LOS ANGELES (AP) - Thomas Ross Bond, who played Butch the bully in the "Our Gang" and "The Little Rascals" serials of the 1930s, has died. He was 79.
Bond died Saturday of complications from heart disease at Northridge Hospital, said his manager, Frank Marks.
Bond played a member of the Gang named Tommy. After his first year he was dropped from the cast but returned later in the role of Butch, the archenemy of Alfalfa.
Bond appeared in dozens of "Our Gang" and "Little Rascals" features before outgrowing the role.
Born Sept. 16, 1926 in Dallas, Bond got his start at the age of 5 when a talent scout for Hal Roach studios approached him as he was leaving a movie theater with his mother. The scout "asked him if he'd be interested in acting, (said) he had a great face and he could set up an appointment with Hal Roach in L.A.," Marks said.
Picked by Agent Cutie.