Stymie Beard

Beard was born near Los Angeles, California, to Matthew Beard Sr. and Johnnie Mae Beard (née Clay). His father was the founding pastor of Beloved Church of God in Christ in Los Angeles. ==Our Gang years==

Beard previously played baby parts in many films, then signed a five-year contract in 1930 to appear in Our Gang. In contrast to Farina, the character whom he replaced, Stymie was a slick-tongued con-artist who was self-assured, nonchalant and ready with a sly comment and clever ideas to solve the problems that he faced. He could offer sound common sense that helped resolve his playmates' dilemmas. Stymie is the only member of Our Gang who both replaced one of the original gang members (Allen "Farina" Hoskins) and was in turn replaced by one who stayed until the series disbanded: Billie "Buckwheat" Thomas. The character was originally to be named "Hercules"; however, Our Gang director Robert McGowan, frustrated ("stymied") by little Matthew's curious wanderings around the studio, gave him the name "Stymie." in which they appeared in the Technicolor "ice cream fantasy" finale sequence. ==Family==

Beard's paycheck helped support his family in East Los Angeles, including 13 brothers and sisters. After Beard renamed his younger brother Bobbie "Cotton" (which was used as the name of one of the Our Gang characters), his parents allowed him to name all of the rest of his siblings as they were born. He named one Dickie after Dickie Moore, another member of Our Gang and Beard's best friend. Four other members of the Beard family appear in the Our Gang comedies: • His younger sister Betty Jane Beard preceded Stymie in the gang, playing Farina's little brother Hector in Moan & Groan, Inc. and When the Wind Blows (although she was a girl). • His younger sister Carlena Beard appears as Stymie's younger sister in Shiver My Timbers, ''Readin' and Writin' and For Pete's Sake!''. • His younger brother Bobbie Beard appears in six Our Gang shorts from 1932 to 1934 as Stymie's younger brother Cotton. • His mother Johnnie Mae Beard has cameos as Stymie's mother in Big Ears and Free Wheeling. Beard's younger brother Renee Beard appears in two of Hal Roach's featurettes of the 1940s, Curley and Who Killed Doc Robbin, both produced as revivals of the Our Gang idea. ==Later years==

After Beard left the series in 1935 at age 10, he acted in minor roles in feature films such as Captain Blood (1935) and Jezebel (1938). At age 15, he appears as Mose the bellboy in the 1940 film The Return of Frank James. Beard also appeared in supporting roles in several independent "race films" aimed at African-American audiences, including Two Gun Man from Harlem (1938) with Herb Jeffries and Broken Strings (1940) with Clarence Muse. Parts dried up as Beard became an older teenager; by the time he was an adult, Beard had retired from acting. Falling into drug use and street life, Beard was arrested at age eighteen for stealing to fuel a budding marijuana habit. In the 1960s, Beard checked himself into Synanon, a drug rehabilitation facility and cult in Los Angeles and successfully ended his heroin use. and on Good Times, where he had a recurring role (1974–1977) as Monty. Beard also lectured around the United States on drug-abuse awareness. In 1978, he appeared in the film The Buddy Holly Story as a member of the backstage crew at the Apollo Theater, wearing his trademark derby hat. ==Death==

Beard suffered a stroke on January 3, 1981, two days after his 56th birthday, sustained head injuries from falling down a flight of stairs, and died of pneumonia on January 8, 1981. He was living in Los Angeles at the time. He is interred in the Evergreen Cemetery in Los Angeles, buried with the famous derby that he wore for all of his life. ==Filmography==

In the book series Captain Underpants, one of the kids is named George Beard. The author Dav Pilkey loved Our Gang, so he named the character's last name after Beard. == References ==

• Holmstrom, John. The Moving Picture Boy: An International Encyclopaedia from 1895 to 1995, Norwich, Michael Russell, 1996, p. 132. • Dye, David. Child and Youth Actors: Filmography of Their Entire Careers, 1914-1985. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Co., 1988, pp. 13–14. • Willson, Dixie. Little Hollywood Stars, Akron, OH, and New York: Saalfield Pub. Co., 1935. ==External links==