RIP: SIDNEY KILBRICK

Sidney Kibrick, the second-to-last surviving child star from the Our Gang series of movie shorts, died January 2, according to friends. He was 97.

Born July 2, 1928, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Kibrick moved with his family to Los Angeles at age five. He was discovered at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, where a film producer scouting children for the Our Gang comedies spotted him. Created by Hal Roach — who also produced films starring Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, and other comedians of that era — the Our Gang shorts (later syndicated on television as The Little Rascals) were produced from 1922 to 1944, spanning the transition from the silent era to early sound.

Kibrick’s earliest screen appearance was a brief, non-speaking role as an extra in the feature film Dead End. He made his uncredited film debut in Out All Night in 1933 and appeared in several additional uncredited roles before being cast as a regular in the Our Gang series in 1935.

Initially unnamed, his character was later identified as “Woim,” the sidekick to the neighborhood bully Butch, played by Tommy Bond. Kibrick appeared in 27 Our Gang shorts. At the time, the featured Our Gang players included George “Spanky” McFarland, Carl “Alfalfa” Switzer, Billie “Buckwheat” Thomas, Eugene “Porky” Lee, Darla Hood, and Darwood “Waldo” Kaye.

After leaving Our Gang, Kibrick made a handful of uncredited appearances in other films before retiring from acting. As an adult, he worked as a real estate developer.

Former child actor Peggy Lynch, who appeared in three Our Gang shorts, is now the last surviving cast member from the classic film series...

SIDNEY KIBRICK: THE LAST LITTLE RASCAL

As of the death of child star Robert Blake on March 9, 2023 - former actor Sidney Kibrick has become the last surviving member of the Our Gang series. Sidney most notably appeared in the Our Gang short subjects film series, over a ten-year period from 1933 and 1943.

Kibrick was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota on July 2, 1928. He attended Mount Vernon Junior High. Kibrick made a brief non-dialogue appearance as an extra in the feature film Dead End, observed as one of three or so children huddled together during one of the river dock scenes. He made his uncredited film debut in Out all Night (1933), and after a few more uncredited roles was cast in 1935 in Our Gang, from 1937 to 1939, in that series he portrayed "Woim" (a vernacular pronunciation of "worm"), the sidekick of the neighborhood bully "Butch", played by Tommy Bond.

Kibrick worked as a real estate developer and architect after leaving show business in the 1940s. He kept in touch with Our Gang members at reunions, some of which he used to host. In 1991, he acknowledged that he had avoided the tragic lives that former child actors often ended up having as adults. As Sidney got older, his roles became limited. He made his last appearance on film un credited in the 1943 movie Keep 'Em Slugging.

Admittedly, Sidney stayed friends with George McFarland for years, but never liked Carl Switzer, who he refers to as being disagreeable. Sidney has looked back fondly on his time as a child actor, but knows he lucked out by having a normal adult life compared to some of his other Our Gang co-stars...