Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Carl Switzer
Switzer in Our Gang Follies of 1938
Born	Carl Dean Switzer (1927-08-07)August 7, 1927 Paris, Illinois, U.S.
Died	January 21, 1959(1959-01-21) (aged 31) Mission Hills, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Resting place	Hollywood Forever Cemetery, Los Angeles, California
Other names	Alfalfa Switzer
Occupation	Singer child actor dog breeder guide
Years active	1935–1959
Spouse(s)	Dian Collingwood ​ ​ (m. 1954; div. 1957)​
Children	1
Relatives	Harold "Slim" Switzer (brother)

Carl Dean Switzer (August 8, 1927 – January 21, 1959) was an American singer, child actor, dog breeder, and guide. He was best known for his role as Alfalfa in the short subjects series Our Gang.

Switzer began his career as a child actor in the mid-1930s appearing in the Our Gang short subjects series as Alfalfa, one of the series' most popular and best-remembered characters. After leaving the series in 1940, Switzer struggled to find substantial roles owing to typecasting. As an adult, he appeared mainly in bit parts and B-movies. He later became a dog breeder and hunting guide.

Switzer was married to Diantha Collingwood in 1954 and had a son named Justin.

Early life and family

Switzer was born in Paris, Illinois on August 7 1927, the youngest of four children born to Gladys Carrie Shanks (1904–1997) and George Frederick "Fred" Switzer (1905–1960). The eldest brother died in 1922. A sister Janice was born in 1923 and a brother Harold was born in 1925. He was named Carl Dean after a member of the Switzer family and many relatives on his grandmother's side (respectively). He and his brother Harold became famous in their hometown for their musical talent and performances. Both sang and could play a number of instruments.

Career

Our Gang

Switzer (right) as "Alfalfa" in Our Gang Follies of 1938, with fellow Our Gang cast members George "Spanky" McFarland and Darla Hood

In 1934, the Switzers traveled to California to visit family. While sightseeing, they went to Hal Roach Studios. Following a public tour, 8-year-old Harold and 6-year-old Carl entered the Hal Roach Studio's open-to-the-public cafeteria, the Our Gang Café, and began an impromptu performance. Producer Hal Roach was present and was impressed. He signed both brothers to appear in Our Gang. Harold was given two nicknames, "Slim" and "Deadpan", while Carl was dubbed "Alfalfa".

The brothers first appeared in the 1935 Our Gang short Beginner's Luck. By the end of the year, Alfalfa was one of the main characters, while Harold had been relegated to the background. Although Carl was an experienced singer and musician, his character Alfalfa was often called upon to sing off-key renditions of popular songs for comic effect, most often those of Bing Crosby. Alfalfa also sported a cowlick.

By the end of 1937, Switzer's "Alfalfa" had surpassed the series' nominal star, George "Spanky" McFarland, in popularity. While the boys got along, their fathers argued constantly over their sons' screen time and salaries. Switzer's best friend among the Our Gang actors was Tommy Bond, who played his on-screen nemesis "Butch". In Bond's words, he and Switzer became good friends because "neither of us could replace the others".

Adult years

Switzer's tenure on Our Gang ended in 1940, when he was twelve. His first role after leaving the series was as a Boy Scout in I Love You Again (1940) starring William Powell and Myrna Loy. He then co-starred in the 1941 comedy Reg'lar Fellers. The next year, he had a supporting role in Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch. Switzer continued to appear in films in various supporting roles, including in Johnny Doughboy (1942), Going My Way (1944), and The Great Mike (1944).

Switzer had an uncredited role as Auggie in the 1943 film The Human Comedy. Switzer's last starring roles were in a brief series of imitation Bowery Boys films. He reprised his "Alfalfa" character, complete with comically sour vocals, in PRC's Gas House Kids comedies in 1946 and 1947. By this time Switzer was downplaying his earlier Our Gang work. In his 1946 resume, he referred to the films generically as "M-G-M short product".

Switzer had small parts in both the 1946 Christmas film It's a Wonderful Life as Mary Hatch's (Donna Reed) date at a high school dance in the film's beginning and again in the 1948 film On Our Merry Way as the mayor's son, a trumpet player in a fixed musical talent contest. In 1952, he played a busboy in the film Pat and Mike starring Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn. In the 1954 musical film White Christmas, his photo was used to depict "Freckle-Faced Haynes, the Dog-Faced Boy", an army buddy of lead characters Wallace and Davis (played by Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye) who was also the brother of the female leads the Haynes Sisters, played by Rosemary Clooney and Vera-Ellen.

In the 1950s, Switzer returned to television. Between 1952 and 1955, he made six appearances on The Roy Rogers Show. He also guest-starred in an episode of the American science fiction anthology series Science Fiction Theatre and The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show. In 1953 and 1954, Switzer co-starred in three William A. Wellman-directed films: Island in the Sky and The High and the Mighty, both starring John Wayne, and Track of the Cat, starring Robert Mitchum. In 1956, he co-starred in The Bowery Boys film Dig That Uranium followed by a bit part as a Hebrew slave in Cecil B. DeMille's The Ten Commandments. Switzer's final film role was in the 1958 drama The Defiant Ones.

Besides acting, Switzer bred and trained hunting dogs and guided hunting expeditions. Among his notable clients were Roy Rogers and Dale Evans (Switzer's son's godparents), James Stewart, and Henry Fonda.

Personal life

In early 1954, Switzer went on a blind date with Diantha Collingwood (1930–2004), also known as Dian or Diana. She was the daughter of Lelo and Faye Collingwood, and an heiress to the grain elevator empire Collingwood Grain. Collingwood had moved with her mother and sister to California in 1953 because her sister wanted to become an actress. Switzer and Collingwood got along well and married in Las Vegas three months later.

In 1956, with his money running out and Diantha pregnant, his mother-in-law offered them a farm near Pretty Prairie, Kansas. Their son, Justin Lance Collingwood Switzer (later Justin Lance Collingwood Eldridge) was born that year. They divorced in 1957. Diantha married Richard Rosswell "Ross" Eldridge (1933–2007), who adopted and raised Lance as his own, and had two other children by him, sons Chris and Lee Eldridge.

Death

The grave of Carl Switzer at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery

Switzer died on January 21, 1959, at the age of 31.

He was interred at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Hollywood, California on January 27, 1959. Because he died the same day as Cecil B. DeMille, his death received only minor notice in most newspapers, as DeMille's obituary dominated the columns. Switzer had appeared as a slave (uncredited) in the last film for which DeMille was credited as a director, The Ten Commandments.

Switzer's gravestone features the square and compasses of Freemasonry and an image of a hunting dog.

Selected filmography