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Stymie Beard
Matthew Beard Jr. (January 1, 1925 – January 8, 1981) was an American actor. As a child actor, he was most famous for playing Stymie in the Our Gang short comedy films of 1930–1935. The role was so well known that he adopted the name Stymie Beard, and was so credited in some later roles, such as his 1978 appearance in The Buddy Holly Story.
Beard was born near Los Angeles, California, to Matthew Beard Sr. and Johnnie Mae Beard (née Clay). His father was the founding pastor of Beloved Church of God in Christ in Los Angeles.
Beard previously played baby parts in many films, then signed a five-year contract in 1930 to appear in Our Gang. In contrast to Farina, the character whom he replaced, Stymie was a slick-tongued con-artist who was self-assured, nonchalant and ready with a sly comment and clever ideas to solve the problems that he faced. He could offer sound common sense that helped resolve his playmates' dilemmas.
The character's trademark was a bald head crowned by an oversize derby hat, a gift to Beard from comedian Stan Laurel, who also worked under Our Gang creator Hal Roach. Stymie is the only member of Our Gang who both replaced one of the original gang members (Allen "Farina" Hoskins) and was in turn replaced by one who stayed until the series disbanded: Billie "Buckwheat" Thomas.
The character was originally to be named "Hercules"; however, Our Gang director Robert McGowan, frustrated ("stymied") by little Matthew's curious wanderings around the studio, gave him the name "Stymie." McGowan later recalled that Stymie was his favorite of all the Our Gang kids. The then-five-year-old Beard came to the series a year after the transition from the silent/early sound era, and had the distinction of being with the Gang from the sound movies of the early 1930s through the transitional period of the mid-1930s.
In 1934, Roach Studios lent Beard and other Our Gang kids to Samuel Goldwyn Productions for Eddie Cantor's Kid Millions, in which they appeared in the Technicolor "ice cream fantasy" finale sequence.
Beard's paycheck helped support his family in East Los Angeles, including 13 brothers and sisters. After Beard renamed his younger brother Bobbie "Cotton" (which was used as the name of one of the Our Gang characters), his parents allowed him to name all of the rest of his siblings as they were born. He named one Dickie after Dickie Moore, another member of Our Gang and Beard's best friend. Four other members of the Beard family appear in the Our Gang comedies:
Beard's younger brother Renee Beard appears in two of Hal Roach's featurettes of the 1940s, Curley and Who Killed Doc Robbin, both produced as revivals of the Our Gang idea.
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Stymie Beard
Matthew Beard Jr. (January 1, 1925 – January 8, 1981) was an American actor. As a child actor, he was most famous for playing Stymie in the Our Gang short comedy films of 1930–1935. The role was so well known that he adopted the name Stymie Beard, and was so credited in some later roles, such as his 1978 appearance in The Buddy Holly Story.
Beard was born near Los Angeles, California, to Matthew Beard Sr. and Johnnie Mae Beard (née Clay). His father was the founding pastor of Beloved Church of God in Christ in Los Angeles.
Beard previously played baby parts in many films, then signed a five-year contract in 1930 to appear in Our Gang. In contrast to Farina, the character whom he replaced, Stymie was a slick-tongued con-artist who was self-assured, nonchalant and ready with a sly comment and clever ideas to solve the problems that he faced. He could offer sound common sense that helped resolve his playmates' dilemmas.
The character's trademark was a bald head crowned by an oversize derby hat, a gift to Beard from comedian Stan Laurel, who also worked under Our Gang creator Hal Roach. Stymie is the only member of Our Gang who both replaced one of the original gang members (Allen "Farina" Hoskins) and was in turn replaced by one who stayed until the series disbanded: Billie "Buckwheat" Thomas.
The character was originally to be named "Hercules"; however, Our Gang director Robert McGowan, frustrated ("stymied") by little Matthew's curious wanderings around the studio, gave him the name "Stymie." McGowan later recalled that Stymie was his favorite of all the Our Gang kids. The then-five-year-old Beard came to the series a year after the transition from the silent/early sound era, and had the distinction of being with the Gang from the sound movies of the early 1930s through the transitional period of the mid-1930s.
In 1934, Roach Studios lent Beard and other Our Gang kids to Samuel Goldwyn Productions for Eddie Cantor's Kid Millions, in which they appeared in the Technicolor "ice cream fantasy" finale sequence.
Beard's paycheck helped support his family in East Los Angeles, including 13 brothers and sisters. After Beard renamed his younger brother Bobbie "Cotton" (which was used as the name of one of the Our Gang characters), his parents allowed him to name all of the rest of his siblings as they were born. He named one Dickie after Dickie Moore, another member of Our Gang and Beard's best friend. Four other members of the Beard family appear in the Our Gang comedies:
Beard's younger brother Renee Beard appears in two of Hal Roach's featurettes of the 1940s, Curley and Who Killed Doc Robbin, both produced as revivals of the Our Gang idea.
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