Billie Thomas 1931-1980 "Buckwheat" "I started when I was three years old. My mother just took me out to the studio on a regular interview day, and they needed a person, and that was it." Billie Thomas (originally William Thomas, Jr.) is best remembered as Buckwheat in the Our Gang (Little Rascals) shorts from 1934 until the series ended in 1943. He was a native of Los Angeles, California. Although the character he played was often the subject of controversy in later years for containing elements of the "pickaninny" stereotype, Thomas always defended his work in the series, pointing out that Buckwheat and the rest of the black Our Gang kids were treated as equals with the white kids in the series. Described by his co-stars as easygoing and cooperative, Thomas became the only Our Gang cast member to appear in all 52 MGM Our Ga...