Buddy McDonald
| Buddy McDonald | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Thomas McDonald October 1, 1922 Coalinga, California |
| Died | September 22, 2008 (aged 85) Seal Beach, California |
| Cause of death | Congestive heart failure |
| Other names | Buddy, Bud |
| Occupation | Child actor |
| Spouse(s) | Marcie |
| Children | 3 |
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.
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.
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.
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