Ronald Le Roy Overacker (May 12, 1932 – July 28, 2001), better known by his

stage name A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...

Baby LeRoy, was an American

child actor The term child actor or child actress is generally applied to a child acting on stage or in film, movies or television. An adult who began their acting career as a child may also be called a child actor, or a "former child actor". Closely associ ...

who appeared in films in the 1930s. When he was 16 months old, he became the youngest person ever put under term contract by a major studio. Born in Los Angeles, California, Baby LeRoy's career began when he was less than one year old, co-starring with

Maurice Chevalier Maurice Auguste Chevalier (; 12 September 1888 – 1 January 1972) was a French singer, actor and entertainer. He is perhaps best known for his signature songs, including " Livin' In The Sunlight", " Valentine", "Louise", " Mimi", and "Thank Hea ...

in ''

A Bedtime Story ''A Bedtime Story'' is a 1933 American pre-Code romantic comedy film starring Maurice Chevalier. Plot Chevalier plays a Parisian playboy who finds himself obliged to care for an abandoned baby. The film was directed by Norman Taurog and also st ...

'', and ended with a cameo role as himself in ''Cinema Circus'' (1937). He is best known for his appearances in three

W. C. Fields William Claude Dukenfield (January 29, 1880 – December 25, 1946), better known as W. C. Fields, was an American comedian, actor, juggler, and writer. Fields's comic persona was a misanthropic and hard-drinking egotist who remained a sympathe ...

films: ''

Tillie and Gus ''Tillie and Gus'' is a 1933 American pre-Code comedy film directed by Francis Martin, co-written by Martin and Walter DeLeon, and starring W.C. Fields, Alison Skipworth, Baby LeRoy, Julie Bishop, and Clarence Wilson. It is based on a short stor ...

'' (1933), '' The Old Fashioned Way'' (1934) and ''

It's a Gift ''It's a Gift'' is a 1934 American comedy film starring W.C. Fields. It was Fields's 16th sound film, and his fifth in 1934 alone. It was directed by Norman McLeod, who had directed Fields in his cameo as Humpty Dumpty in ''Alice in Wonderlan ...

'' (1934).

Screen interaction with W. C. Fields

Fields recounted a difficult shooting day during ''Tillie and Gus'' where a short scene was repeatedly ruined by Baby LeRoy's crying until he surreptitiously devised a solution: "I quietly removed the nipple from Baby LeRoy's bottle, dropped in a couple of noggins of gin, and returned it to Baby LeRoy. After sucking on the pacifier for a few minutes, he staggered through the scene like a Barrymore." LeRoy is perhaps best remembered for a dinner table sequence in the W. C. Fields comedy '' The Old Fashioned Way'' (1934) in which he throws a handful of custard into the comedian's face, yanks on his nose, and destroys his pocket watch by tossing it into a bowl of molasses. Fields initially endures each of these indignities, but the scene ends with Fields spotting Baby LeRoy standing in a doorway and giving the toddler a kick to the rear end. The film's director, William Beaudine, reported that the kick got "the biggest laugh in the picture." By the time of ''It's a Gift'', Fields had wearied of the youngster, who was now getting second billing in the credits. "Fields had a phobia about the baby," said director Norman McLeod. "He not only hated infants in general, but he believed that Baby LeRoy was stealing scenes from him... He used to swear at the baby so much in front of the camera that I sometimes had to cut off the ends of the scenes in which they appeared." Whether or not this animosity was legitimate, it greatly contributed to the popular impression of Fields, as famously summed up by

Leo Rosten Leo Calvin Rosten (Yiddish: ; April 11, 1908 – February 19, 1997) was an American humorist in the fields of scriptwriting, storywriting, journalism, and Yiddish lexicography. Early life Rosten was born into a Yiddish-speaking family in Łódź ...

at a 1939 testimonial event: "The only thing I can say about Mr. W. C. Fields, whom I have admired since the day he advanced upon Baby LeRoy with an icepick, is this: Any man who hates dogs and babies can't be all bad." A starring role in the 1940 film '' The Biscuit Eater'' was to have been LeRoy's comeback. But while filming the first scene on location, which called for LeRoy to swing across a lake on a rope, he fell into the water twice. By the following day, he had lost his voice from a cold. As the entire crew was on location, the accident forced the director to choose between recasting or holding up production until he recovered. The director chose to recast, and the film became one of

Billy Lee Billy Lee is a former Gaelic footballer and former manager of the Limerick county football team. He is from Newcastle West. Player Lee played for Limerick. He became a selector when Liam Kearns managed the team between 1999 and 2005, and t ...

's best-remembered roles. LeRoy never appeared in another film. Overacker became a merchant seamanLamparski, p. 214 and in 1957, as an adult, appeared as a guest challenger on the TV panel show '' To Tell the Truth''. He died in Van Nuys, California in 2001, aged 69.

Filmography

Sources

* Curtis, James (2003), ''W. C. Fields: A Biography'', Alfred A. Knopf Publishing. * Holmstrom, John (1996). ''The Moving Picture Boy: An International Encyclopaedia from 1895 to 1995'', Norwich, Michael Russell, p. 179. * Dye, David (1988). ''Child and Youth Actors: Filmography of Their Entire Careers, 1914–1985''. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Co., p. 8. * Lamparski, R. (1974), ''Whatever Became of ...: The New Fifth Series'', Bantam Books: New York. * Best, Marc (1971). ''Those Endearing Young Charms: Child Performers of the Screen'', South Brunswick and New York: Barnes & Co., pp. 161–165. * Zierold, Norman J. (1965). ''The Child Stars''. New York: Coward-McCann. * Willson, Dixie (1935). ''Little Hollywood Stars''. Akron, Ohio, and New York: Saalfield Pub. Co.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Leroy, Baby 1932 births 2001 deaths American male child actors American male film actors Male actors from Los Angeles Paramount Pictures contract players 20th-century American male actors