Rascal Flattened

Celebrating a Deathday™ (June 30, 1993): Chubster child star George "Spanky" McFarland from the “Our Gang” television series died of a heart attack on this day in Grapevine, Texas. When he passed, the formerly adorable scene stealer was said to be carrying the trademark blubber that endeared him to audiences back in the day. Born October 2, 1928 in Denison, Texas, Spanky got his start in show business modeling fat kids' clothing for a Dallas department store and was also seen in print adverts for Wonder Bread®, which we imagine he ate to his meaty little heart muscle’s content. He joined the “Our Gang” crew in 1932 and enjoyed a ten-year run with rascally mates Alfalfa, Buckwheat and that oily-haired little weasel who grew up to be Barretta. After hanging up his 3-piece suits and saddle shoes, Spanky went on to serve a stint in the U.S. Air Force and later host an afternoon children’s show before steering his soapbox derby car into the music world where he was a guitar strummer in the poppy curiosity Spanky & Our Gang. He and the gangbangers charted with delightful ditties such as “Sunday Will Never Be The Same (As Saturday),” “Like To Get To Know You (In The Biblical Sense)” and “Lazy Day (A Laggard’s Anthem),” before Spanky made a U-turn back to his natty, Rascalian roots, making in-character appearances at golf tourneys, charity auctions and on the telly with plaid-suited, chunk-heeled talk show grinner Mike Douglas. Today, the station house fondly salutes George “Spanky” McFarland. Happy Anni-hearse-ary™, Citizen Gangsta.