William "Billie" Thomas, Jr. was an American child actor best remembered for portraying the character of Buckwheat in the Our Gang short films from 1934 until the series' end in 1944. 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 to the white kids in the series. The 1980s Little Rascals animated series adapted from the... Our Gang comedies addressed the problem by changing Buckwheat into a clever inventor who is always building ingenious machines for the gang. Billie Thomas first appeared in the 1934 Our Gang shorts For Pete's Sake!, The First Round-Up, and Washee Ironee as a background player. The "Buckwheat" character was a female at this time, portrayed by Our Gang kid Matthew "Stymie" Beard's younger sister Carlena in For Pete's Sake!, and by Willie Mae Taylor in three other shorts. Thomas began appearing as "Buckwheat" with 1935's Mama's Little Pirate.
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| Birthdate: | March 12, 1931 |
| Birthplace: | Los Angeles, California |
| Date of death: | October 10, 1980 |
| Also known as: | William Thomas Jr., Buckwheat |