This is similar to the initial handling of another African American Our Gang member, Allen “Farina” Hoskins, who worked in the series during the silent and early sound eras.ĭespite the change in the Buckwheat character’s gender, Billie Thomas’s androgynous costuming was not changed until his appearance as a runaway slave in the 1936 Our Gang Feature film General Spanky. After Stymie’s departure from the series later in 1935, the Buckwheat character slowly morphed into a boy, first referred to definitively as a “he” in 1936’s The Pinch Singer. Despite Thomas being a male, the Buckwheat character remained a female-dressed as a Topsy-esque image of the African-American “pickaninny” stereotype with bowed pigtails, a large hand-me-down sweater and oversized boots. Thomas began appearing as “Buckwheat” with 1935’s Mama’s Little Pirate.

The “Buckwheat” character was a female at this time, portrayed by Our Gang kid Matthew “Stymie” Beard’s younger sister Carlena in For Pete’s Sake!, and by Willie Mae Walton in three other shorts. Although the character he played was often the subject of controversy in later years for containing elements of the “pickaninny” stereotype, Thomas always defended his work in the series, pointing out that Buckwheat and the rest of the black Our Gang kids were treated as equals to the white kids in the series.īillie Thomas first appeared in the 1934 Our Gang shorts, For Pete’s Sake!, The First Round-Up, and Washee Ironee as a background player. He was a native of Los Angeles, California. (Ma– October 10, 1980) was an American child actor best remembered for portraying the character of Buckwheat in the Our Gang (Little Rascals) short films from 1934 until the series’ end in 1944.

Names of the original little rascals