front row: fan Armand Lewis, Dorothy “Echo” Deborba, Verna Kornman, Peggy Ahern, Mildred Kornman, fan Dick Bann, fan Earl Kress
I know for a fact that I had no idea who Leonard Landy was when I captured his autograph in my little blue book on July 31, 1980 at the Our Gang reunion meet-and-greet during the Sons of the Desert Hollywood ’80 convention. Looking at his signature in my book for a year or so after the fact caused me to scratch my head and wonder who exactly this was. In fact, Maltin and Bann’s Our Gang: The Life and Times of the Little Rascals was unable to identify his character in the cast listing of the films – so his name meant little to me. It was only in the appendix to the book did he receive a byline indicating that a man has identified the character of ‘Leonard’ as his cousin Leonard Landy. Read the rest of this entry »
Jackie Davis was another one of the original members of the silent Our Gang. Appearing in nineteen of the movies as the first tough kid of the Rascals, Jack’s older sister Mildred eventually would marry silent screen legend Harold Lloyd. Lloyd thought that it would better for Jack to get a good education and sent him off to military school. The education paid off and Jack Davis, known as John H. Davis, M.D. at the time that he made an appearance at the Our Gang reunion in 1980, became quite a success. Read the rest of this entry »
Even if I had never seen a silent Our Gang film at that point, I could never forget the infectious smile and genuine friendliness that radiated from Ernest “Sunshine Sammy” Morrison when I first encountered him at the Our Gang reunion autograph session at Hollywood ’80. One of the kindest and most sincere men who I have ever met, Sunshine Sammy holds the distinction of being the first black actor ever signed to a long-term movie contract. His producer Hal Roach signed him to his own comedy series in 1919, which led to his eventual starring in the Our Gang series. Read the rest of this entry »
Okay, I was young and uneducated at the time. I hadn’t seen many of the silent Our Gang films at that point. They just really weren’t very available for viewing in 1980. So at the time I scarcely knew who Mary Kornman was, much less her little sister Mildred. And the clincher was that the Kornman Mom – Verna Kornman – was also on hand for the Our Gang reunion. Mary, who had passed away from cancer in 1973, was THE leading lady of the silent Our Gang – as much as Darla was the leading lady of the sound Little Rascal films. Read the rest of this entry »