Sherwood Bailey (August 6, 1923 – August 6, 1987) was an American

child actor The term child actor or child actress is generally applied to a child acting on stage or in 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 associated t ...

and civil engineer. His parents were nonprofessionals. He is most noted for appearing as Spud, the red-headed, freckle-faced bad boy and enemy of the gang in the '' Our Gang'' short subjects series from 1931 to 1932. Spud was characterized as the mama's-boy type who got away with everything and who also liked the girls a lot. Bailey's most notable appearance was that of the spoiled, bratty stepbrother of Wheezer and

Dorothy Dorothy may refer to: *Dorothy (given name), a list of people with that name. Arts and entertainment Characters *Dorothy Gale, protagonist of ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' by L. Frank Baum * Ace (''Doctor Who'') or Dorothy, a character playe ...

in 1931's '' Dogs Is Dogs''. In that short, he is nearly convinced by

Stymie A stymie is an obsolete rule in the sport of golf. It legislated for the situation where a player's ball lay behind or blocked by another player's ball; the blocked player was not afforded relief. In the modern game, the blocking ball is temporar ...

that

ham Ham is pork from a leg cut that has been preserved by wet or dry curing, with or without smoking."Bacon: Bacon and Ham Curing" in ''Chambers's Encyclopædia''. London: George Newnes, 1961, Vol. 2, p. 39. As a processed meat, the term "ham ...

and

eggs Humans and human ancestors have scavenged and eaten animal eggs for millions of years. Humans in Southeast Asia had domesticated chickens and harvested their eggs for food by 1,500 BCE. The most widely consumed eggs are those of fowl, especial ...

can talk and is later pushed down a well by his own dog, Nero. Bailey left the Our Gang series in 1932 at the age of nine. Bailey quietly left the film industry in 1940. Before retiring from his professional acting career at age 17, Bailey appeared in a few movies, including ''

The Big Stampede ''The Big Stampede'' is a 1932 pre-Code American Western film starring John Wayne (with his horse named "Duke") and Noah Beery. It is a remake of the 1927 film '' The Land Beyond the Law''. Plot Deputy Sheriff Steele is commissioned by Govern ...

'' (1932) with John Wayne, ''

Too Many Parents ''Too Many Parents'' is a 1936 American comedy film directed by Robert F. McGowan, written by Virginia Van Upp and Doris Malloy, and starring Frances Farmer, Lester Matthews, Porter Hall, Henry Travers, Billy Lee, George Ernest and Sherwood Bai ...

'' (1936), and ''

Young Tom Edison ''Young Tom Edison'' is a 1940 biographical film about the early life of inventor Thomas Edison directed by Norman Taurog and starring Mickey Rooney. The film was the first of a complementary pair of Edison biopics that Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer releas ...

'' (1940) with Mickey Rooney. He graduated from Polytechnic High School in Long Beach, then studied engineering at

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...

but did not graduate. He later earned his state civil engineering license and worked as a civil engineer in Huntington Beach.

Death

He died of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

on his 64th birthday. Maltin, Leonard and Bann, Richard W. (1977, rev. 1992). ''The Little Rascals: The Life and Times of Our Gang'', p. 279. New York: Crown Publishing/Three Rivers Press.

References

External links

* * *
LA Times Obituary for Sherwood Bailey
American male child actors American male film actors Deaths from cancer in California 1923 births 1987 deaths 20th-century American male actors Our Gang University of California, Los Angeles alumni American civil engineers Long Beach Polytechnic High School alumni {{US-film-actor-1920s-stub