William Thomas Jr.

Cobbspankybuckwheat — Joe Cobb, George McFarland, William Thomas

Biography[]

Character: Buckwheat Thomas
Birthday: March 12, 1931
Place of Birth: Los Angeles, California
Date of Death: October 10, 1980
Place of Death: Los Angeles, California
First Short: For Pete's Sake
Last Short: Tale Of A Dog
Number of Shorts: 92
Year Active: 1935–1944
History: William Thomas Jr. was the only son of William Thomas Sr., a janitor at the Wilton Apartment Building in Hollywood, California. He was picked out of several of kids to fill in the role of Stymie Beard who was leaving Our Gang as he neared his teenage years. He was three years old at the time and his mother took him on a series of interviews. All the kids had to have a certain sort of look, and Billie had that sort of look. He started out at $40 a week, and was loosely modeled after Farina who Stymie had replaced. They were both named after cereal foods, wore the same patched clothing and like Farina, his sex in the beginning was a matter of debate. Of course, having pigtails and inheriting the name "Buckwheat" after it had been used by young actresses named Carlena Beard, who was Stymie's real-life sister, in For Pete's Sake, and by Willie Mae Taylor in The First Round-Up, Honky Donkey, and Washee Ironee might have also had a part in it.
Along with Farina, Spanky and Joe Cobb, Billy was one of the most durable of the Our Gang stars; he was the only one of the original Hal Roach Studios stars still in the series when it ended in 1944. Not fond of the "Buckwheat" costume, he was often in a hurry to get it off when filming was over, but he was also extremely shy, and that shyness affected his elocution of his speech at times. He was a big fan of Clark Gable. While part of the Rascals, ten percent of his earnings were used in the purchase of United States Savings Bonds held in trust for him. He also starred in a few feature films in his career.
By 1945, he dropped entirely out of acting. Regular high school was not a pleasant time for him, but he did well in the U. S. Army. In civilian life afterward, he got long and steady work as a film lab technician with Technicolor in Hollywood. In 1955, he became a part of the short-lived Spanky Productions, Inc. to license the likenesses of the Rascals in merchandise. During this time, he was reunited several times with Rascals co-stars, particularly bonding with Matthew Beard, who he had replaced. In his free time, Bill dabbled as a citizen band "ham" radio operator.
Bill was impersonated several times in his life by other men who claimed that they were Buckwheat, but he was never bothered by it. He laughed about it that others wanted to be like him. In fact, a standing ovation in his honor at an Our Gang banquet reunion in 1980 moved him to tears. He was married once, but after the divorce, he was living alone near the University of Southern California when he passed away quietly at the age of 49, almost exactly to the day when he was hired to play Buckwheat. On the one year anniversary of his death on October 10, 1981, Eddie Murphy debuted his impersonation of the adult Buckwheat on an episode hosted by Robert Blake, Bill's Our Gang co-star. The portrayal, though a bit controversial and satirical, created a lot of new interest in The Little Rascals once more. Bill's son, however, objected to the routine, but it was a few years after the routine that Eddie finally admitted to a reporter that he meant no disrespect to the character. Among Buckwheat's other famous fans are music icon Michael Jackson and Whoopi Goldberg, who got to play Buckwheat's mother in The Little Rascals.

List of Shorts[]

Other Projects[]

Mokey (1942) - with Robert Blake, Shirley Coates, Vincent Graeff, Cordell Hickman, and Frank Ward
Whistling in Dixie (1942) - with Red Skelton
Heavenly Music (1943)
Honeymoon Lodge (1943)
Colorado Pioneers (1945) - with Robert Blake and Freddie Chapman