Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
Carl Switzer made it to the sky as the freckled-faced Alfalfa on “Our Gang” – but it wouldn’t have been a wonderful life for the actor.
At the age of 31, the former child star was killed in a fight allegedly over $50. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, that would be $539.36 in today’s money.
“Hell Has Begun,” James Tehrani, who wrote a new book, “Alfalfa – The Scoundrel You Knew, The Character You Didn’t Know,” he told Fox News Digital.
‘IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE’ STAR CAROLYN GRIMES REVEALS WHY SHE LEFT HOLLYWOOD: ‘IT BECAME MY PAST LIFE’
Carl Switzer as Alfalfa from The Little Rascals, originally known as Our Gang. Photo from January 1, 1936. (CBS via Getty Images)
“I think there’s a lot more to the story than $50,” he said. “But one thing that was important to me was not to put out any more misinformation and stay away from rumors and hearsay… I hope this is just the beginning and there will be more to come.”
At the time of the fatal fight, Switzer was a bartender and hunting dog trainer. The success he once achieved in Hollywood seemed to be long behind him as he dabbled in odd jobs. Povijest.com he also pointed out that he had several conflicts with the police.
A few weeks before that, he had trained one of Moses “Bud” Stiltz’s dogs during a hunt. He ran away and Stiltz wanted his dog back. According to the book, Switzer placed a notice in the newspaper offering a $35 reward.
Carl Switzer is seen in a scene opposite James Stewart and Donna Reed in “It’s a Wonderful Life.” (Everett)
Someone found the dog and came to collect the reward. Switzer paid the reward and paid the man a few drinks as a thank you, which reportedly amounted to $15 at the bar, or $100 in today’s money. But at some point that evening, the book said, Switzer felt Stiltz should reimburse him $50.
“Maybe it was a matter of principle — or maybe because he just really needed the money,” Tehrani wrote.
James Tehrani’s book, “Alfalfa – The Scoundrel You Knew, The Character You Never Knew,” is just out. (BearManor Media)
“He was supposed to be in court a few weeks after he died to a woman I couldn’t find,” Tehrani told Fox News Digital. “She loaned him quite a bit of money. . . . That may have been part of it. I heard other things during my research that I didn’t include in my book because I couldn’t verify it.”
CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE FOR THE FUN NEWSLETTER
Alfalfa was Carl Switzer’s most famous role. (Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
“Carl allegedly put a note in the paper with a $35 reward,” Tehrani said. “I spent hours… trying to find this classified ad, and I couldn’t find it. Don’t know if it’s true or not. But mysteriously, the dog turned up one day with this gentleman who returned the dog… Carl wasn’t in a great financial position, but he buys the guy $15 worth of drinks, which doesn’t add up when you think about it.”
Tehrani noted that Switzer “ended up having problems.”
As an actor, Carl Switzer became a star. But after growing up, he endured financial problems and had several run-ins with the police. According to reports, he never received any royalties from the show. (CBS via Getty Images)
“He had an up and down marriage,” Tehrani explained. “He and his wife [Diantha Collingwood] married very quickly. After a few months of relationship, they had a son together, and they moved to Kansas. An opportunity for a better life arose there, but it did not last long. So he struggled, especially when he was back in Hollywood and away from his son.”
“There were other incidents along the way,” Tehrani noted. “In 1958 he cut down a bunch of trees for Christmas trees. He was caught and fined for it. It was a tough time financially.”
Switzer’s friend, photographer Jack Piott, offered to drive him to Stiltz at night. When they arrived at the home of Rita Corrigan, Stiltz’s girlfriend, Switzer “got out and hurried toward the front door.”
Corrigan heard a voice say, “Western Union for Bud Stiltz.” When the door didn’t open, Switzer allegedly forcefully said, “You’re going to let me in or I’m going to break down the door.”
Carl Switzer appeared in the 1954 film The High and the Mighty, starring John Wayne. (Everett)
Stiltz, seemingly indifferent, told Corrigan to let Switzer in. After the door opened, Switzer “went over for Stiltz.” Piott was outside putting out a cigarette and did not immediately follow Switzer.
“There was a conflict upstairs,” Tehrani said. “Eventually this led to Bud getting hit a lot and Carl wrestling with Bud. Jack then came in and tried to break it up as best he could. But he also allegedly hit Bud with the watch… that’s when the shot was fired. “
“What happens depends on who you believe,” Tehrani said. “Jack Piott said Carl’s hand was on the door as he was about to leave when he was shot. Bud said he felt threatened and Carl was attacking him, maybe with a knife. The problem with this case is that he-said-she said is the situation.”
LIKE WHAT YOU READ? CLICK HERE FOR MORE ENTERTAINMENT NEWS
Carl Switzer played Alfalfa from the mid-1930s to the early 1940s. Then, in 1955, the comedies “Our Gang” were turned into “Little Rascals”. (CBS via Getty Images)
There were a few things that everyone agreed on. Dejected and bruised, Stiltz was hit in the head by a clock. Switzer was also shot in the stomach. He allegedly told Stiltz, “Why did you shoot me?”
When police arrived, Switzer was lying slumped on the ground by the door, holding on for dear life. Although Switzer was not bleeding heavily from the wound, he would succumb to his injuries by the time he reached the hospital.
The paramedic found a closed leg. But according to Tehrani, Piott claimed he never saw Switzer with a knife.
“What we do know is that Carl and Bud were apparently good friends at one point,” Tehrani said. “Both of them were hunters. But at some point, things went wrong. It seemed like there were a lot of phone calls back and forth in the months leading up to this… But it was more than he-said-she-said thing.”
Carl Switzer as Alfalfa and George McFarland as Spanky in the 1938 film Canned Fishing. (Collection of John Springer/Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images)
Stiltz told reporters that Switzer entered the property drunk or “under the influence of something.” he’s looking for his $50, the book shared. Stiltz also claimed that Switzer took his gun from him but got it back. Then Switzer pulled out a knife and said, “I’m going to kill you.” Stiltz said he had no choice but to shoot the actor in self-defense.
Piott, on the other hand, said he never saw Switzer with a gun in his hand.
Despite the number of people in the house, there were “different, and sometimes very different, memories of what happened that night,” the book emphasizes.
WATCH: ‘IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE’ STARS CAROLYN GRIMES, JIMMY HAWKINS RECALL MEMORIES OF THE HOLIDAY FILM REVIVAL
The jury declared the incident a justifiable homicide. Piott died in 1973, followed by Stiltz in 1983.
For decades, rumors persisted that Switzer was a Hollywood ex who had turned to drugs. Tehrani said that couldn’t be further from the truth.
“There is a myth that after he left the series “Our Gang”, he disappeared from Hollywood,” he said. “To some extent, that’s true. He didn’t have the biggest roles after ‘Our Gang,’ but he was either in a TV show or a movie every year until his death in 1959.”
Carl Switzer worked odd jobs in his later years before he was killed. (Family photo courtesy of James Tehrani.)
“Watch ‘It’s a Wonderful Life.’ It’s a movie that people watch every year around the holidays… He had a role there. He wasn’t credited for it, but he was in a great dance scene, and he danced with Donna Reed… He was in ‘The Defiant Ones’ and ‘The 10 Commandments,’ two important movies.”
“He deserves recognition,” Tehrani continued.
James Tehrani hopes his book will tell the full story of Carl Switzer’s short life in Hollywood. (BearManor Media)
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
“He was one of the most famous child actors of the 1930s, and arguably one of the most famous of all time… Was he a perfect person? No, he did some not-so-great things that I talked about in the book. But he also was a child put in a very difficult situation.”
