[Deathwatch] Tommy Bond, actor / producer-director, 79

[Deathwatch Central <cdw@slick.org>]

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 (Sep 24) 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. 

In the 1940s, Bond played Jimmy Olsen in two Superman movies and
appeared as Joey Pepper in several installments of the ``Five Little
Peppers'' serial. 

In 1951, Bond quit acting and went into television directing and
production work before retiring in 1991. 




Many thanks to Stevie Davidson for posting this obituary