Billie Thomas known as Buckwheat from the Little Rascals, 1930s.
Billie Thomas known as Buckwheat from the Little Rascals, 1930s. —Born in Los Angeles, California, Billie Thomas auditioned at the Hal Roach Studios at the age of three. He got a role and his first episode was called, For Pete’s Sake! But he wasn’t playing the role of “Buckwheat” — that character was played by female child actress named Carlena (who happened to be Matthew “Stymie” Beard’s sister). Another young girl, Willie Mae Taylor played the role of Buckwheat for three more episodes before Billie Thomas took it over. That’s when it became confusing. Billie Thomas became “Buckwheat” in the 1935 episode called, Mama’s Little Pirate. But he continued to play the role as a girl. Since the character, “Buckwheat” was originally a girl, Hal Roach and the studio must have wanted to keep it that way — even though the new actor for Buckwheat was a boy, Billie Thomas. If you were ever confused about whether he was a little girl or a little boy, this may be the reason. He wore pigtails with bo...