Betsy Gay, One of the Last ‘Little Rascals’ Stars, Dead at 96
Betsy Gay, one of the stars from the iconic Our Gang comedy films of the 1930s, later called The Little Rascals, has died at age 96. Gay, whose married surname was Cashen, died in Bakersfield, CA, on June 13, according to Variety.
Gay joined the young comedy troupe for the iconic Our Gang series in the 1930s, and appeared as Effie, the girlfriend of Alfalfa (Carl Switzer) in the 1938 short film Came the Brawn, per IMDB. She also appeared in the 1936 shorts The Pinch Singer and Arbor Day, as well as Our Gang Follies of 1938.
Gay retired from acting in the early 1940s but continued in entertainment as an award-winning yodeler and accomplished musician. She married Thomas Cashen in 1954 and had children, Mimi, Gigi, Tommy, Suzy, and Cathy.
The Our Gang shorts were created by producer Hal Roach and were released in theaters between 1922 and 1944.
In a 2011 interview shared by the Southern Music Research Center, Gay recalled that “a lot of kids who worked in movies” in the 1930s, noting that she got her start at age six. "One mother told my mother, 'You ought to take Betsy to [the studio], they come there all the time looking for kids to be in Our Gang comedies,’” she shared. “So, she took me over there and sure enough, a month later, a man came over... he took us in, and we were in Our Gang movies."
In 2019, Gay spoke to SCV In the Movies about working with Switzer, who played one of the most famous Little Rascals characters. She also recalled reuniting with Switzer on Stuart Hamblen’s radio show when they were teens. “I was 16, he was 19,” she said. “And Stuart would pretend we were boyfriend/girlfriend, which we really weren’t. But one time, we were sitting there, and Alfalfa came over to me and gave me a kiss — you know, Stuart sent him over — and I thought, ‘Oh boy!’ It was my first kiss.”
Switzer died in 1959 at age 31.
The death of Gay leaves only a few Our Gang stars left. According to Fandomwire, many of the stars of the beloved franchise, including Darla Hood, George McFarland, Billie Thomas, and Jackie Cooper, died decades ago. Surviving cast members include Sidney Kubrick, Margaret Kerry, and Clyde Wilson.
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