THE HOLLYWOOD MUSEUM’S NEW EXHIBIT CELEBRATES THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF HAL ROACH’S “OUR GANG".

THE HOLLYWOOD MUSEUM’S NEW EXHIBIT  CELEBRATED THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF HAL ROACH’S “OUR GANG" JULY  28, 2022.

By Karen Ostlund                                                  

Stanley Livingston (My Three Sons Actor) Maria Carpenter (Daughter of Hal Roach) Sidney Kibrick (Our Gang Actor) Donelle Dadigan (President The Hollywood Museum) Leonard Maltin and Richard Bann at the Hollywood Museum opening day of OUR GANG exhibit.

 The Hollywood Museum announced the opening celebration of its newest exhibit, “OUR GANG”, on Thursday July 28, 2022.
Donelle Dadigan, Founder & President of the Hollywood Museum announced that the museum would be paying tribute to and celebrating the 100th Anniversary of Hal Roach’s “OUR GANG” film shorts. "In addition, the exhibit will solve the mystery/myth about Pete the Pup and the black ring from the “OUR GANG” film shorts.”
                                                                                   

Pete the Pup with the black ring

"Our Gang" was also known as "The Little Rascals" or "Hal Roach's Rascals" was an American series of comedy short films chronicling a group of poor neighborhood children and their adventures. It was created by film producer Hal Roach, also the producer of the Laurel and Hardy films, "Our Gang" shorts were produced from 1922 to 1944, spanning the silent film and early sound film periods of American cinema. Writers on the series of film shorts included Frank Capra, Walter Lantz, Leo McCarey, and Hal Roach himself.
                                                                              

Hal Roach award.

 Hal Roach and original director Robert F. McGowan worked by showing children behaving in a natural way, rather than have them imitate adult acting styles.
The series also broke new ground by portraying white and black children interacting as equals during the Jim Crow era of racial segregation in the United States.
                                                                                     

Alfalfa Switzer

The exhibit features Hal Roach’s Academy Award, Spanky McFarlands costume from the “Our Gang” comedy film short “Doin’ Their Bit”, also costumes from Darla Hood, Alfalfa Switzer, and Jerry Schatz.  Original Our Gang movie posters, countless B&W production stills, and more. 

"This is an exhibit that movie enthusiasts will enjoy, as well as families who have enjoyed “OUR GANG” on film, in television syndication over the years and the “OUR GANG” animated series - which has been part of the fabric of film culture from 1922 thru 2022, entertaining generations of kids and adults of all ages for 100 years,” said Donelle Dadigan (President of the Hollywood Museum).
                                                                                  
The franchise began in 1922 as a silent short subject series produced by the Roach studio and released by Pathé Exchange. Roach changed distributors from Pathé to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) in 1927, and the series entered its most popular period after converting to sound in 1929.
                                                                               

The speakers: Stanley Livingston (My Three Sons Actor) Maria Carpenter (Daughter of Hal Roach) Sidney Kibrick (Our Gang Actor) Donelle Dadigan (President The Hollywood Museum) Leonard Maltin and Richard Bann.

  Production continued at Roach until 1938, when the "Our Gang" production unit was sold to MGM, where production continued until 1944. Across 220 short films and a feature-film spin-off, General Spanky, the "Our Gang" series featured over 41 child actors as regular members of its cast.

As MGM retained the rights to the Our Gang trademark after buying the series, the Roach-produced sound Our Gang films were re-released to theaters and syndicated for television under the title The Little Rascals. Roach's The Little Rascals package, currently owned by CBS Media Ventures, and MGM's Our Gang package, currently owned by Turner Entertainment and distributed by Warner Bros., have since remained in syndication. New productions based on the shorts have been made over the years, including a 1994 feature film, The Little Rascals, released by Universal Pictures.TheHollywoodMuseum.com #TheHollywoodMuseum, 1660 N. HIGHLAND AVE, HOLLYWOOD CA.