A Short Visit with Billy Barty in ’95…and Later Mickey Rooney
Saturday, July 7th, 2007
The thing I remember about getting my picture take with midget actor Billy Barty was that I was it was just in the nick of time as he was on his way out of the Hollywood Collector’s Show during the Summer of 1995. And so was I. Bob wasn’t with me for some reason during a portion of our second day at the show, June 25, so I didn’t really have anyone to take pictures of me and the stars. I had actually already purchased a nice shot from him of The Mickey McGuire series. The so-named Mickey would eventually become Mickey Rooney and the little, tiny co-star was later better known as Billy Barty. Read the rest of this entry »
For many years, Erin Moran had refused to acknowledge her role as Joannie Cunnigham by refusing to participate in any reunions or signing autographs for her fans. The reason was that she had become very religious and felt that some of the Happy Days shows were immoral. This made her autograph highly desirable to me. Eventually, she recanted and has been making numerous public appearances. I don’t know if the almighty dollar adjusted her way of thinking, or if she simply rethought her position. 
In the late 1940’s – long after Hal Roach had sold the rights to his Our Gang series to M-G-M – the Roach studios made an attempt to cash in on the success of their mega-series that had run for well over twenty years between the two studios. This attempt came in the form of another assemblage of young actors in two new films called Curley (1947) and Who Killed Doc Robbin? (1948). The efforts were weak at best and not widely accepted as a substitute for the original Little Rascals series. 
I’ve been anxious to get this tale told again. I, as one of only three known Our Gang buffs ever to talk to Harry Spear in person, often get asked the question “What’s the deal with Harry Spear?” and its a big, long deal so I’ll be glad to finally have a place to refer interested parties. The tale begins at the New York ’94 Sons of the Desert where I first met Bill Cappello. We had many lively discussions with the theme “whatever became of…?” After finding out how great he was at tracking down long-lost celebrities, I immediately remarked, “you should try and find Harry Spear” to which he responded “I did!” 
I have no doubt that Joy Wurgaft – now Joy Lane – was a legitimate Our Gang member, unlike many who claim to have been in the series that never stepped foot on the set of any movie. But unfortunately, Joy has built herself up to be one of the ‘stars’ of the Little Rascals, despite hardly even brushing with them on film. She did share one key scene with Alfalfa in Our Gang Follies of 1936 – even singing a duet with him, but beyond that her scenes were relegated to one of the kiddies in the background.