
Acting
Billie Thomas
Born — Died
1931-03-12 — 1980-10-10
Place of birth
Los Angeles, California, USA
Known for
Acting
Credits
60 titles
William "Billie" Thomas Jr. was an American child actor best remembered for portraying the character of Buckwheat in the Our Gang short films from 1934 until the series' end in 1944. He was a native of Los Angeles. Wikipedia
Known for
6.8A new truant officer moves into the neighborhood, and everybody wants to get friendly with his daughter.
Sprucin' Up
1935
6.9Spanky's mother pushes him to join a local theater amateur night.
Beginner's Luck
1935
6.7The "Our Gang" kids encourage a shy man to take a widow and her son to a picnic.
Dad for a Day
1939
7.0An interesting entry in Republic Pictures' long-running "Red Ryder" B-Western series, this film is not about hardy settlers braving the Colorado winters, as the title would suggest. Instead it's a sort of Reform School Western about a couple of wayward Chicago boys (Billy Cummings and Freddie Chapman) taken in by Ryder's indomitable aunt, "The Duchess" (Alice Fleming.) The boys escaped their very own "Fagin," Bull Reagan (Roy Barcroft), and were given a second chance on the lady's Western ranch. Unfortunately, Reagan returns to do a bit of cattle rustling, once again luring the boys into becoming his accomplices.
Colorado Pioneers
1945
To impress Darla, Alfalfa drinks a concoction of Butch's "dynamite" brew.
Bubbling Troubles
1940
7.3The gang prevails upon old-time minstrel impresario Walter Wills to help them stage a fund-raising musical show.
Melodies Old and New
1942
Film credits
1940s · 27 titles
7.0An interesting entry in Republic Pictures' long-running "Red Ryder" B-Western series, this film is not about hardy settlers braving the Colorado winters, as the title would suggest. Instead it's a sort of Reform School Western about a couple of wayward Chicago boys (Billy Cummings and Freddie Chapman) taken in by Ryder's indomitable aunt, "The Duchess" (Alice Fleming.) The boys escaped their very own "Fagin," Bull Reagan (Roy Barcroft), and were given a second chance on the lady's Western ranch. Unfortunately, Reagan returns to do a bit of cattle rustling, once again luring the boys into becoming his accomplices.
Colorado Pioneers
1945
To impress Darla, Alfalfa drinks a concoction of Butch's "dynamite" brew.
Bubbling Troubles
1940
7.3The gang prevails upon old-time minstrel impresario Walter Wills to help them stage a fund-raising musical show.
Melodies Old and New
1942
7.7On Mickey's birthday, Miss Pipps, the school teacher, serves cake and ice cream during school hours. Sour old Mr. Pratt, head of the school board, stumbles on the festivities and has Miss Pipps fired. The Our Gang conspire to save her job by inviting all the parents to a special meeting. There the gang stage a melodrama, with Mr. Pratt portrayed as Simon Legree. The parents react by demoting Mr. Pratt to janitor. They appoint kindly Mr. Swanson, the current janitor, to head the school board. And of course they reinstate Miss Pipps as school teacher. Sometime later, in an act of forgiveness, Miss Pipps and the gang hold a birthday party for Pratt who is then humbled by the experience.
Come Back, Miss Pipps
1941
6.6While the Our Gang kids are enjoying the local swimming hole, a rival group ties all their clothes in knots. Our Gang challenges the meanies, and the two sides have a military-style battle using fruits and vegetables for ammunition.
Fightin' Fools
1941
While playing baseball near the home of wealthy hypochondriac, Mr. Morton, the gang inadvertently breaks one of his windows. This mishap coincides with a plan hatched by Morton's wife to get her husband's mind off his imaginary illnesses by adopting some children.
Kiddie Kure
1940
6.5After Buckwheat tells the gang he's seen a big monkey, Spanky, Froggy and Mickey decide to teach him once and for all not to lie. What the gang doesn't know is that the monkey is real, and hilarity will ensue.
Don't Lie
1942
6.0Mickey's parents are constantly quarreling because his mother serves hash every Monday night. The kids decide to put on a radio skit to try to get them to stop fighting.
All About Hash
1940
6.3The Our Gang kids worry that Darla's new stepmother will be an evil stepmother like of fairy tale fame.
Wedding Worries
1941
5.8Spanky and the gang discover a demonstration of a "human-like" robot named Volto and are inspired to create a robot themselves to do their chores for them. Slicker Walburn convinces them they will need "invisible rays" to bring it to life which he just happens to have to sell to them. As they rush off to get their money, Slicker gets Boxcar Smith to wear the robot's outer body so when he "brings" the robot to life, it will be Boxcar bringing it to life. The gang unsuspectedly gets their robot to mow the lawn at Froggy's house, but with a signal from Slicker, Boxcar runs amok and mows down everything in his path. Froggy gets to explain what happened to his parents who bust up the fraud and get the miscreants to work with the gang to clean up the mess.
Robot Wrecks
1941
6.5When Bigshot Jones gives his unnamed dog to the All-For-One Club, Buckwheat quickly names the canine "Smallpox", inadvertently causing a city-wide panic.
Tale of a Dog
1944
Spanky and Alfalfa both try to impress the new girl at school, much to Darla's dismay.
The New Pupil
1940
6.6Mickey and Froggy are candidates running to be president of the Gang's club. When the vote continues to end in a tie, the club winds up split. Buckwheat then reminds everyone of the lessons learned from Abraham Lincoln when America was once divided.
Election Daze
1943
6.6While playing baseball, Mickey runs into the street to catch a fly ball and is struck by a car. When the gang visit him in the hospital they are appalled to find the ward populated by many other children injured in automobile accidents. The Our Gang kids resolve to do something about the problem, and thus the "1-2-3-Go Safety Society" is born.
1-2-3-Go!
1941
7.0Alfalfa and the gang decide to turn to a life of crime, but Spanky tries to trick them with a fake burglary.
Good Bad Boys
1940
7.0The kids are frustrated about the hardships they must face because of the war. So, the Our Gang kids put on a show to help them learn from Benjamin Franklin about being responsible citizens.
Benjamin Franklin, Jr.
1943
7.0The gang offers to help their pal Waldo attract customers to his lemonade stand. Redecorating their clubhouse as a lavish nightclub, the kids stage an elaborate floor show, with Darla Hood as the star vocalist.
Waldo's Last Stand
1940
The Gang tries to solve a murder mystery contest in a department store window. However they soon get caught up in a real caper when they stumble upon two crooks robbing the store. Mickey, Froggy and Buckwheat are all kidnapped so it's up to Janet to convince the cops of what's going on.
Little Miss Pinkerton
1943
6.8Our Gang member Janet Burston believes that her family is neglecting her, so she decides to run away from home. The other gang members try to help Janet get adopted (or "adapted") by a more agreeable family, choosing a kindly elderly couple (Sarah Padden and Harry C. Bradley) for the honor.
Family Troubles
1943
7.3The gang puts on a show to raise money for the Red Cross.
Ye Olde Minstrels
1941
6.2When Froggy discovers the fabulous salaries paid to radio stars, he gets the idea that the gang should be in on the action. But success in radio requires a sponsor. They audition comedy skits at the dentist's office, and Shakespeare at the mortuary. Their efforts to snag a sponsor are without success until . . .
Radio Bugs
1944
6.5The Our Gang gets splashed by mud from a passing car and so using some cleaning fluid to get rid of the mud; they unknowingly created a bad odour among themselves.
Mighty Lak a Goat
1942
6.2Since Froggy was born on Leap Year Day, he's upset that he only gets a birthday party once every four years. So, the gang decide to have a surprise party for him.
Surprised Parties
1942
6.7It is a premiere night at the Fox Carthay Circle theater, and the Our Gang show up to observe the festivities. But after the Gang causes a disruption, the police send them scurrying home. Not to worry--the Our Gang stage their own premiere night in the clubhouse barn.
The Big Premiere
1940
Inspired by his soldier brother, Spanky decides to organize a military unit among his friends, collecting odds and ends for the war effort.
Helping Hands
1941
Weighing themselves on a penny machine, the Our Gang kids receive a fortune card predicting that they will receive "unexpected riches." Acting upon this, the kids decide to dig for buried treasure, using a fraudulent map provided by one of their wise-guy acquaintances.
Unexpected Riches
1942
6.7A newlywed tries to deal with her troubled stepchild.
Mokey
1942
1930s · 29 titles
6.8A new truant officer moves into the neighborhood, and everybody wants to get friendly with his daughter.
Sprucin' Up
1935
6.9Spanky's mother pushes him to join a local theater amateur night.
Beginner's Luck
1935
6.7The "Our Gang" kids encourage a shy man to take a widow and her son to a picnic.
Dad for a Day
1939
6.9The gang puts on a show, everything goes well, except they're missing an act.
Our Gang Follies of 1936
1935
7.2The gang goes after pirate treasure they believe is hidden in a cave.
Mama's Little Pirate
1934
7.7The kids try to raise money to buy a doll for Marianne.
For Pete's Sake!
1934
7.0The gang packs up for a camping trip to Cherry Creek two miles from their home, but to them it is the wilderness. After night falls, the hooting owls and croaking frogs conjure up visions of spooks. When a thunderstorm hits, they all scurry for home.
The First Round-Up
1934
6.4Alfalfa gives up being "King of the Crooners" to sing opera, but a nightmare of being under the thumb of an evil producer sends him back to his roots.
Our Gang Follies of 1938
1937
7.0An abandoned old show boat is moored in a lazy creek. The Our Gang put the old vessel back to use when they stage a show featuring "Darla's Dancin' Dandies" and a "meller dramer" entitled "Out in the Snow You Go." All is not smooth sailing however, as Butch seeks revenge for having been excluded from the cast.
Captain Spanky's Show Boat
1939
6.8Alfalfa "trades in" his whining baby brother for another baby--who turns out to be a midget criminal.
Tiny Troubles
1939
6.8A magic lamp lets a young couple become kids again and exposes a mean old man who runs his orphanage like a prison.
Shrimps for a Day
1934
8.0The "Our Gang" kids stage a production of "Romeo and Juliet," but the show is threatened when leading lady Darla walks out on star Alfalfa.
Pay As You Exit
1936
6.8The gang's treasury is entrusted to Spanky, who accidentally gets it mixed up with his father's money.
Anniversary Trouble
1935
6.5Alfalfa's weird aunt Penelope pays a visit. She's working on a murder mystery novel, but Alfalfa thinks she's trying to murder him. It's up to the Spanky and the gang to save him.
Alfalfa's Aunt
1939
6.7While trying to track down Butch, Spanky and Alfalfa get caught up in a dance recital.
Rushin' Ballet
1937
6.8Spanky and Alfalfa fake a toothache to get out of school. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in partnership with UCLA Film & Television Archive in 2013.
Bored of Education
1936
6.8Rich boy Waldo gets his clothes dirty playing football with the gang just before he has to go to his mother's society party. The gang tries to help him clean up.
Washee Ironee
1934
7.0Because of a storm, the Gang has to stay overnight at Darla's house, and they drive her father crazy.
Night 'n' Gales
1937
While under a hypnotic spell, Alfalfa thinks he's one of the Three Musketeers and challenges Butch to a duel.
Duel Personalities
1939
6.8The Boys Scouts give a demonstration of their camping skills, but Our Gang are excluded from participating because they are not yet old enough. Undeterred, the kids head off on their own unsupervised camping adventure, with comically disastrous results.
Joy Scouts
1939
7.7Alfalfa tries to back out of a fight by pretending to be incapacitated.
Fishy Tales
1937
6.8Alfalfa, Butch and Waldo compete for Mayor For A Day. Whoever becomes Mayor gets to take Darla to the Strawberry Festival.
Party Fever
1938
6.9Detective Alfalfa and his assistants Buckwheat and Porky try to solve a missing-candy case but find themselves in an amusement park haunted house.
Hide and Shriek
1938
5.8Orphaned shoeshine boy Spanky is working on a Mississippi riverboat during the Civil War. There he befriends young runaway slave Buckwheat. After wronging a vicious gambler, Spanky and Buckwheat are forced to jump ship. Finding solace at a nearby house, the two are picked by Marshall Valiant for an important mission. This inspires Spanky to organize the local kids to form a small army of their own.
General Spanky
1936
Alfalfa imagines himself as a western movie hero battling with Butch for Darla's heart.
The Little Ranger
1938
6.2Truant officers mistake 2 midgets for members of the gang.
Arbor Day
1936
Alfalfa imagines himself being the star football player on a college team. After a big pep rally he ends up letting the team down when his poor grades cause him to be suspended from play.
Time Out for Lessons
1939
7.0The gang tries to dissuade their teacher from getting married.
Teacher's Beau
1935
Butch has been playing practical jokes on the gang, but now they get their turn.
Practical Jokers
1938




