# Our Gang Comedies--Froggy??

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/our-gang-comedies-froggy/265774>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [September 23, 2004, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/our-gang-comedies-froggy/265774 "2004-09-23T23:09:19Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![rippingtons\_fan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rippingtons_fan/32/11767_2.png) [@rippingtons\_fan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rippingtons_fan)\
**Post date:** [September 23, 2004, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/our-gang-comedies-froggy/265774/1 "2004-09-23T23:09:19Z")

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I remember watching the old Our Gang comedies, and I’ve always wondered about the boy they called Froggy.  
He always spoke with a very raspy voice. Was this the result of a birth defect or an injury or was it just a trick he could do with his voice??

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**Author:** ![Cabbage](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@Cabbage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cabbage)\
**Post date:** [September 23, 2004, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/our-gang-comedies-froggy/265774/2 "2004-09-23T23:30:34Z")

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[Here’s](http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0490844/bio) the IMDB biography page for “Froggy” Laughlin.

> [@](#):
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> His gravel voice was exploited by an MGM talent scout.

Unfortunately, that doesn’t really answer your question, but I thought looking there would at least be a start. The boy was hit and killed by a truck at the age of 16. ☹

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**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\
**Post date:** [September 23, 2004, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/our-gang-comedies-froggy/265774/3 "2004-09-23T23:37:22Z")

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[Froggy](http://www.4alfalfa.com/FroggyFiles/froggymain.html)

> [@](#):
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> One of these characters was named “Froggy” for his weird, raspy, Popeye-like voice (which was not, by the way, the result of any special sound effects: it was really the young man’s voice) Froggy was played by an actor named William Laughlin

[Billy Laughlin](http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=5774&pt=Billy%20Laughlin)

> [@](#):
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> Birth: Jul. 5, 1932  
> Death: Aug. 31, 1948
> 
> Actor. Motion picture child star of the 1940s. He was best know for played ‘Froggy’ in many “Our Gang” comedy shorts. Killed while riding a motor-scooter in 1948

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**Author:** ![Fritz\_The\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f17d59/32.png) [@Fritz\_The\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fritz_The_Cat)\
**Post date:** [September 24, 2004, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/our-gang-comedies-froggy/265774/4 "2004-09-24T01:05:47Z")

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My son and I both have no problem talking like Froggy. My son (born on Oct. 31st) did it in class at school one day and scared the teacher so bad she ran out of the room.

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**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\
**Post date:** [September 24, 2004, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/our-gang-comedies-froggy/265774/5 "2004-09-24T03:27:56Z")

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Froggy apparently inherited his unique voice from his mother, as evidenced in [Robot Wrecks (1941)](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0034122/combined), in which his mother is heard to have a **very** deep voice–courtesy of dubbing by 5’ 2" Billy Bletcher, who also played the role of Froggy’s father in that same short, and supplied the voice of the giant in [Mama’s Little Pirate (1934)](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0025448/combined).