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Bobby "Wheezer" Hutchins
Hutchins as "Wheezer" in School's Out
Born	Robert E. Hutchins March 29, 1925(1925-03-29) Tacoma, Washington, U.S.
Died	May 17, 1945 (aged 20) Merced, California, U.S.
Occupation	Film actor
Years active	1927-1933

Robert E. Hutchins
March 29, 1925(1925-03-29) – May 17, 1945 (aged 20)
Place of birth	Tacoma, Washington
Place of death	Merced, California
Resting place	Tacoma, Washington
Allegiance	United States of America
Service/branch	United States Army United States Army Air Corps
Years of service	1943-1945

Bobby Hutchins (Robert E. Hutchins) (March 29, 1925 - May 17, 1945) was an American child actor who was a regular in the Our Gang short subjects series from 1926 to 1933. A native of Tacoma, Washington, he was given the nickname of Wheezer after running around the studios on his first day so much that he began to wheeze.

Background

Bobby Hutchins was born to James and Constance Hutchins in Washington state. His father was a native of Kentucky and his mother a native of Washington.^[1] Wheezer appeared in 58 Our Gang films during his six years in the series. For much of his run, "Wheezer" was portrayed as the perennial tag-along little brother, put off by the older children but always anxious to be part of the action. Hutchins's tenure in Our Gang took him through both the silent and early sound periods of the series. he appears as the main character of several of the films, including Bouncing Babies (1929), Pups is Pups (1930), and Dogs is Dogs (1931). He left the series at the end of the 1932-33 film season; his only film work outside of Our Gang includes a handful of appearances in three outside features in 1932 and 1933.

Other members of the Our Gang troupe remember very little about Hutchins. Jackie Cooper said "You’d go to play with Wheezer and his father would pull him away. Very competitive. I didn't get a satisfactory answer from my mother or grandmother as to why, but he was to be left alone."^[2] Other cast members reported that Hutchins was abused by his parents to keep him from outgrowing Our Gang.^[3]

After outgrowing the series, Wheezer and his family eventually moved back to Tacoma, where he entered public school. He joined the U.S. Army in 1943 after graduating high school, served in World War II, and in 1945 enrolled to become an air cadet.^[3]

Hutchins was killed in a plane crash on May 17, 1945, while trying to land a B-26 Marauder in the Merced Army Air Corps Field in Merced, California, during a training exercise. Hutchins' mother, Olga Hagerson, was to travel to the airfield for his graduation from flying school the week after he died.^[3]

References

External links

• Bobby Hutchins at the Internet Movie Database
• Bobby Hutchins at Allmovie
• Bobby Hutchins at Find a Grave