Hal Roach was born January 14, 1892 in Elmira, New York. A barrel-chested athlete, he excelled in high school football. 17-year-old Roach's adventurous spirit took him to Alaska, where he worked as a mail carrier, riding over rough terrain, up hill and down dale, across frozen tundra and through deep snow. Even the rugged Hal was no match for the forces of Nature, and frostbite almost led to the loss of one of his feet. Seeking a more temperate clime, he made his way down the coast to California, where he found a job with a contracting firm. In Los Angeles he chanced to meet someone in the film industry, and took an interest in the burgeoning business.
Answering an ad, in 1912 he applied for a job as an extra in a two-reel Universal western, claiming he was a cowboy. Certainly his experience with horses bolstered his resume, and he landed a role as a frontier minister. During the filming of a scene showing some fellas playing roulette, Roach pointed out the inaccuracies of the game as displayed, and offered his advice. Such boldness paid off, and soon he went from five dollar a day acting jobs to being assistant director.
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| Hal Roach |
Being ambitious, Roach, with two partners, Dan Linthicum and I. H. Nance, formed the Rolin Film Company. Roach supplied the initial capital, scraped together from his paltry savings, purchased an old barn and converted it into a makeshift movie studio. Aside from being producer, director and writer, Roach himself tucked the film canisters under his arm and made the trek to New York to find a distributor, but his amateurish and technically inept creative endeavours bankrupted his backers. With nothing left to lose, he made one last effort, cramming every gag he could think of into one reel and sending it to Pathe on spec. They bought it for $800. This slapstick farce, JUST NUTS, became an unexpected hit, and Rolin a viable and formidable producer of silent comedies, with Pathe as sole distributor.
The star of JUST NUTS, Harold Lloyd, became Roach's biggest asset, first in the two-reel Lonesome Luke comedies (a shameless imitation of Chaplin's Little Tramp), and later in his more familiar guise. The Roach studio grew by leaps and bounds.
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| Ad from Motion Picture News, October 6, 1917 |
In 1921 Roach was inspired to delve into an uncharted motion picture concept: the everyday misadventures of children. "One day I looked out my window at a bunch of kids arguing over pieces of wood they had taken from a lumber yard," Roach recalled. "Of course, they would throw the wood away when they had gone two blocks. But the argument seemed terribly important to them then. I watched them for 15 minutes, and I got the idea of doing a series from the angle of kids' mentality." Roach called this prospective gang of kids "His Rascals", and recruited Ernie "Sunshine Sammy" Morrison (born December 20, 1912), whom he'd added to his stable of talent in 1919.
Another addition to the Rascals roster was Jackie Condon, whose long, tousled locks inspired one critic to describe him as "the boy who combs his hair with an egg-beater".
The first entry, titled OUR GANG, was filmed in January 1922, with Fred C. Newmeyer (of the Lonesome Luke series) directing. The footage was quickly edited by T. J. Crizer and summarily previewed, but it tested poorly, and Newmeyer's footage was extensively re-shot in February. For the re-shoots, Roach hired Robert F. McGowan as director and Tom McNamara as writer.
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| Robert F. McGowan (by Gene Kornman) |
McGowan was born July 11, 1882 in Denver, Colorado. After working as a firefighter with Engine Company No. 6 in Denver, he and two partners opened a nickelodeon. Disappointed with the types of movies being offered by Biograph and Essanay, he sold the theatre in 1915 and went to Los Angeles, determined to make movies himself. Essanay bought one of his ideas, and gave him a job in carpentry. McGowan later worked in the property department at Universal, then landed a job with Christie Comedies as a writer. He'd also written numerous scripts for Eddie Lyons and others by the time he met Hal Roach, who was having trouble with his OUR GANG film. McGowan, the father of two young girls, convinced Roach that he knew children.
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| Tom McNamara, 1923 |
Tom McNamara, creator of the Us Boys comic strip, was brought in from New York for rewrites, and to provide scripts for further entries in the series. McNamara, born May 7, 1886 in San Francisco, worked as a newspaper cartoonist, then in 1908 started touring the vaudeville circuit with fellow artist Myler Marcus as Mack and Marcus. The duo remained silent throughout their comedy act, titled "Evolution", performing lightning sketches with chalk and black and red crayons for enthusiastic audiences. They took their successful show to London, then to the continent. Returning to the U.S. in 1910, McNamara started the Us Boys newspaper strip, which continued until 1928. But McNamara also took an avid interest in film, writing gags, directing, editing and dabbling in just about every other aspect of the business.
A key contributor was H. M. Walker, who wrote titles (now known as intertitles). Walker had been sports editor of the Los Angeles Examiner for 12 years when he tried his hand at writing titles for films in 1917. His wit earned him a place at the Roach studio, supplying gags for Harold Lloyd at $500 a week. Needless to say, he quit his newspaper job.
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| H. M. Walker and Harold Lloyd, 1920 |
Another recruitment for the juvenile cast was freckled "Mickey" Daniels, born Richard Daniels, October 11, 1914 in Rock Springs,Wyoming. Mickey, as Richard Daniels, had appeared in Vitagraph's THE LITTLE MINISTER (1922), which premiered in December of 1921, and was released the following month. Critics raved about Mickey's performance, and Vitagraph quickly threw the boy into another movie, MY WILD IRISH ROSE (released June 1922), with a part specially written for him. In March filming began on Universal's HER NIGHT OF NIGHTS (also released in June 1922), starring Marie Prevost as "Molly May Mahone", with Mickey as her little brother, "Mickey Dennis Mahone". All three movies are considered lost. Mickey was under contract to Vitagraph when he filmed his small role in the re-shoot of OUR GANG. He wasn't officially made a member of the Gang until June.
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| Richard "Mickey" Daniels in THE LITTLE MINISTER (1922) |
The re-worked version of OUR GANG was given a preview late in March for film critics. It was well received and "won a lot of big laughs", according to one trade paper. This prospective kid comedy series was immediately dubbed "Our Gang" by the press, and advertised as such long before the first installment was unleashed upon the public in September of 1922. The series of six two-reelers were released out of order, starting with ONE TERRIBLE DAY, while OUR GANG finally made its debut as the third episode on November 5.
Other children in this trial series included Peggy Cartwright, who appeared in only a few films, Jack Davis, and Farina. Jack Davis, born April 5, 1914, was discovered playing around the lot. He was the kid brother of Mildred Davis, who had been Harold Lloyd's leading lady for a number of years; the two stars married in 1923. Farina was born Allen Hoskins in 1920. A small child with pigtails, he was little more than a baby when he joined the gang, initially portraying a girl. As time went on fans and the press became increasingly confused on the matter of his sex. Farina always stomped around in shoes that were far too big for him. Anna Mae Bilson was a central figure in OUR GANG, but made no further appearances.
So successful was ONE TERRIBLE DAY that it was reported to have "stimulated heavy advance bookings of the entire series." Roach had another hit on his hands, though he was skeptical, convinced the series wouldn't continue after the initial six films. His judgement was faulty. Those first six Our Gang films were such a commercial and critical success, that many theatres put these short subjects over the main feature on their marquees and in their advertising. Roach considered turning Our Gang into 5-reel features, but Pathe thought it best not to fix something that ain't broke, and instead poured more money into production values on the next thirteen shorts.
AND THEN ALONG COMES MARY
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| Early photo of the Gang, c. March 1923 - back row: Sunshine Sammy, Jack Davis, Mickey Daniels; front row: Jackie Condon, Farina, Joe Cobb, Mary Kornman; taken with a Brownie No.3 camera |
The second series, which began with THE CHAMPEEN, released January 28, 1923, introduced Joe Cobb, known as "Fatty", for his considerable girth; and pretty Mary Kornman, whose pulchritude and charm created rivalries on and off screen, beginning with THE CHAMPEEN, in which Mickey Daniels and Jack Davis (who was often cast as a pugnacious, pugilistic bully) vie for her affection by duking it out. Though THE CHAMPEEN was the Gang's 7th short, the next two, THE COBBLER and THE BIG SHOW, were filmed earlier. THE BIG SHOW was Mary's de facto debut, in which she played Mary Pickford as Little Lord Fauntleroy.
The blonde-haired, blue-eyed Mary (brown-eyed, by some later accounts) was discovered by Bob McGowan, who saw the 6-year-old in the studio cafeteria, and asked, "Who is that little girl? How did she get in?" He was told that she was the daughter of Gene Kornman, studio photographer. McGowan said he needed a leading lady for his kid pictures.
Eugene Kornman was born in 1897. In 1920 he became still photographer for Harold Lloyd at the Roach studios. In 1923 Lloyd acrimoniously left Roach, and Kornman went with him in August. Mary, however, stayed put, already a core member of Our Gang. Gene Kornman co-signed his daughter's contracts.
Or was she his daughter?
Mary Kornman was born Mary Agnes Evans, December 27, 1915 in Idaho Falls, Idaho, to Dr David Lionel Evans (born July 14, 1895 in Lehi, Utah, and whose mother's middle name was Agnes) and Verna Comer (born January 27, 1897, also in Lehi, Utah). David and Verna married November 30, 1914 in Idaho Falls. It didn't last, and Verna married Gene Kornman on July 5, 1921. Mary claimed that she first appeared in a movie at the age of 3, but admitted she was "just an extra."
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| Mary Agnes Evans, 1916 |
One day in 1923 Mary was called in from the studio grounds where she "had lunched on bread and jam as evidenced by a red strawb'ry streak on her chin; every little while an exploring pink tongue would emerge, describing a wider arc with each trip from her rosebud mouth, until the streak had entirely disappeared." The crew on the set coaxed Mary into playing with the five dolls she'd brought along, while they prepared for a scene. She explained that Mickey and the other boys had warned her not to. "Never mind about Mickey," they said.
She went ahead and played, oblivious to all around her: "My good-nuss gra-shuss. My chil-rens jus' get worser 'n' worser every sin-gle day. It's jus' terrible. I ache so in my back I could cry. Lucille, will you stop 'at cryin' an' turn over an' go to sleep! Thank mercifus heavings to-morrar's Sunday. I got the bakin' done an' all I got to do is fry the chicken an' make th' ice cream." When the boys discovered Mary playing with dolls they gave her a hard time for breaking the Gang's rule: "no dolls or cry-baby-stuff goes."
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| THE COBBLER (1923), lobby card |
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| Mary holding her Bye-Lo Baby doll |
McGowan adhered adamantly to Roach's idea of having the kids behave as kids do. "They must be human," insisted Roach. "They aren't actors," said McGowan. "When one of them starts to 'act' I stop him or take him out of the group. It has been my intention to keep them from obvious acting and 'emoting' ever since the first picture with them was made." McGowan would scold any child on set if they looked at the camera while filming. He kept a megaphone at his side but never used it, a mere "Okay" sufficiently wrapping up a scene. There was some jealousy and bickering on set, but not from the kids -- it came from their parents, who were eventually banned from the lot, other than to drop off their kids and pick them up at the end of the day.
Basic stories were outlined, leaving a lot of room for improvisation. "They are placed in a certain atmosphere, and given a general idea of what is expected of them," McGowan wrote in an article. Each film began as little more than an idea, and the children literally ran with it, with occasional suggestions from the directors. Said Tom McNamara, "Usually we just give the kids the things they're to play with and let 'em go at their own gait. The business they pull all on their own is sixty times better than what a gag man would dope out. If they drift outside the camera range, we just haul 'em back into focus and start 'em going again." McGowan gave 50 cents for every gag one of the kids came up with.
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| Jack Davis, Farina, Jackie Condon, Mickie Daniels, Hal Roach, Mary Kornman, Joe Cobb and Ernie Morrison, 1923 |
The Gang were encouraged to build their own preposterous props, confused contraptions and wobbly wagons. Their constructions were a shambles from the start, but these childish attempts at carpentry and mechanics were integral to the films and enhanced their hijinks. It's a wonder no injuries were ever reported, since it's easy to picture the chaos and peril that must have ensued, with excited kids scrambling about wielding hammers, saws and scraps of wood. The more elaborate set pieces were left to competent professionals.
Right from the start Roach was firm in his opinion that "lack of proper education facilities hurts a child actor's chances for success more than his training under the lights may help him", and so a school room was built on set for the children. Mrs Fern Carter was secured for the tumultuous task, as a teacher was required to be present on any school day when the kids were shooting. (Roach's policy would come to be adopted by other studios in 1926.) Mrs Carter had briefly been Mickey's tutor, and may have been recommended by his father. Her employ began September of 1922. Sammy, however, was supplied with a private tutor by his father, a businessman who owned ice cream parlors, grocery stores and a candy factory. "Mister" Morrison, as everyone called him, was always dressed sharply, including yellow gloves and a stovepipe hat. Mrs Carter also supervised the children while they were on the lot.
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| Mrs Carter gives the Gang their lessons, early 1926 |
While most two-reel comedies were completed in 10 days, the Our Gang films took an average of 5 weeks, as the kids were allowed a total of only two or three hours of work per day, with school occupying the rest of their shift. Each film required only two and a half weeks to shoot, but the kids were still paid on a weekly basis during post-production and editing. The films were released at the rate of about one every four weeks.
Unlike the first series, promotional material was supplied to exhibitors for the second series, including posters, lobby cards, stills, slides, and print-ready plates. 11" x 14" sepia lobby cards were 35 cents each, as were a set of eight photos. 24-sheets (billboard posters), usually reserved for feature films, were also made available. Exhibitors paid $7.50 for two-reelers, but with a very limited number printed, each theatre was allowed only one screening. Novelty paper hats, with the inscription "HAIL HAIL OUR GANG'S ALL HERE!", $1.50 per hundred. Pathe also announced that they would be providing trailers for this second season of Our Gang shorts, an unprecedented move, as trailers were also reserved for features.
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| Our Gang paper hats, printed in red ink |
An enormous crowd of fans turned up at the California Theatre in Los Angeles in March of 1923 to see the Gang in person. An earlier film, FIRE FIGHTERS, was being shown, and though Mary wasn't in the film, she attended, along with the other six cast regulars. The Gang showed up in their homemade DOGS OF WAR costumes, being that they were in the midst of shooting that film.
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| DOGS OF WAR (1923), sepia lobby card |
An average of only 40 copies were made for each Our Gang release, and their popularity and constant demand caused the films to wear out after repeated use. Unfortunately, some theatre owners received copies in poor condition -- not surprising, as the two-reelers were booked in thousands of theatres. Pathe soon remedied this oversight by ordering second and third sets of prints.
In March of 1923 Roach expanded his Culver City studio at a cost of $100,000, having purchased 10 acres of land adjacent to the existing lot to house the exteriors for the seven units he had running, with an eighth in preparation for Will Rogers, under contract to star in 13 shorts. Roach had an exclusive contract with Pathe, and was expecting to spend $1,000,000 more on production than he had in the previous year, demand for his product being high, especially for the Our Gang comedies. Loew's theatres booked each Our Gang release for an unprecedented 85 days. The Gang films were making on average $80,000 each.
A humorous news brief appeared in September quoting Mary, who stated that if her father didn't get her some red shoes she would "get some shoe trees and grow 'em herself."
After a hiatus of several months due to the pressure of directing films and trying to keep a deadline with the newspaper syndicate, it was announced in April that Tom McNamara would be returning to the Roach studios, having signed a contract to co-direct more Our Gang shorts with McGowan, though he still hadn't given up his newspaper strip.
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| DERBY DAY 3-sheet poster, 1923 |
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| Joe Cobb plays the merciless Nero in STAGE FRIGHT (1923); Mary (in black wig) is the "captiff maid" |
In November the manager of the Apollo Theatre in Peoria, Illinois came up with the idea of an "Our Gang Club", with 500 paper hats to be given away at the offices of the local newspaper, who agreed to run the story. Going one better, J. D. Kennedy, a Pathe representative, organised a club at the James Theatre in Columbus, Ohio, giving out paper hats and a membership card a week ahead of that venue's first showing of an Our Gang film. On the reverse, the card read:
"The Our Gang Band will be at Mound and High at 9 a. m. sharp. They will conduct you to The James Theatre. Remember you must wear your Our Gang Hat in the Parade."
The following Saturday morning, October 6, the children congregated at the prearranged spot and, escorted by Kennedy, who supplied hats to any newcomers, marched through town towards the theatre, along with a local Boy Scouts band incessantly playing "Hail, Hail, the Gang's All Here", drowned out by the excited mob. The films, SATURDAY MORNING and THE CHAMPEEN, were shown free, and the theatre allowed sale of lemonade, ice cream, etc., without asking for a cut. Clubs began popping up everywhere, and theatre owners began devising imaginative ways to exploit Our Gang pictures.
SUNDAY CALM, released December 16, 1923, was Jack Davis' final appearance with the Gang. In September, his parents decided to put his acting career on hiatus and sent him off to military school, much to the boy's despair.
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| Ad for CRADLE ROBBERS (released June 1, 1924), from Exhibitors Trade Review, June 7, 1924 |
A prime example of a plot going off in another direction is THE BUCCANEERS, filmed September 28 to October 28, 1923. The Gang, having just finished erecting their own home made ship, decide to play pirates, though they know little about seafaring. (Jackie's previous deep water experience: "the Saturday night bath tub".) Mary, having just arrived on Captain Whalen's fishing boat, dashes across the dock, eager to join the fun; and though Captain Mickey is enthusiastic about Mary's participation, the others vote him down. "Wimmen ain't no good! They can't stand th' sight o' blood!" says Joe. Mary turns to leave, but Mickey gives her a pirate outfit to put on. Mary returns in costume, with a bottle of "tomato catchup" to christen the Gang's boat, which promptly sinks. They blame Mary.
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| The Gang with Captain Whalen in THE BUCCANEERS (1924) |
The ship's immediate demise was planned, but the speed at which it sank spoiled the shot, being almost completely submerged before the cameraman was ready. To make matters worse, a passing boat left enough of a wake to upset the raft upon which the cameraman was filming, tipping over the camera and sending it to join the wreck down below. A professional diver was obtained to fetch the precious equipment.
Captain Whalen finds Mary alone and dejected on the dock, and after she explains what happened, the old salt offers the girl his boat to play pirate on. She claps her hands together with delight, and jumps aboard. Meanwhile, the boys get into their usual trouble, and escape the police by hiding aboard Captain Whalen's boat. Mary discovers the little fugitives and says, "Goody! I'm goin' to be a pirate on this boat." Unbeknownst to the kids, their dog has just loosened the vessel from its mooring, setting it adrift. When the kids realise their predicament, they determine to make the most of it, as any "reg'lar pirate" would do: "We're at sea! Le's keep goin'!"
Where the story might have gone from there is anybody's guess, but fate intervened in the form of the U.S.S. California, a U.S. Navy battleship. The crew of the dreadnought spotted the vessels containing the kids and camera crew and invited them aboard. This opportunity lead to some new ideas, and the U.S. Navy granted a few days' access to the deck of the ship for filming purposes, which took place in San Pedro. It wasn't the first -- or last -- time the ship was used for such a purpose. Dorothy Devore starred in NAVY BLUES (1923), and cowboy star Hoot Gibson starred in OUT OF LUCK (1923), both filmed aboard the U.S.S. California.
In THE BUCCANEERS, the Gang's vessel is spotted, Jolly Roger hoisted high, and the navy has them brought aboard for questioning. "I'm going to scare these kids," says the captain. He's clearly unimpressed with their wooden swords and Mary's pistol, which seems to have been fashioned from a sawed off banister. "Do you know what we do with pirates?" he asks Mickey. The boy nods yes...then no. "We hang 'em!" Fortunately, the captain arrives at a less severe punishment: swabbing the deck. Of course, the kids don't take kindly to authority, and manage to escape back onto their fishing boat.
A preview of THE BUCCANEERS was shown aboard the California. "Afterwards members of the cast, their parents and a delegation from the Hal Roach Studios were entertained in the officers' quarters." Although Mark Goldaine, who was with Roach only a short time, was credited as director, trade magazines reported that both he and McGowan were present the day the battleship intercepted the crew.
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| Ad from Film Daily, November 21, 1924 |
Mickey's infatuation with Mary was no secret around the studio, but when the ring he gave Mary turned green, she returned it -- minus the candy it came with. He even spent a whole week's allowance on Mary, taking her to a Saturday afternoon matinee, followed by an ice cream soda, candy and peanuts. Mickey's heart was rendered asunder, however, as the 7-year-old girl seemed interested only in the officers aboard the U.S.S. California. He couldn't wait for filming on THE BUCCANEERS to end.
Mickey won her heart back with an early Christmas gift: a puppy. Mary rewarded him with a kiss, in front of the gang, who teased him mercilessly. He chased his little tormentors around the studio.
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| TIRE TROUBLE, released January of 1924, features what must be the Gang's crowning achievement: an automobile made almost entirely from garbage. It took them two days to nail together this delightful monstrosity. The doors, on which "OG" is scrawled in paint, open with knobs and have wooden window frames; a piece of wood serves as a bumper; the "attamatick signal" is a board that slides side to side to indicate turns; the roof is a bed sheet; a broken shard from a mirror affords a rear view; and the dashboard is too bizarre for words. But it's legit: being that their vehicle is adorned with numerous license plates, they expect no trouble from the coppers. Still, before the end of this fun two-reeler, they reduced their rattling creation to little more than the chassis. |
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| JUBILO, JR. (1924); this bitter-sweet entry co-starred Will Rogers; the Gang's homemade circus show was utterly ridiculous, of course -- which elicited uproarious laughter from the juvenile patrons in the stands |
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| Photo taken during filming of IT'S A BEAR (1924) |
A fire broke out at the Roach studio on the evening of July 7, 1924, destroying stage number 2, including sets used by the Our Gang unit, and most of the electrical equipment. At first the loss was thought to be $175,000, but was later estimated at $100,000. The studio promised that production (on THE MYSTERIOUS MYSTERY!, in the Gang's case) would continue, and a new stage was completed the next day. Other studios loaned Roach some needed equipment.
If fire couldn't halt production, lying in bed would. A week after the conflagration Mary had a "slight attack" of scarlet fever, and Joe was stricken with measles.
There was more disappointment: a planned tour for August that would have the Gang making personal appearances in large cities in the east had the kids jumping up and down with excitement, but the idea had to be scrapped due to complications with child labour laws there.
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| THE SUNDOWN LIMITED (1924) |
However, there came a small measure of compensation. Courtesy of the Oakland Tribune newspaper, Mary made a personal appearance at the American Theatre on Saturday morning, August 23. Mary gave a speech about what's it like to be a moving picture star, as well as a recitation. The program also included an Our Gang film, TIRE TROUBLE, and a performance by the Tribune Juveniles, a singing-dancing-acting troupe. The Tribune reported that when she appeared on stage there were exclamations of "Oh! What a sweet little girl." "What a little darling." "Isn't she pretty."
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| Charity work in San Bernardino, 1924 |
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| Mary with director Robert McGowan; "Uncle Bob", the kids called him |
But it wasn't just the Gang that kids were clamouring to see. A morning paper in New York carried the story that Robert McGowan was in town, searching for talent. In fact, it was supposed to be a vacation. The hotel he was staying at was besieged by children, as well as their parents, who were hoping to get them into the pictures. Management insisted McGowan come down to the lobby to deal with the horde, but he could barely get out of the elevator. He was escorted out the back for his own safety. The Gang also invaded New York in THE BIG TOWN, released January 11, 1925.
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| Mary sporting long curls in THE BIG TOWN (1925) |
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| During production, THE BIG TOWN went under the working title "In New York" |
Their next release, CIRCUS FEVER, introduced Johnny Downs, who joined in the fall of 1924, in a small role. That same month it was announced that Johnny was "formally initiated" into the group, chosen from a list of fifty hopefuls. Johnny was rather effusive in his admiration for Mary. He composed several poems for her, and for his efforts was mocked and given the raspberry by the other fellas in the Gang.
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| The Gang with Christy Walsh, Babe Ruth's agent, as well as a ghost writer for sports columns; as Eugene "Pineapple" Jackson was with them for a very short time, this photo was probably taken late 1924 or early 1925 |
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| The kids look like they're thinking of skippin' school; ad from Moving Picture World, January 31, 1925 |
The age-old mystery of whether pets go to heaven seems to have been solved by Mary Kornman in 1925 during an exchange with Robert McGowan:
"Do chickens go to heaven?" she asked.
"What a question! Of course not."
"Why don't chickens go to heaven when cats do?"
"What makes you think cats go to heaven?"
"Because when I dug up my kitty where it was buried it was all gone."
Mary, usually a supporting player, was the dominant force in MARY, QUEEN OF TOTS, released August 23, 1925. A pre-release was shown at the Ocean Grove Auditorium in New Jersey August 17, as part of a program screening Harold Lloyd's new movie, THE FRESHMAN. A Pathe news reel was thrown in for good measure.
In QUEEN OF TOTS, Mary plays a poor little rich girl whose parents have no time for her. The gardener (played by Richard Daniels, Mickey's dad, who made numerous appearances in Our Gang films) is her only ally, and he purchases four handcrafted dolls for her (the likenesses of Mickey, Jackie, Joe and Farina). Mary is confined to her bedroom by her stern governess, but when the gardener presents the dolls to Mary, the little girl is overjoyed. She reads a fairy tale to her "dollies", imagining herself as the princess of the story, being fought over by two suitors -- in suits of armour. Mary falls asleep on the floor, and starts to dream. The dolls, as well as a couple of her stuffed animals, come to life and begin climbing about the chairs and dresser. This surreal sequence employed trick photography and a gigantic replica of the bedroom and its furnishings. As well, the viewer looks up through a glass floor at Farina, as if he's walking on air. The governess enters the room while Mary is still asleep, sees the dolls sitting where Mary had left them, and gathers them up. She tosses them in the garbage can outside. When Mary awakens, she's in a panic, searching for the dolls. She spies Mickey, Jackie, Joe and Farina near the sidewalk, and believes her new toys have come to life. Mary invites the boys inside for a snack, and when the governess discovers the little ragamuffins, she's baffled. She rushes off to fetch a police officer after the boys refuse to leave, and while she's gone the gardener returns with the dolls, which he'd found in the garbage. The boys explain that they were paid a dollar per week to model for the dolls. All conspire to fool the governess, and leave the dolls in the dining room. The policeman with whom the governess returns has trouble accepting her bizarre story about living dolls. He asks Mary if the lady might be a bit looney. "I don't know for sure -- Mebbe she is --" The cop carts off the governess, presumably to the madhouse.
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| Hal Roach (right), with Elmer Pearson, vice-president of Pathe (sitting on a 10-foot-tall chair) and the Gang, in a publicity photo for MARY QUEEN OF TOTS |
It's possible the inspiration for this story came from the bickering that must have occasionally occurred between the boys and Mary over the "no dolls" rule, for she certainly never kept her vow. She continued getting new ones, like the "Bye-Lo Baby", the first realistic doll on the market. When her little sister Mildred was born July 10, 1925, Mary declared that she was through with dolls, that Mildred was all she needed. But an article from March 1926 describes how one day the Gang were keeping themselves busy in between scenes: "Jackie was trying to drive a nail with an empty pop bottle, Mickey was moving things around to suit his own architectural scheme, Farina was dabbling in a convenient barrel of tar and Mary Kornman, the little leading lady of the Gang, was playing dolls as unconcernedly as though she were far removed from a movie lot." This peaceful moment suggests that the boys had long ago given up trying to enforce their "no dolls" rule.
The boys were either flattered or dismayed when Sayco released a boxed set of Our Gang dolls in 1926. 12 inches tall, Freckles, Fatty, Jackie, Mary and Farina, "the most famous gang of kids in the world", danced when wound up.
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| Farina, Jackie, Mickey and Joe -- caught playing with dolls!; from MARY, QUEEN OF TOTS |
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| More dolls. From Woman's Home Companion, October 1925 |
1925 saw the beginning of Our Gang merchandise and tie-ups with advertisers: Jantzen Knitting Mills (bathing suits and knit goods); Proctor and Gamble (Ivory soap); Beech-nut Packing Company (Beech-nut Fruit Drops); A. Stein and Company (Paris Garters); Armour Grain Company (breakfast cereal); H. C. White Company (Kiddie Kars and wagons); Meccano Company (construction toys); Wilson Company (sporting goods); Camelline Face Powder; Huntington Non-Skid tan soles; Twistum Toys; Cannon Ball Brake scooters; Ingersoll Dollar Pens; Bishop and Company (Honeysweet Grahams); Ruud water heaters (how the Gang promoting a water heater was of any advantage to the manufacturer is anyone's guess).
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| The Gang advertising Cannon Ball Brake scooters |
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| The Gang, cluttering Bob McGowan's desktop, tries to attract his attention, to no avail |
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| Scene from Pathe Review No. 45, 1925; that's a telephone, to the left |
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| The Gang, from the L.A. Times, June 27, 1925 |
Although released November 8, 1925, the segment was filmed March 1 to 14, immediately prior to MARY, QUEEN OF TOTS, filmed March 16 to April 1. The glass floor used in the Pathe Review film was either contructed for QUEEN OF TOTS, or inspired the similar scene used in that two-reeler. Art Lloyd was the cameraman for QUEEN OF TOTS, but it's possible that Knechtel had a hand in producing the special effects. Although Johnny Downs appears with the Gang on McGowan's desk, he isn't given a solo bit -- at least not in surviving prints -- nor does he appear in QUEEN OF TOTS. Katherine Grant, an actress with the Roach studio, was also Mary's dance teacher.
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| And to think, at first those urchins didn't even want her in the Gang! |
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| BETTER MOVIES (1925) |
In August of 1925 Gene Kornman was called to the studio. It seems Mary was being difficult: she refused to roll down her socks. "How come, Mary?" Gene asked. "I won't do it, daddy. They want to make a flapper out of me, an' -- an' -- I wanna be a dignified actress!"
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| So she is a flapper, after all! The Gang become cops for a day, in OFFICIAL OFFICERS, one of the better episodes in the Pathe series. |
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| A month before Christmas 1925, the kids posed for this picture; Farina figured if they could catch Santa in a bear trap they'd get a lot more presents |
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| Mary warms her hands over the stove in GOOD CHEER; beside her, Richard Daniels and David Durand |
THUNDERING FLEAS, released July 4, 1926, was Mickey's last film with the Gang. It also introduced Elmer "Scooter" Lowry (as "Skooter"), a tough kid from Brooklyn, with Mildred Kornman making a brief appearance as his little sister. Scooter's original nickname was "Skippy", but, as he was always scooting about, the Gang rechristened him.
Mickey's departure marked the beginning of the end for the original Gang. THE FOURTH ALARM!, released September 12, 1926, was Mary's swan song. Mildred, less than a year old when it was filmed, is given a lot of screen time, in a plot devised specifically for her by Joe Cobb. Filming finished June 14, and early in July McGowan announced to the press in Chicago that Mickey and Mary were no longer with the Gang. Mickey, 11, and Mary, 10, had simply grown too old. Jay Smith, who joined the Gang in 1925, had even more freckles than Mickey. Mary would eventually be replaced by another pretty blonde, 4-year-old Jean Darling, in 1927.
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| Mary, in front of the Roach studio |
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| Mildred Kornman, 1927 |
THE FOURTH ALARM! was also the last film with McGowan as sole director of the series. Afterwards, he co-directed with his nephew, Robert Anthony McGowan, (who used the name "Anthony Mack" to avoid confusion), then alternated with Anthony and other directors.
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| Mary, 1926; ten years old and already facing retirement |
MARY, MARY, WHERE YOU GOING TO?
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| Mary and Mickey celebrate the opening of the Broadway Theatre, Santa Ana, in 1926; it's possible their involvement in this event was filmed and used as the introduction to their stage show |
Mary and Mickey had no choice but to follow Sammy's footsteps and go into vaudeville. Songwriter Blanche Merrill was hired to write a skit for the two kids. Titled "A Day Off", the performance begins with a short film showing Mary and Mickey in a goat cart leaving a movie studio and driving through the streets of Los Angeles before arriving at a vaudeville theatre. The kids are seen moving towards the stage entrance, at which point the film ends and the curtain rises. Mary and Mickey are on stage, seated on wooden crates. They chat, and Mickey says he misses the Gang. This leads to a comical discussion about the "peculiarities" of movie stars, including current gossip. The kids then mock some of them with imitations, Mickey as western star William S. Hart and Mary as Mae Murray in THE MERRY WIDOW. Mary asks Mickey why he's shooting his gun so much, to which he responds, "Mabel Normand'll get blamed anyhow, so I don't care who I hit." (Mabel Normand was an actress scandalised by links to two separate murders in 1922 and 1924, both involving guns.) They close the show, 18 minutes in all, with imitations of Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks.
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| Mary, impersonating Mae Murray, 1927 |
Mary and Mickey toured the Orpheum Circuit, first on the Coast, then the Middle West. In February 1927 Mary took ill at the Riviera Theatre in Chicago, and had to have her tonsils and adenoids removed on the 19th at a local hospital, resulting in the cancellation of bookings until she could recover. She left on the 26th to convalesce at her home in Los Angeles. The kids eventually took to the road again, but the stress proved too much for 11-year-old Mary, and she went home, exhausted. Mickey continued the tour with a new partner, singer-dancer Peggy Eames, who had appeared in a few of the Our Gang shorts.
Johnny Downs had left the Gang late in 1926 for a 12-week engagement in vaudeville. Afterwards, he immediately returned to the Roach studio to appear in one more Our Gang film, CHICKEN FEED, which was also Scooter Lowry's final appearance.
Herman Timberg, a well-known vaudevillian, was hired early in 1928 to put together an act for Mary, Johnny and Scooter for the Keith-Albee circuit. The result was "In and Out of the Movies", a comical, behind-the-scenes look at film studios. Johnny Downs summed up the show's content in an interview: "We're here to tell you how they do stunts in the movies. We'll show you what goes on behind the camera when Hal Roach isn't looking. We'll sing, dance, and do anything to entertain."
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| Mary, Scooter Davis and Johnny Downs; vaudeville, 1928 |
Asked for her opinion of vamps, whom Mary was poking fun at on stage, the 12-year-old girl replied, "Oh, I don't think much of the 'vamp' type for myself. They are always so snaky and slinky. I'd rather be just a regular girl, with tennis and swimming for hobbies and doing other things in the out-of-doors. Vamps have to be too careful of their complexions and their looks. I like to be just me."
Accompanying Mary, Johnny and Scooter was an entourage, including three of their parents, a governess, a private tutor, and manager Walter J. Neal. A performance in Santa Cruz sold 680 children's tickets, not including toddlers, for whom admission was free, and accompanying parents. The kids performed to capacity crowds at every venue during their lengthy tour, which eventually brought them to the East Coast. Aside from their professional duties, the kids also performed at children's hospitals and orphanages.
In January of 1929 they played in Elmira, New York, which the kids couldn't wait to visit, being that it was Hal Roach's home town. "You know, I always wanted to see Elmira because Mr. Roach used to tell us so much about it," said Mary. "But I thought it was larger." Their tour continued through the summer.
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| Mary, Scooter and Johnny, 1928 |
In November, Mary visited the Our Gang lot. There had been some changes. In 1928 Roach ended his association with Pathe. MGM was now his distributor, and the Our Gang shorts were packaged with their features. And in the spring of 1929 the studio converted to sound. But Mary noticed something else. When Farina saw those familiar golden locks he shouted, "Oh, boy, it's Mary", and ran to her. "Where's everybody I used to know, Farina?" asked Mary. They were all gone. Joe had retired earlier in the year. Jackie left after filming ELECTION DAY in August of 1928. Farina was the only one remaining of the old Gang. Mary left the lot, on the verge of tears.
Mary had no real idea what it was like to attend a public school. She had always been tutored, whether on the lot or on the road. Shortly before Christmas of 1929 she enrolled at Beverly Hills High school. She was uncomfortable in this strange environment, and was hoping to get back to work as soon as possible, and continue her school lessons with a private tutor. Asked if the students treated her differently because she was an actress, Mary replied, "No, I'm not well enough known for that." She left Beverly Hills High early in 1930, and later commented, "I guess one month in school in 19 years is some kind of a record."
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| Johnny Downs and Mary Kornman reminiscing, 1934; the two kept in touch throughout their lives |
By this time Gene and Verna Kornman were divorced, and Verna was appointed legal guardian of Mary, to care for the $10,000 her daughter had saved over the years. Verna and the girls were living in Beverly Hills, renting an apartment for $50 a month. On April 14, Verna told the enumerator for the 1930 Census that she was an "actress" in "studios" and had worked the previous day, to cover up the fact that it was actually 14-year-old Mary supporting the family. Verna needn't have concerned herself, as the Census was confidential. On December 13, 1930, Verna married Leland Traver. It was her third marriage.
Early in 1930 Mary was in negotiations with Hal Roach to star in a new comedy series about teenagers, something he'd been mulling over for three years. Early working titles were "Puppy Love" and "The Younger Set", but "The Boy Friends" was finally settled upon. Mary's co-star was Mickey Daniels. The 2-reel series, which ran from 1930 to 1932, was the least successful of Roach's productions, and only 15 were made.
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| "The Boy Friends" cast: Gertie Messinger (top); Mary Kornman and Dorothy Granger (middle); David Sharpe, Mickey Daniels and Grady Sutton (bottom); the series was still tentatively titled "The Younger Set" when this photo was taken |
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| BLOOD AND THUNDER (1931), a "Boy Friends" short |
In 1931 Mary was on loan to RKO for ARE THESE OUR CHILDREN? The pre-Code debauchery depicted in this lurid feature prevented it from being exhibited after 1934.
Mary and Mickey returned to the Our Gang set to appear in FISH HOOKY (released January 28, 1933) as a teacher and truant officer, respectively. Joe Cobb and Farina also appeared.
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| Mickey, Mary, Bob McGowan, Joe and Farina on the set of FISH HOOKY (1933), with the latest Our Gang troupe |
On July 18, 1936 Hal Roach celebrated the 15th anniversary of Our Gang's inception, with an event emceed by Fern Carter. Mary, Mickey, Farina, Joe, Johnny Downs, and later members of the Gang attended. Mrs Carter had been schooling generations of Our Gang kids since 1922, and would continued to do so until the end of the series in 1944, even after Roach sold the rights to MGM in 1938 and had nothing more to do with Our Gang.
Mary, Mickey and Joe appeared one last time together in the Our Gang short, REUNION IN RHYTHM (released January 9, 1937). Their roles were small, and only Mickey had a speaking part. By this time the Our Gang shorts had been scaled back to one reel.
The highlight of Mary's talkie career may have been her work with Bing Crosby at Paramount, first in a supporting role in COLLEGE HUMOR (1933), and a co-starring role in a couple of 2-reelers, PLEASE (released December of 1933) and JUST AN ECHO (released January 1934). She said she was nervous: "I never used to be when I was playing with the Gang. And when I have lines with Bing I have the jitters." COLLEGE HUMOR premiered in Washington, Boston and Cincinnati on June 16, an event preceded by a live half-hour radio broadcast from Hollywood, featuring Bing, Mary and others from the cast, as well as an orchestra.
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| Bing wins Mary's forgiveness by singing his 1932 hit, "Please", in the 1933 two-reeler of the same name |
Mary and cameraman Leo Tover, whom she'd met on the set of COLLEGE HUMOR, eloped to Yuma, Arizona and married on March 15, 1934. She was 18 and he was 31. They moved into a small apartment not far from where Mary had been living with her mother, sister and stepfather. She thought being married would help her career: "My greatest difficulty so far has been trying to convince casting directors that I am grown up."
Her ploy didn't work. The rest of Mary's acting career, which ended in 1940, was underwhelming. Her biggest roles were for poverty row studios, such as the 12-chapter serial, QUEEN OF THE JUNGLE (1935, Screen Attractions), and THE DESERT TRAIL (1935, Monogram), in which she co-starred with John Wayne, who was grinding out low-budget programmers until John Ford's STAGECOACH (1939) made him a star.
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| QUEEN OF THE JUNGLE (1935) one-sheet; an edited feature version, tentatively titled "White Jungle Goddess", was planned for release concurrently with the serial, but this did not come to pass |
Mary and Leo Tover divorced October 7, 1938, and Mary moved back in with her mother, sister and stepfather.
Mildred's stint with the Gang had barely lasted two years. She began a modelling career in her late teens, under the name "Ricki Van Dusen". To what extent Gene Kornman kept in contact with his daughter and stepdaughter is hard to say. In September of 1944 he was taking photos of girls at the Diamond Horseshoe club in Manhattan (probably for the 1945 film, DIAMOND HORSESHOE), when one of them said, "Don't you know me?" He didn't recognise her. It was Mildred.
Mary married again on May 6, 1940, to 37-year-old Ralph McCutcheon, a rancher from Colorado. Mary had taken a liking to horses while filming THE DESERT TRAIL in 1935 and eventually bought one, and hired Ralph to teach her to ride. Ralph was a horse-trainer whose animals appeared in movies and television. Most famously, his horse, "Beaut", was "Black Beauty" in the 1946 movie, and "Fury" in the long-running television series. They took their vows at the McCutcheon family home in Greeley, Colorado. Mary retired from acting in 1940, and she and Ralph lived on the ranch in California. Mary died from cancer June 1, 1973, and Ralph followed her two years later. They're buried together in Greeley.
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| Mary, photographed for an "Our Gang" article in the May 14, 1955 issue of TV Guide; also on hand were Joe Cobb, Jackie Condon, and members of the Gang from the sound era: Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer, Mary Ann Jackson, Darla Hood and Tommy "Butch" Bond |
In 1955 the sound era Our Gang shorts were repackaged and syndicated to television as "The Little Rascals". A few years earlier, Hal Roach had sold the rights to the first 90 Our Gang talkies to Interstate Television Corporation, a subsidiary of Monogram Pictures, for $27,000.
Mickey Daniels died in 1970 at the age of 55; Jackie Condon in 1977, at the age of 59; Allen "Farina" Hoskins in 1980, aged 59; Ernest "Sunshine Sammy" Morrison in 1989, aged 76; Jack Davis in 1992, aged 78; and Joe Cobb in 2002, aged 86.
As for Hal Roach, he died in 1992 (one day before Jack Davis) at the age of 100! He outlived most of the original Gang.
(As of this writing, Mildred Kornman and the aforementioned Baby Peggy are still alive and kickin'. Mildred is 93 and Baby Peggy is 100!)
