Are you sure that you want to report this flower to administrators as offensive or abusive? Translation on Find a Grave is an ongoing project. Among those honored were fellow Our Gangers Spanky MacFarland, Dorothy DeBorba, Tommy Bond, and Joe Cobb. Try again later. This new costuming—overalls, striped shirt, oversized shoes, and a large unkempt Afro—was retained for the series until the end. Thomas remained in Our Gang when the series changed production from Hal Roach Studios to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1938. He died on October 10, 1980 in Los Angeles. You may not upload any more photos to this memorial, This photo was not uploaded because this memorial already has 20 photos, This photo was not uploaded because you have already uploaded 5 photos to this memorial, This photo was not uploaded because this memorial already has 30 photos, This photo was not uploaded because you have already uploaded 20 photos to this memorial. We have a volunteer within fifty miles of your requested photo location. Oops, some error occurred while uploading your photo(s). For memorials with more than one photo, additional photos will appear here or on the photos tab. Two months later he died of a heart attack. To view a photo in more detail or edit captions for photos you added, click the photo to open the photo viewer. Thomas was born in Los Angeles. To suggest a correction or addition, visit the memorial page and click Suggest Edits. Photos larger than 8Mb will be reduced. 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. We do not have any photo volunteers within fifty miles of your requested photo location. You need a Find a Grave account to add things to this site. We have a volunteer within ten miles of your requested photo location.

When he was given a standing ovation at an "Our Gang" reunion in August of 1980, Thomas was moved to tears. Select a place on the map to place the pin. We would like to express to you our deepest thanks for your contribution. We were unable to submit your feedback at this time.

Try again later. Thomas had a speech impediment as a young child, as did Lee, who became Thomas's friend both on the set and off. Share this memorial using social media sites or email. [6], In 1992, Thomas's son, Bill Thomas Jr. created the Buckwheat Memorial Scholarship for students at California State University Northridge in his honor. Make sure that the file is a photo. Are you sure that you want to delete this photo? For Edits select Suggest Edits on the memorial page. Please note: You are asking volunteers to find and take a photo of the headstone. His Buckwheat character was affectionately spoofed by Eddie Murphy during the comedian's stint on TV's "Saturday Night Live" in the early 1980s. [1] Thomas is buried at Inglewood Park Cemetery in Inglewood, California. Becoming a Find a Grave member is fast, easy and FREE. The character of Buckwheat in later years became synonymous with the derogatory "pickaninny" stereotype.
His Buckwheat character was affectionately spoofed by Eddie Murphy during the comedian's stint on TV's "Saturday Night Live" in the early 1980s. English's appearance prompted public objections from McFarland, who contacted media outlets following the broadcast to inform them that the true Buckwheat had been dead for ten years.

We have 2 volunteers within fifty miles of your requested photo location. Year should not be greater than current year. Oops, something didn't work. Also an additional 2 volunteers within fifty miles. If you notice a problem with the translation, please send a message to feedback@findagrave.com and include a link to the page and details about the problem.

Several days were spent touring famous Hollywood attractions, and then the highlight of the gathering took place in the hotel ballroom.

All photos appear on this tab and here you can update the sort order of photos on memorials you manage. Previously sponsored memorials or famous memorials will not have this option. Sorry! [1], Thomas remained in Our Gang for ten years, appearing in all but one of the shorts, Feed 'em and Weep (due to sickness when Philip Hurlic filled in for him), made from Washee Ironee in 1934 through the series' end in 1944. "Buckwheat actor's son sues ABC over phony", https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1243&dat=19911219&id=P14PAAAAIBAJ&sjid=kIYDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6856,5770141, The Sons of the Desert Convention/Our Gang Reunion, https://military.wikia.org/wiki/Billie_Thomas?oldid=4725826. This account has been disabled. Use the links under “See more…” to quickly search for other people with the same last name in the same cemetery, city, county, etc.

Billie Thomas first appeared in the 1934 Our Gang shorts For Pete's Sake!, The First Round-Up, and Washee Ironee as a background player. Your account has been locked for 30 minutes due to too many failed sign in attempts. Despite Thomas's 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.

Quickly see who the memorial is for and when they lived and died and where they are buried. Billie 'Buckwheat' Thomas was born on March 12, 1931 in Los Angeles, California, USA as William Thomas Jr. We’ve updated the security on the site. [8] But Thomas's co-star George McFarland, who played "Spanky" in the Little Rascals, made it clear that he hated Murphy's imitations. Found more than one record for entered Email, You need to confirm this account before you can sign in. He was twelve years old when the final Our Gang film, Dancing Romeo, was completed in November 1943. An email has been sent to the person who requested the photo informing them that you have fulfilled their request. If you have questions, please contact support@findagrave.com. He was 49. He made Buckwheat into a stereotype that he wasn't, at the expense of the people in his family who are still alive.

He was an actor, known for Bored of Education (1936), General Spanky (1936) and Hearts Are Thumps (1937). For help using the website visit our help page or contact support@findagrave.com. The next week, 20/20 acknowledged, on-air, that English's claim had been false and apologized for the interview. Please reset your password. When Thomas was brought out, he received a spontaneous standing ovation, and was moved to tears. “After the Army, I wasn't really interested in the hassle of performing," he explained shortly before his death in 1980. This flower has been reported and will not be visible while under review. During the first half of his Our Gang tenure, Thomas's Buckwheat character was often paired with Eugene "Porky" Lee as a tag-along team of "little kids" rallying against (and often outsmarting) the "big kids", George "Spanky" McFarland and Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer. Failed to remove flower. The fallout from this incident included the resignation of a 20/20 producer[9] and a negligence lawsuit filed by the son of William Thomas. The reason for the change in appearance was so he could portray a runaway slave in the 1936 Our Gang feature film General Spanky. [2][3] However, the work of Thomas and the other black cast members as actors is credited with helping the cause of race relations by playing alongside white children as equals in a desegregated show during the height of the Jim Crow Era. We have 2 volunteers within ten miles of your requested photo location. Try again.

Please enter your email address and we will send you an email with a reset password code. Thank you for fulfilling this photo request. Two months later he died of a heart attack. Your new password must contain one or more uppercase and lowercase letters, and one or more numbers or special characters.

[4] According to Julia Lee, author of Our Gang: A Racial History of The Little Rascals, Thomas and the others were "considered saviors in many ways" by the black community as the most popular black stars in the United States during the 1920s and 30s. You can still file a request but no one will be notified. Billie 'Buckwheat' Thomas interesting facts, biography, family, updates, life, childhood facts, information and more: William "Billie" Thomas, Jr., Billie, William Thomas, Billie 'Buckwheat' Thomas, Billie Thomas. You have chosen this person to be their own family member. [1], Despite the change in the Buckwheat character's gender, Billie Thomas's androgynous costuming was not changed until his appearance in the 1936 film Pay as You Exit. Conceived as a replacement for Matthew "Stymie" Beard, Buckwheat was originally an androgynous character with a tangle of braids, but with time he assumed his true gender and standard costume of floppy hat, striped shirt, and tattered pants precariously held up by one suspender. Despite being confronted by McFarland on the television newsmagazine A Current Affair, English refused to retreat from his claim, maintaining that he had originated the role of Buckwheat, with other actors playing the character only after he had left it. GREAT NEWS! After returning to civilian life, Thomas faced a dilemma shared by many of his co-stars from Our Gang. ---belied a craftiness that put him one step ahead of the bigger kids, and he was often paired with the inscrutable Porky as a sort of Greek chorus to the Gang's antics. Please enter location or other information that may help the volunteer in fulfilling this request. 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. "[8], In 1990, the ABC newsmagazine 20/20 aired a segment featuring a man named Bill English, then a grocery bagger in Arizona who claimed to be the adult Buckwheat. Are you sure that you want to delete this memorial? Remove advertising from a memorial by sponsoring it for just $5. By 1940, Thomas had grown out of his speech impediment, and with Lee having been replaced by Robert Blake, Thomas's Buckwheat character was written as an archetypal black youth. Please check your email and click on the link to activate your account. Verify and try again. Your Scrapbook is currently empty. Plese check the I'm not a robot checkbox.'. Also an additional volunteer within fifty miles. × "I didn't care for them a bit. Edit a memorial you manage or suggest changes to the memorial manager.

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