Hal Roach's Rascals

Biography

The introductory title "Hal Roach presents His Rascals in an Our Gang Comedy" explains it all. His Rascals were a group of hand picked children playing in front of the camera. The generic name allowed Hal Roach to switch out the children when they got too old for their roles. Some outstanding children became the stars of the series purely because of their natural talent. The first stand outs were Joe Cobb and Allen "Farina" Hoskins (African American) who became the unofficial stars by the 10th film in the series in 1923, just one year after Hal Roach's Rascals started. Both Joe and Farina transitioned into the sound era but the arrival of Norman "Chubby" Chaney in their second sound film "Railroadin'" hinted that roly-poly Joe Cobb was on the way out before 1929 was over. "Chubby" never caught on and Jackie Cooper became the new but temporary star as a year later he would venture off on his own solo career. In 1930 a new African American boy Matthew "Stymie" Beard was introduced in the film "Teacher's Pet" and stole the starring role in that film. "Chubby" and "Farina" were retired in 1931 and "Stymie" and "Wheezer" shared center stage. But a superstar was on the horizon: George "Spanky" McFarland debuted in 1932 and would win over everyone. He was the last star of Hal Roach's Rascals. The final ensemble of Alfalfa, Darla, Buckwheat and Porky are the most memorable supporting members of Hal Roach's Rascals. Hal Roach's Rascals came to an end when Hal Roach sold the Our Gang series to Metro Goldwyn Mayer, they continued to produce the Our Gang series with the same actors but no-longer billed as Hal Roach's Rascals..