Allen Clayton Hoskins 1920-1980 "Farina" Born Allen Clayton Hoskins August 9, 1920 - July 26, 1980. Allen Hoskins was the character of Farina in the Our Gang short films from 1922 to 1931. Farina was cast to be the stereotypical pickaninny in the tradition of the character Topsy from Uncle Tom's Cabin. He appeared in 106 installments of the Our Gang series and later had a successful career as a psychological technician. Allen Clayton Hoskins, aka "Farina" embarked on his screen career at the tender age of fourteen months. According to studio publicity, Hoskins, was discovered when he was a one-year-old who followed another black Our Gang actor, Sunshine Sammy, into the studio. Hal Roach took one look at the infant and knew he was star material. Hoskins made his Our Gang debut in 1922 and remained wit...