Fact Check

I've been called out on the 'Little Rascals' post.

I checked with Snopes on this story, and Snopes said this is false.

So I did my own research and I discovered that Snopes is wrong on this one, mostly.

Everything Corrine said is in fact true, except the last one.

The Spanky claim missed the mark.

However, Snopes and Wikipedia both state that this is a common error.
For some reason, many people think that Robert Blake was Spanky.

Here are the results of my research concerning which of these claims are true and which ones are not. My source for fact checking was Wikipedia.


Carl Dean "Alfalfa" Switzer (August 7, 1927 – January 21, 1959):True
Norman Myers “Chubby” Chaney (January 18, 1918 - May 29, 1936): True
Billie “Buckwheat” Thomas (originally William Thomas, Jr.) (March 12, 1931–October 10, 1980): True
Darla Jean Hood (November 8, 1931 – June 13, 1979): True
Kendall “Breezy Brisbane” McComas (October 29, 1916 - October 15, 1981): True
Billy “Froggy” Laughlin (William Robert Laughlin) (July 5, 1932 - August 31, 1948): True
Richard "Mickey" Daniels, Jr. (October 11, 1914 - August 20, 1970): True
Matthew “Stymie” Beard, Jr. (January 1, 1925 – January 8, 1981): True
Scotty Beckett (Scott Hastings Beckett) (October 4, 1929 – May 10, 1968): True, possibly a suicide
Bobby Hutchins (Robert E. Hutchins) (March 29, 1925 - March 17, 1945): True
Pete the Pup (d. 1946): Unproven, and the conventional thinking is false
Thomas Ross “Butch” Bond (September 16, 1926 – September 24, 2005): True until recently

And finally;

George Robert Phillips “Spanky” McFarland (October 2, 1928 – June 30, 1993)
Michael James Vincenzo Gubitosi, who changed his name to Robert Blake (born September 18, 1933)

Blake was never cast as Spanky, instead playing a part under his real name. And while Blake was accused of murder, Spanky (George McFarland) was not. The real Spanky died of a heart attack on June 30, 1993, at age 64.

So I’m going to call this one: FALSE

So there you have it. All of these claims, with the exception of who Spanky was, are true.

And the one that was wrong, was right about Blake.