Clifton Young
Clifton Young | |
---|---|
Clifton Young as Bonedust in his first sound film School's Out. | |
Born |
Robert Howard Young September 15, 1917 Schenectady, New York |
Died |
September 10, 1951 33) Los Angeles, California | (aged
Cause of death | Hotel fire |
Occupation |
child actor actor |
Years active | 1925-1951 |
Robert Howard "Clifton" Young (September 15, 1917 – September 10, 1951) was an American film actor.
Career
Born Robert H. Young, the child actor played "Bonedust" in nineteen Our Gang films from 1925 to 1931, his most notable film being School's Out. As an adult, to avoid confusion with established star Robert Young, he took his mother's maiden name, Clifton (Eva Clifton) as his screen name.
Young became a contract player at Warner Bros., landing small parts in a number of 1940s film noir and western films. Notable credits include Nora Prentiss, Pursued, Possessed, Dark Passage, and Blood on the Moon.[1]
While at Warners Young was featured prominently in the Joe McDoakes comedy shorts. He played a variety of roles: a craven mobster in So You Want to Be a Detective, a department-store clerk in So You're Going on Vacation, and memorably as "Homer," Joe's brash, know-it-all office colleague in several McDoakes reels. Young often displayed excellent comedy timing in these films.
Death
One of Young's last films was the Roy Rogers western Trail of Robin Hood, in which he played a sneering villain.
September 10, 1951, Young died five days before his 34th birthday in a hotel fire that started when he fell asleep while smoking.[1]
References
- 1 2 Maltin, Leonard and Bann, Richard W. (1977, rev. 1992). The Little Rascals: The Life and Times of Our Gang, p. 281. New York: Crown Publishing/Three Rivers Press. ISBN 0-517-58325-9