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Billy Laughlin (William Robert Laughlin) (July 5, 1932 - August 31, 1948) was an American child actor. He is best known for playing the character Froggy in the Our Gang short films in its final stretch, from 1940 to 1944.

Born in San Gabriel, California, Billy rose to fame at the age of eight when he appeared in his first Our Gang film, The New Pupil. His character was known for his strange, Popeye-esque guttural voice, which was reminiscent of a frog's croak. Contrary to popular belief, Laughlin did the voice himself without dubbing (in the 1994 film, the character's voice was dubbed by E.G. Daily).

When Our Gang stopped production in 1944, Laughlin voluntarily moved away from show business and enjoyed relatively peaceful teenage years.

Laughlin died on August 31, 1948, when a bus hit him from behind while he was delivering newspapers and riding a motor scooter in La Puente, California. He and his friend, who was also delivering newspapers, were killed instantly.^[1]

Laughlin lived the shortest life of the actors who appeared in the Our Gang films, dying at age 16.

References

External links

• Billy Laughlin at the Internet Movie Database
• Billy Laughlin at Allmovie