Billy Laughlin
William Robert Laughlin was an American child actor. He is best known for playing the character Froggy in the Our Gang short films from 1940 to 1944, the films′ final years of production.
Early life
Laughlin was born on July 5, 1932, in San Gabriel, California, to Robert Vine Laughlin and Charlotte C. Cruikshank. According to Our Gang actor Robert Blake, Laughlin was "dearly loved".Career
Laughlin rose to fame at the age of eight when he appeared in his first Our Gang film, The New Pupil, as "Harold" in 1940. He worked in support of Alfalfa Switzer in his first three films and then replaced the now-too-old Switzer as the comic lead of the group with the 1941 films. His character was known for his strange, guttural voice, which was reminiscent of a frog's croak. Laughlin's last Our Gang short film was the last film of the series in 1944 called Dancing Romeo. Laughlin did the voice himself without dubbing, basing it on a Popeye impersonation he had been doing for friends.When Our Gang stopped production in 1944, Laughlin appeared in a cameo in Monogram's Johnny Doesn't Live Here Any More, his only non-Our Gang film, speaking in his natural voice for the only time on film.