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Buddy McDonald is a Actor born on 1 october 1922 at Coalinga (USA)

Buddy McDonald

Buddy McDonald
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Birth name Thomas McDonald
Birth 1 october 1922 at Coalinga (USA)
Death 22 september 2008 (at 85 years) at Seal Beach (USA)

Thomas "Buddy"/"Bud" McDonald (October 1, 1922 – September 22, 2008) was an American child actor. He is perhaps best known as one of the Our Gang kids of the early sound period, and McDonald is prominently featured in the Our Gang shorts Teacher's Pet and School's Out. He appeared in several of the Our Gang comedies, and also appeared in a scene (later deleted) with Laurel & Hardy in Pardon Us.

Biography

Early career
McDonald was discovered when his mother wrote a letter, dictated from his father to Hal Roach Studios in Culver City, in which they enclosed a newspaper article of Buddy's local spelling bee win. They received a phone call from the studio that same week.

The studio gave him a screen test and called Buddy to work on his first picture, Pups is Pups. From there, he worked on various bit parts with Paramount Pictures and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. In addition, he sang on Juvenile review, a weekend radio program on KFWB in Los Angeles. He attended grammar school on the studio lot with fellow Our Gang actors Donald Haines and Mary Ann Jackson. Additionally, he did scenes with Thelma Todd, Zasu Pitts and Laurel and Hardy.


Childhood
Growing up in Bell, California, McDonald had a difficult upbringing; his parents were both alcoholics, and after they divorced in 1933, he and his mother went to live with his aunt in Oregon. There he slept in a tent and picked fruit. Within a year, his family had made enough money to move back to their old house in Bell.

While he and his mother were living in Oregon, his father told him that the studio had called asking for Buddy to do more work in the pictures. However, by that time the calls had already stopped, thus ending his childhood "career" in acting.


After Our Gang
During Prohibition, his father owned a cafe on Florence Avenue in Bell and after Prohibition was repealed, he turned it into a bar.

Buddy became famous in the community, as he was the only person living there at the time that was in pictures. As a teenager, he encountered his own problems with alcohol. McDonald was expelled from Bell High School and later attended Jacob August Riis High School in Los Angeles, a reform school for boys.

In later years, McDonald joined the United States Marine Corps, where he served in Guadalcanal during World War II. After a run-in with the law that landed him in San Quentin prison,he was exposed to an AA panel. Upon his release in March, 1953 Buddy joined Alcoholics Anonymous and stayed sober until the end of his life. After more than 10 years of being sober, he and a friend started what they named the "Dana" School (Drugs, Alcohol, Narcotics, Awareness) in Downey, California. In 1972 they formed the Southern California Alcohol and Drug Program (formerly the Southwest Council) and in 1975 opened their first recovery house, the Cider House in Norwalk, California. In 1985, they established an additional recovery house for women and their children,Foley House in Whittier, California. This was the first place where addicted women could keep their children with them in a supportive controlled environment while getting clean and sober. This model for women's recovery has been used many times and is now considered the best practices method. Women who were separated from their children and labeled "unfit mothers", due to their substance abuse problems now had a chance to succeed and keep their families together. They added parenting classes and work training in their attempt to allow the women to succeed once they left Foley House.

Usually with

Hal Roach
Hal Roach
(5 films)
H. M. Walker
H. M. Walker
(5 films)
Leroy Shield
Leroy Shield
(4 films)
Source : Wikidata

Filmography of Buddy McDonald (6 films)

Display filmography as list

Actor

Hook and Ladder
Directed by Robert F. McGowan
Origin USA
Genres Comedy
Themes Children's films, Disaster films
Actors Dickie Moore, George McFarland, Stymie Beard, Dorothy DeBorba, Sherwood Bailey, Buddy McDonald
Roles Speck
Rating76% 3.813363.813363.813363.813363.81336
Answering the Fire Chief's request for volunteers, the Our Gang kids form their own firefighting squadron, replete with ersatz uniforms, a fire pole, a dog-and-cat-powered alarm, and a jerry-built fire engine that must be seen to be believed. After a few false alarms and delays, the kids are afforded the opportunity to put out a real fire, which they do with the expertise of veteran smoke-eaters.
On the Loose, 20minutes
Directed by Hal Roach
Origin USA
Genres Comedy
Themes Buddy films
Actors Zasu Pitts, Thelma Todd, John Loder, Claud Allister, Billy Gilbert, Otto Fries
Roles Boy with Lollipop (uncredited)
Rating61% 3.054753.054753.054753.054753.05475
ZaSu and Thelma are two young women at home complaining about all of the dates they have been on. In every case they have been taken to Coney Island. The next day they are walking in the street when a car goes by and they are splashed with mud and water. The driver stops and offers to buy them some new clothes. They accept the offer and later agree to go on a date. The date happens to be at Coney Island once again. The date doesn't go very well and they are glad to go home.
Skippy
Skippy (1931)
, 1h25
Directed by Norman Taurog
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Comedy, Comedy-drama
Actors Jackie Cooper, Robert Coogan, Mitzi Green, Willard Robertson, Enid Bennett, Guy Oliver
Roles Boy
Rating62% 3.146763.146763.146763.146763.14676
Skippy (Jackie Cooper) is the feisty son of the strictly Dr. Herbert Skinner (Willard Robertson) and his wife Ellen (Enid Bennett). Skinner forbids his son Skippy to play in the pauperized Shantytown, because of the unhygenical and criminal surroundings there. But Skippy and his friend Sidney (Jackie Searl) still go to Shantytown whrere sidney meets a new boy named Sooky (Robert Coogan, Jackie Coogan's little brother). He saves the small boy Sooky from the much bigger bully Harley Nubbins (Donald Haines). Skippy and Sooky become friends. One day Harley accidentally breaks the windshield of his father's car with Skippy's yo-yo. Harley, who has a very aggressive and brute father, blames it on Skippy and Sooky. Mr. Nubbins (Jack Rube Clifford), who works as a dog catcher, takes Sooky's dog and demands that they pay him for the damages if they want their dog back. The boys gather three dollars by breaking Skippy's savings bank, but Mr. Nubbins accepts it only for his windshield. He gives them three days for getting another three dollars for a dog license and he threatens that he'll kill their dog if they don't get the money.
Pups Is Pups
Directed by Robert F. McGowan
Origin USA
Genres Comedy
Themes Children's films
Actors Jackie Cooper, Bobby Hutchins, Allen Hoskins, Norman Chaney, Dorothy DeBorba, Mary Ann Jackson
Rating67% 3.3773653.3773653.3773653.3773653.377365
Wheezer attempts to find his puppies after they run off and travel across the city. At the same time, the rest of the gang crash a high-society dog conformation show where Farina is working as a page. The kids bring all manner of wild animal pets (frogs, mice, ducks, and even a pig) into the show, and cause commotion and fear among the ritzy attendees. Because of the commotion the kids cause, Farina is fired.
School's Out
Directed by Robert F. McGowan
Origin USA
Genres Comedy
Themes Children's films
Actors June Marlowe, Jackie Cooper, Allen Hoskins, Norman Chaney, Mary Ann Jackson, Donald Haines
Roles Buddy O'Donnell
Rating71% 3.579873.579873.579873.579873.57987
Jackie is trying to circulate a petition among his classmates to keep school open during the summer, as he and the gang are afraid that they might lose Miss Crabtree during summer vacation. In addition, the kids fear that she might get married and therefore no longer be able to teach them.
Teacher's Pet, 20minutes
Directed by Robert F. McGowan
Origin USA
Genres Comedy
Themes Children's films
Actors June Marlowe, Jackie Cooper, Allen Hoskins, Norman Chaney, Mary Ann Jackson, Bobby Hutchins
Roles Buddy
Rating78% 3.9056353.9056353.9056353.9056353.905635
It is the first day of school, and the gang is less-than-happy about it. Their beloved teacher, Miss McGillicuddy, got married, and now the kids will have a new teacher for the upcoming school year. The kids know not what the new teacher will look like, only her name, a rather pungent moniker of "Miss Crabtree". They imagine this "Miss Crabtree" to be a dried-up old hag, and concoct a plan to disrupt the class with items such as a white mouse, red ants, and sneezing powder. Then, the kids are to have their younger siblings — Wheezer, Dorothy, and Hercules — come in and tell Miss Crabtree that they need to be excused to go home ..."and then, we're all goin' swimmin'!"