Like a number of his fellow Little Rascals, it seemed as though he was heading down a path that would inevitably lead to his premature death. LITTLE RASCALS, Tommy Bond, Matthew ‘Stymie’ Beard, Uh-Oh, Jacquelyn Taylor, Wally Albright, Jerry Tucker, Spanky McFarland, circa 1934. And to support his addiction, he would commit crimes and spent a good portion of his adult life going in and out of jail and becoming destitute in the process. When he was 16, he began smoking pot and this gradually led him down a path of harder drugs, particularly heroin, which he had become completely addicted to. Going Down a Dark Path Matthew ‘Stymie’ Beard, ca. And Stymie (Matthew would ultimately make this his real name given it’s who he was known as) had to get used to the idea that his life had become pretty much like everyone else’s. For a while, showing up in films like Captain Blood (1935), Jezebel (1938), and The Return of Frank James (1940). So positive had his experience as an actor been, that when his time as part of Our Gang was over, he naturally thought he would just keep on acting. Matthew ‘Stymie’ Beard (front), mid 1930s Given the fact that he was “famous,” he was definitely a target of other kids in the neighborhood. His paycheck would go to help support the family, and life in their neighborhood was very tough, a point he summed up with Maltin by stating, “My parents had to keep me in so I wouldn’t get my face scarred.”
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He, his parents, and 13 siblings - some of whom would be cast in smaller roles in some of the film shorts - lived in East Los Angeles. But away from the floodlights, cameras, and studio gates, life was very different.
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Wonderful memories for Stymie, as were the making of the films themselves and the feeling of equality that was foisted on him by pretty much everyone, from Roach, his crew, Laurel and Hardy, and the rest.
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Life On and Off the Set Matthew ‘Stymie’ Beard, ca.