Robert Young, with an H.

Here is a Bit Actor that had a good start, hit some tricky obstacles, went on to make some good movies, and died young. Robert Young, that is, Robert H. Young (1917 - 1951) was known in his later career as Clifton Young.

Clifton started out billed as Bobby Young in some Our Gang comedies as one of Hal Roach's Rascals. He was known as 'Bonedust' for some reason. His first short was called Better Movies (1925) and it starred Joe Cobb and the rest.

Bobby was able to work through the change from silents to talkies while at Hal Roach Studios. His first talkie was School's Out (1930). He also saw the switch of distribution of the Our Gang films from Pathe to MGM, which happened around the same time.

The 1926 silent short called Thundering Fleas was a Hal Roach comedy starring Our Gang, but it also included Oliver Hardy, Charley Chase and James Finlayson. This was one of many films Hardy made without Stan Laurel, although they were being billed as a team by that time. Roach kept Stan and Ollie on separate contracts for almost their entire stay at his company, so he could do what he wanted with them.

Toward the end of his Our Gang career, Bobby got to work with Jackie Cooper. I always wonder how associations like that affect the future of young actors. Bobby's final short with this group was (as far as I can tell) Little Daddy in 1931. He made at least 19 Our Gang films.

Now you have Robert Young who is 14 years old in 1931. He would find out that he couldn't continue his career with that name. Robert G. Young (1907 - 1998) has just made his debut in the Charlie Chan film, The Black Camel (1931). Since Bobby was never billed as Robert, he chose to use Clifton as his stage name. It was his mother's maiden name.

The name didn't really come in to play until later. Young made several films in the 1930's, but he was uncredited in them. He went off to war, as all 24 year olds did, and started acting again in 1945. His post-war debut was in a 13 episode serial called The Master Key (1945) starring Milburn Stone (1904 - 1908). Stone, of course, would become famous as Doc Adams on "Gunsmoke." Young was in episodes 7 and 8. The serial had a great tag line, "Government agents battle a gang of Nazis who are trying to use the Orotron machine, which can turn seawater into gold."

One thing about writing a blog like mine is that I bump into films I think I would love to see. I guess I will have to keep looking, but there are so many. Clifton had a small part in one of those missed films I am putting on my list. Deception (1946) is a Bette Davis, Paul Henreid, Claude Rains Film Noir with Young as a taxi driver. Could it get any better? It even has Benson Fong, another great Bit Actor.

In the 1940's there was a series of short, instructional comedy films with a character called Joe McDoakes. They starred George O'Hanlon and totaled 63 entries that extended to 1956. Clifton Young would show up in several of them from So You Want to Play the Horses (1946) to So You Want to be an Actor (1949). O'Hanlon would go on to fame as the voice of George Jetson in "The Jetsons."

Young is now employed as a contract player at Warner Brothers. Not bad. He is working with Ann Sheridan, Robert Mitchum, Joan Crawford, Van Heflin, and other big stars. I'll stick my neck out and say that his finest role (possibly after some work in Our Gang) was as Baker in Dark Passage (1947) starring Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogart.

Also in Dark Passage is Bruce Bennett, who I wrote about recently. Young and Bennett also worked together in Nora Prentiss (1947) and The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948). Some great films, even though the roles for Young were small. In Treasure, he played a bum in the flop house and had no lines.

Clifton also made a few westerns. His best was most likely, Blood on the Moon (1948) starring Robert Mitchum and Barbara Bel Geddes. Another film I should look for.

The rest of Clifton's films are watchable. No blockbusters, but good films I would turn on if they were on TV. Borderline (1950) with Fred MacMurray; Bells of Coronado and Trail of Robin Hood, both 1950 Roy Rogers films; to his last film, Love Nest (1951), with Marilyn Monroe. I just saw that one, and I never saw Clifton in it.

Sadly, Clifton Young died while smoking in bed at age 33. He had quite a career in his short life, and he brought his talent to some great films, including my favorite film, Dark Passage.

Marie Blake

Marie Blake (1895 - 1978) was a Bit Actress later known as Blossom Rock.  I didn't know her real name was Marie Blake until a short time ago.  And Blossom Rock is best known as Grandmama on "The Addams Family."

She was born Edith Marie Blossom MacDonald, right here in Philadelphia.  Her younger sister, Jeanette MacDonald (1903 - 1965) became a bit more famous, making eight films with Nelson Eddy (1901 - 1967).  Jeanette only made 29 films, but Blossom made 101 appearances in film and on TV.

She worked in vaudeville with her sister, and then married Clarence Rock in 1926.  They moved to New York and worked on Broadway until MGM spotted Marie, er, Blossom and signed her to a contract.  At MGM they changed her name to Marie Blake.

Her first feature film was Thoroughbreds Don't Cry (1937) which was also the first pairing of Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney.  She would make another film with Garland and Rooney together, and two more with Rooney.  Her next film, released the same year, was Mannequin starring Joan Crawford and Spencer Tracy.  Not a bad start.

In 1938 she starts work as a switchboard operator with Drs. Kildare and Gillespie.  She stays until the end of that popular series in 1947, making 12 films with either Lew Ayres or Lionel Barrymore (another Philadelphian), or both.  During this period she even finds herself working in a few of the later MGM Our Gang comedies.

In 1940 she has a small part as a waitress in They Drive by Night with Humphrey Bogart and George Raft.  That same year she plays Miss Lulubell in Li'l Abner, a movie that I happen to have on DVD.  I'm not sure why.

She takes uncredited roles well into her movie career, and we can find her in Christmas in Connecticut, a 1945 Barbara Stanwyck film that is well worth owning.  Next time I watch it, I will look for Mrs. Wright, played by Blossom or Edith or Marie...but she isn't credited anyway.

Blossom started working in television in "The Life of Riley" in 1949, with Jackie Gleason in the title role.  William Bendix took over that role in 1953.  My guess is that Blossom was only in a very few episodes, but back then not everyone who acted was recorded by episode.  Did they think that television was a throw away commodity?

Television must have paid the bills because we see her name attached to quite a list of shows.  But nothing regular came along until "The Addams Family" in 1964.  It was a shame that she never appeared in a Jeanette MacDonald film, even though they both worked at MGM.  Now that I think back to Grandmama's speaking voice, she might not have fit in with Jeanette and Nelson!

Her final work is her most famous, at least with today's audiences.  "The Addams Family" has always been one of my favorite shows.  It is right up there with "The Dick Van Dyke Show" for humour mixed with touching and sensible family values.  I can forgive her for making films like Snow White and the Three Stooges (1961), and will remember her for her antics with Morticia, Gomez and Fester.

Pups is Pups

What a fun evening we had last night.  During the Hal Roach marathon on Turner Classic Movies, I had stuck Pups is Pups (1930) on my DVR.  I thought that an Our Gang short about puppies would appeal to my wife who is a dog lover, and perhaps to our dog, Sadie, who sometimes glances at the TV.  I was right!!!  A friend was over, who is also a dog lover, and the three of us (four, including Sadie) laughed so much that we had to roll the movie back several times to catch some dialog.  Well, Sadie didn't laugh much.

This two-reeler was released in 1930 and was the first of that season.  It starred Bobby 'Wheezer' Huchins (1925 - 1945), Allen 'Farina' Hoskins (1920 - 1980), Jackie Cooper (b. 1922), Norman 'Chubby' Chaney (1914 - 1936), Dorothy ' Little Echo' DeBorba (1925 - 2010), and others.  As soon as I saw the first scene, I remembered the movie, even though it has been years since I had seen it last.

As the story starts, the gang is playing in their makeshift playground, which was probably a work area on the Roach Studio lot.  Five year old Dorothy comes out in a clean dress with her hair in lovely curls and heads straight for the mud puddle to jump in.  This was a running joke in a 20 minute film that was much more complex than you would think possible in such a short amount of time.  When I met Dorothy many years later at a Sons of the Desert banquet, she recanted her recollection of that movie for us!  Sadly we lost Dorothy in June last year at 85 years old.

There are two stories at work in Pups is Pups.  Wheezer has five puppies that he trained to come at the sound of a bell.  The rest of the gang are readying their pets to take them to a fancy dog and pet show in the city, where Farina has secured a job as a page (including a uniform with brass buttons).

We follow Wheezer who has let his puppies get away.  They are attracted to every bell they hear...an ambulance, an ice cream cart, a train crossing, whatever...and Wheezer can't keep up.  Meanwhile, the gang arrives at the pet show where they are not allowed in.  They sneak in anyway and wreak havoc, as you can imagine.

Wheezer is eventually reunited with his puppies in a scene that actually brought tears to my eyes!  He looks like he was genuinely attached to those little guys.  Of course he was only about five years old so that is not beyond a reasonable assumption.  And the gang is back at their play area, as Dorothy takes a final plunge in the puddle.

I decided to look up Pups is Pups in one of my books.  I bought Our Gang, The Life and Times of the Little Rascals many years ago.  It was written by Leonard Maltin and Richard Bann in 1977.  Even my books are getting old!

I had the pleasure of meeting Dick Bann in the 1980s, and he autographed my book.  It is interesting to note that this book, a paperback edition, has the price of $5.95 on the back.  You can't buy a paperback of this quality and content for anywhere near that as of this writing!  The 1984 printing of the book (with the red cover) is still available, and the newest version from 1992 is called The Little Rascals, The Life and Times of Our Gang.  If you love Hal Roach's Rascals as I do, it should be in your collection.  The film descriptions and biographies, as well as the well researched insight by the authors, make this a 'must have' book.

In the book, it is mentioned that Pups is Pups was the first Our Gang comedy to have a full musical score.  The music of Leroy Shield and Marvin Hatley has become synonymous with many Hal Roach comedies, including Laurel and Hardy and Charley Chase films, and is instantly recognizable.

There is even mention in the book of something that struck me as quite progressive for the early depression years.  In the Our Gang comedies, we see children of several races, all playing together with total disregard for the color of their skin.  Maltin and Bann go into some detail in the book about this, including comments from Farina Hoskins to back them up.

Pups is Pups appears to be available on some Our Gang DVD collections, and it is usually better to have a collection than just one film from a series.  A word of warning, shy away from any colorized versions.  Adding color does absolutely nothing for these movies.  It should be against the law, actually.

Sunday, February 20, 2011 update:  I received the comment below from Richard Bann on Facebook yesterday.  Thanks again, Dick, for your knowledge and willingness to share.

If you are a member of Facebook, check out Dick's 'Notes' page for a very interesting piece on The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948), as mentioned below.  (And buy his books!!!)

Richard W. Bann -

"Very nice, Allen, thanks.  Vivendi is now re-releasing the Our Gang DVDs, a few at a time, until they are all for sale as individual DVDs.  Not a boxed set this time.  They are re-mastering the titles where they mistakenly worked from 16mm Blackhawk release prints....Whenever I drive to Paramount, I go right by the church where they filmed the closing scenes for PUPS IS PUPS...If you read the program notes for TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE which I posted on FB yesterday (written for that other Hefner) there is a pretty good story about Bad-Brained Bobby Blake, still making all the wrong kind of news."

When is a Bit Player Not a Bit Player?

When he or she is a child star, of course.  I finally got through Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince last night on-demand.  From 2009, it is the sixth entry in the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rawling, with two more movies coming this year and next.  I think I'll wait and buy the box set of all eight movies in HD.

The title character and several other children have been thrust into stardom because of the popularity of this series.  I am not denying them their fame, and I know that I am not expressing concerns about them that have not surfaced before.  The fact is, Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint, plus a group of supporting players including Bonnie Wright and Tom Felton, can't go out anywhere without being swamped by fans.

Radcliffe was paid 250,000 British pounds for Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in 2001, when he was 12 years old.  Just six years later he received $14,000,000 for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and that year he was voted sixth on the Forbes 20 Top-Earning Young Superstars.  I didn't want to look at his salary for the last two movies, yet to come.  (I did.  He and the two other main characters, all under 22 years old, received $50,000,000 EACH for the last two movies.)

Other than just a few small roles in theater, TV and minor movies, none of these young ladies and gentlemen were ever really bit players.  The started acting, enough to know when to audition for a movie, and then...POOF...a title role, or at least, a role that would cause them to become famous. 

I believe this will present problems for them in the future.  They do not possess the depth of experience that comes from playing a variety of parts.  Of all the Our Gang kids, approximately 44, only Jackie Cooper made the grade.  Child actor Jackie Coogan was a star, but his later roles went downhill. 

So, what can they do with their lives now?  My suggestion, since they are all roughly 20 years old, is to get as complete an education as they can, majoring in acting and literature, of course.  Then start taking parts based on what they think will add to their experience, not their bank account.  If they prove their worth, they may make it.

They should also read the biographies of Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan, Brad Renfro, Dana Plato, and others.  Work is what is needed for a satisfying life, not living to excess.  If Radcliffe has been smart with his money, he really does not need to work again...ever!

Even though the stars of Harry Potter are rich and famous, they really should be Bit Players.  (IMHO)

Pete or Pal?

After writing about Our Gang yesterday, and also including a dog tale in the post, I did some research on the dog named Pete in the Our Gang comedies.  Pete is one of the most recognizable animals to ever appear in film, mostly because of the ring around his eye.  That aspect of him opens up some urban legends.

According to IMDb, before making the Our Gang comedies, the same dog, named Pete the Dog, was used in the silent film series Buster Brown, and he played Tige from 1925 to 1929.  IMDb lists his birth name as Pal and death date as 1930.  Here is where IMDb shows itself as a less than accurate source for really obscure information.  There is another entry for Pal the Dog, that does not list Buster Brown or Our Gang and did not work at Hal Roach Studios.  Perhaps there were two Pals, I do not know, but follow me on this.

Pal the Dog has a listing of 15 films from 1920 to 1927.  His death date is shown as November 18, 1929.  Pete the Dog (our hero) made 61 films from 1925 to 1931.  His last film, The Slippery Pearls, was a promotional film to raise funds for a tuberculosis sanatorium, and must have been released after his death, probably using existing footage.

Pete the Dog appeared in his first three films in 1925 at Hal Roach Studios.  Two were with Babe Hardy (Somewhere in Wrong and Yes, Yes, Nanette, before Ollie began using Oliver as his screen name), and one (Dr. Pyckle and Mr. Pryde) with Stan Laurel.  Then he moved into the Buster Brown series, and eventually worked with Our Gang from 1929 to 1930 where he made seven shorts.

Confusion alert!  There is also an entry for Pete the Pup on IMDb.  Pete the Pup made only three Our Gang shorts; The Kid from Borneo (1933), Teacher's Beau (1935), and Roamin' Holiday (1937).  All three dogs (Pal the Dog, Pete the Dog and Pete the Pup) were American Staffordshire terriers, or pit bulls.

I looked at the Allmovie web site and they list Pete the Pup appearing in 76 films, 75 of them are Our Gang films, from 1925 to 1928.  Perhaps they are listing the character name rather than the actor.  They do not list him as appearing in the Buster Brown series, so I searched for Pal the Dog.  That listing shows Pal the Dog as appearing in only 13 films from 1921 to 1943!  This cannot be accurate, because his last film listed was Lassie Come Home.  Pal was the name of the collie who played the first Lassie in movies, but that Pal was born on June 4, 1940.

Wikipedia has some, possibly accurate, information that at least makes sense.  Pal played Tige in Buster Brown and was the first Pete in the Our Gang films.  He was owned and trained by Lt. Harry Lucenay.  Pal sired a puppy who was born on September 6, 1929, and was named Lucenay's Peter.  This dog went on to play some of Our Gang as Pete (I think), so he may be Pete the Pup on IMDb, even though Pete the Pup is not his real name.

The difficulty with Wikipedia is that it contradicts the IMDb listings for Pete the Pup when it says that Harry Lucenay left Hal Roach in 1932 and moved to Atlantic City, NJ.  So which dog made those three movies from 1933 to 1937 that included Pete the Pup?  Wikipedia lists Pal as dying in 1930, and Lucenay's Peter in 1946.

For more confusion, just Google "Pete the Pup."  Pitbullsontheweb.com has a complete biography of Pete the Pup with many more contradictions.  Various stories on the web have Pete being either poisoned or shot to death.  One site even posts a newspaper clipping, but it does not cite which paper or give a date.

Other dogs obviously played Pete in several Our Gang films, and I doubt anyone will ever get the entire list together.  Even the ring around his eye would change sides from film to film.  Apparently Pal the Dog had most of a ring and the rest was filled in with dye, so that started the identifying mark.  When Pal retired, Lucenay's Peter had the ring added to his face.  There is one account that said Max Factor was the makeup man who did the ring.  Who knows!  But, whatever you call him, Pete was a great Bit Actor.

Hal Roach's Rascals...Well, one of them!

My wife and I live in a condo and in our development we are allowed to have pets.  (No farm animals!)  One of our neighbors has a small dog named Wheezer, so that got me thinking about Our Gang and Hal Roach.  My mind travels in funny circles, often revolving around my youth and the movies I've seen.

Back in the early 1920's, Hal Roach was auditioning children for a film.  They were all over prepared and over dressed by their mothers, and he was suffering through it.  He noticed some children playing in a lumber yard with pieces of wood, and that was the inspiration for the Our Gang series of shorts. 

Hal wanted to make short films with children being themselves, and it worked.  From 1922 to 1944, 220 short comedies and one feature were made, using about 44 children and a variety of animals over the years.  I was very privileged to know Dorothy DeBorba for a few years while I was a member of the Sons of the Desert.  Dorothy played Little Echo from 1930 to 1933, starting when she was only five years old.

Back to Wheezer.  Bobby "Wheezer" Hutchens was born on March 29, 1925 and started his acting career in 1927, only 2 years old.  That silent film was called Baby Brother and the cast included Oliver Hardy and another acquaintance of mine, Anita Garvin.  I don't remember seeing this one, but I intend to look for it.  It is included in the collection at left.

Wheezer continued making movies into the talkie era, until 1933, appearing 65 times.  Only a small handful of his films were without the rest of the Our Gang kids.  The truly sad thing about these talented children was that none of them made anything from these films except their salary at the time, which ranged from $40 to $200 a week.  It took later efforts, in part by Penny Singleton (Blondie), to force the studios to compensate talent for profits made after the release of their films and on promotional products.

The Our Gang series was syndicated for television under the name "The Little Rascals," and I remember watching them all as a child.  TV didn't show many of the silent films, though, so those are worth looking for.

In 1938, Hal Roach sold the Our Gang series, including the contracts of the cast, to MGM for $25,000.  MGM continued making some films until 1944, but the spontaneity was lost and popularity declined.  Mostly because MGM wanted the films to be scripted and the children just weren't up to the task of delivering lines written by others.

Bobby Hutchins' acting career didn't continue after he started getting older, and it ended when he was just 8 years old.  In fact, none of the Our Gang members had much of a continuing career in film. The only real exception was Jackie Cooper who went on to stardom. 

On May 17, 1945, when Hutchins was just twenty years old, he was finishing his basic training with the Army Air Corps and was killed in a plane crash. 

I must ask if that dog in our development was named after Bobby "Wheezer" Hutchins.