He had two failed marriages, a history of violence, and numerous run-ins with the law. A classic case of troubled former child star, Beckett slid into alcohol and drug abuse when his acting career petered out. *"Scotty" Beckett: Scotty was the kid who wore a cap turned to the side of his head. In 1935 he had surgery to treat his condition that dropped his weight down to 130 pounds, but he never regained his health. *Norman "Chubby" Chaney: Chaney's weight was due to a glandular problem by the time he was 17 he weighed more than 300 pounds. *"Darla" Hood Granson: Contracted hepatitis while in the hospital for minor surgery and died in 1979 at the age of 47. Cause of death: pneumonia, following a stroke. He beat the habit in the 1970s, but passed away in 1981, at age 56. *Matthew "Stymie" Beard: A high school dropout, Beard fought a heroin addiction for more than 20 years and was frequently in and out of prison. He died a few days shy of his 20th birthday. *Robert "Wheezer" Hitchins: A cadet in the Army Air Corps, Hitchins was killed in 1945 while trying to land his plane during a training exercise. In October 1980, a neighbor who hadn't seen Thomas in several days entered his home and found him dead in bed. He was 42.) *William "Buckwheat" Thomas: When his career in front of the camera ended, Thomas became a film technician with the Technicolor Corporation.
(Carl's older brother, Harold, also appeared in the Our Gang series in April 1967 he murdered his girlfriend and then killed himself. He was shot to death in 1959 following an argument over $50. He landed bit parts in films like It's a Wonderful Life and The Defiant Ones, supporting himself at such odd jobs as bartender, dog trainer, and hunting guide between acting gigs.
LOSS OF INNOCENCE *Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer: Like many of the Little Rascals, Switzer had trouble finding movie roles as he grew older. You can't help but wonder: Are the Little Rascals cursed? Even so, the number of kids who suffered misfortune over the years is startling. When you consider how many kids cycled through the Our Gang series, it stands to reason that quite a few of them would have problems later in life. Result: when their fame ended, they didn't have any money to fall back on like child stars do today.
Children who worked in the series typically started out earning less than $100 a week, and they never earned residuals-when the Our Gang films made their way to television in the early 1950s, the kids didn't get a penny. It's not unusual for child stars to have a difficult time as they move into adulthood, and if anything life in the 1920s, '30s, and '40s was even tougher. Only a few of these became major stars in the series. BACKGROUND According to Our Gang producer Hal Roach, 176 kids played in the 221 Our Gang films made between 19. When Robert Blake was arrested in 2002 and charged with the murder of his wife, a lot of people began to look back and wonder if the kids who starred in the Our Gang films were under some kind of cloud. The following is an article from the book Uncle John's Fast-Acting Long-Lasting Bathroom Reader.