Spanky of ‘The Little Rascals’: 9 Facts About George McFarland, the Iconic Child Star
Not only did he enjoy that people remembered him, but he went through life being called Spanky
An earlier generation knew them as Our Gang, but anyone who grew up watching them on television instantly recognized them as The Little Rascals, and virtually everyone could identify Spanky in The Little Rascals. He was the true standout amongst a wide range of talented young kids who starred in nearly a hundred short films produced between the 1920s and the 1940s.
Our Gang/The Little Rascals was the brainchild of producer Hal Roach, who wanted to feature kids as the stars of their own mini-adventures, helped by the fact that he and his crew had a knack for finding really cute and talented young performers — though you’d be hard-pressed to find one cuter or more talented than Spanky in The Little Rascals!
He was born George Robert Philips McFarland on October 2, 1928 in Dallas, Texas, the son of Robert Emmett McFarland and Virginia Winifred, and sibling to Thomas, Amanda and Roderick. Nicknamed “Sonny” by his family, his cuteness as a baby earned him the opportunity to model children’s clothing for a local Dallas department story — more than a few careers having been sparked by less than that. Learn more in the nine facts that follow.
1. He did not have an issue being known as Spanky
For the vast majority of people growing up known for a childhood role, they feel trapped by that part and grow to resent it. George McFarland, on the other hand, ultimately decided to embrace Spanky wholeheartedly over the years. As his manager, Rick Saphire, puts it, “He was Spanky and he was proud of being Spanky and, in fact, even his wife called him Spanky!”
Even more in fact (we believe we just coined that phrase!), as you’ll see in the video clip above, he had some fun with his image in an episode of Cheers.
2. He was a model before he was a member of Our Gang
Before he became a member of Our Gang, Spanky did billboard and newspaper advertisements in Dallas. In 1972, a Texas-based filmmaker named Melton Barker gave an interview in which he explained he had discovered Spanky, who “was a little kid I used for breakfast and ice cream commercials.”
3. Wonder Bread put him on the road to stardom
Later in life, Spanky gave an interview to Harry Smith at CBS News explaining that when he was a little kid, he had filmed a one-minute commercial for Wonder Break that had been shown in local Dallas Fort-Worth Theatres. His aunt thought he came across so adorable in it that it was her thought to get that commercial to Our Gang producer Hal Roach, who was always looking for kids to replace others that were rotating out of the film shorts. Mused George “Spanky” McFarland, “He obviously looked at the clip, saw something he liked, had the parents bring me out, I did a screen test and the fat kid got lucky.”
4. George McFarland joined Our Gang when he was just 3-years-old
Spanky was “born” at the age of 3 when George McFarland officially became a part of Our Gang, joining a group that would ultimately feature Eugene Gordon as Porky, Scotty Beckett, Matthew Beard as Stymie, Billie Thomas as Buckwheat, Tommy Bond as Tommy, Darla Hood and Carl Switzer as Alfalfa.
5. Laurel and Hardy were a major influence: Spanky, the Little Rascals
Of all of the kids, especially during his early years with them, there was no question that Spanky was a genuine stand-out from the pack in terms of impeccable comic-timing. One of his major influences was the comedy team of Laurel and Hardy. tshaonline.org offers, “Spanky learned from comedian Stan Laurel how to do double-takes and triple-takes. Oliver Hardy taught the boy mannerisms such as rolling his eyes, placing hands on hips and presenting an exasperated facial expression. So Laurel and Hardy, who also filmed at Hal Roach Studios, were mentors and role models for McFarland, at least to some extent, and he was an apt student.”
6. 13 years a Little Rascal
By his recollection, Spanky was a part of Our Gang/The Little Rascals for a total of 13 years, spanning from 1931 to 1944. He explained, “I did 95 out of 121 shorts that were filmed. I also did 14 feature-length movies during my time with Roach and MGM. But when it was over, I told my parents, ‘I’m tired of it. I don’t want to do it anymore.’ And they said, ‘You’re going to have to find something else, then.'”
7. Spanky became a jack of all trades
Recognizing he wasn’t going to have a career in Hollywood, Spanky worked a wide variety of jobs starting after he turned about 13 and, as Saphire puts it, he had lost the cuteness that had made him a star. Over the next few years, he owned a restaurant, worked at a gas station, manufactured a steak sauce and even donned a Spanky-like beanie to host a local kid’s show to introduce episodes of Our Gang/Little Rascals shorts. “He did not,” says Saphire, “have any illusions about being a movie actor.”
He joined the Air Force at 24 in 1952 and eventually became a national sales training director at the Philco-Ford Corporation. Additionally, he started making guest appearances on talk shows and became a general manager of the Nostalgia Channel in the 1980s, which allowed him to start sharing his experience as a part of The Little Rascals.
8. College tours were next
When Rick Saphire became Spanky’s manager, he booked him on college tours, which for a time became extremely popular and the former actor was very much in demand. “When we did our college tours,” he explains, “we would open it up for a question and answer period and the questions were all pretty dependable; you knew what they would be. They’d ask things like, ‘Do you remember when Petey the dog did this or that?’ He didn’t want to let his fans down, so he made up the most logical answer to the question. He would just make up a whimsical story or a funny story that fit the occasion, because he just didn’t have a memory of those early days. But he loved looking back and talking Spanky.”
Spanky would actually spend much of the rest of his life sharing those memories in one way or the other and was even preparing to to get involved in the burgeoning business of autograph shows when he passed away.
9. His personal life: Spanky, The Little Rascals
George “Spanky” McFarland married Doris McFarland in 1967 and was with her for the rest of his life. Together they had three children. He died on June 30, 1993 at the age of 64, either from a heart attack or an aneurysm (it’s never been established which).
For Rick Saphire, one of his warmest memories was when the man the world knew as Spanky finally agreed to do their college lectures, though he still had concerns. “He called me,” says Saphire, “and said, ‘Okay, let’s do it,’ and then he added — and these were his words — ‘I can’t believe that college kids of today are going to be excited about coming to see a little fat man who hasn’t made a movie in 30 years.’ And I said, ‘Spanky, I guarantee you’re going to get a standing ovation before you even open your mouth.'”
Needless to say, he was right.
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