'It's a Wonderful Life' actors Karolyn Grimes, Jimmy Hawkins recall memories of bringing holiday film to life
Former child stars of the 1946 holiday classic recall working alongside James Stewart and Donna Reed.'
Carl Switzer skyrocketed to fame as freckle-faced Alfalfa in the "Our Gang" series – but it wouldn’t be a wonderful life for the actor.
At age 31, the former child star was killed in a fight reportedly over $50. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, that would be $539.36 in today's money.
"All hell broke loose," James Tehrani, who wrote the new book, "Alfalfa – The Rascal You Knew, the Character You Never Knew," told Fox News Digital.
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Carl Switzer as Alfalfa from "The Little Rascals" series, originally known as "Our Gang." Photo dated Jan. 1, 1936. (CBS via Getty Images)
"I think there’s a lot more to the story than the $50," he shared. "But one thing that was important to me was not to put more misinformation out there and to stay away from rumors and hearsay… I’m hoping this is just the start and more will come out."
At the time of the fatal fight, Switzer was a bartender and a hunting dog trainer. The success he once had in Hollywood seemed long behind him as he took on odd jobs. History.com also pointed out that he had several run-ins with the police.
A couple of weeks before, he was training one of Moses "Bud" Stiltz’s dogs during a hunting trip. It ran away and Stiltz wanted his dog back. According to the book, Switzer put a notice in a newspaper offering a $35 reward.
Carl Switzer is seen in a scene opposite James Stewart and Donna Reed in "It's a Wonderful Life." (Everett)
Someone found the dog and came forward for the reward. Switzer paid the reward and bought the man several drinks to thank him, ringing up a reported $15 bar tab, or $100 in today’s money. But at some point in the evening, the book shared, Switzer felt Stiltz should reimburse him the $50.
"Perhaps it was a matter of principle – or maybe because he just really needed the money," Tehrani wrote.
James Tehrani's book, "Alfalfa – The Rascal You Knew, the Character You Never Knew," is out now. (BearManor Media)
"He was due in court a few weeks after he died to a woman I could not track down," Tehrani told Fox News Digital. "She loaned him quite a bit of money… That might have been a part of it. I heard other things during my research that I didn’t include in my book because I couldn’t verify it."
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Alfalfa was Carl Switzer's best known role. (Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
"Carl supposedly put a message in the newspaper with a $35 reward," said Tehrani. "I spent hours… trying to find this classified ad, and I could not find it. So whether that’s true or not is unknown. But mysteriously, the dog appeared one day with this gentleman who brought the dog back… Carl was not in a great financial position, but buys the guy $15 worth of drinks, which doesn’t quite add up when you think about it."
Tehrani noted that Switzer "had his troubles in the end."
As a child actor, Carl Switzer became a star. But once he grew up, he endured financial troubles and had several run-ins with the police. According to reports, he never received any royalties from the show. (CBS via Getty Images)
"He had a marriage that was up and down," Tehrani explained. "He and his wife [Diantha Collingwood] married very quickly. After a few months of dating, they had a son together, and they moved to Kansas. There was an opportunity to have a better life there, but it didn’t last very long. So he was struggling, especially when he went back to Hollywood and was away from his son."
"There were other incidents along the way," Tehrani noted. "In 1958, he cut down a bunch of trees for Christmas trees. He got caught and was fined for it. It was a tough time financially."
Switzer’s pal, photographer Jack Piott, offered to drive him to see Stiltz at night. Once they arrived at the home of Rita Corrigan, Stiltz’s girlfriend, Switzer "got out and hurriedly headed for the front door."
Corrigan heard a voice saying, "Western Union for Bud Stiltz." When the door didn’t open, Switzer reportedly said forcefully, "You will let me in, or I’ll break the door down."
Carl Switzer appeared in 1954's "The High and the Mighty," starring John Wayne. (Everett)
Stiltz, seemingly unfazed, told Corrigan to let Switzer in. Once the door opened, Switzer "made a beeline for Stiltz." Piott was putting out his cigarette outside and didn’t immediately follow Switzer.
"There was a confrontation upstairs," said Tehrani. "Eventually, it led to Bud getting hit many times and Carl wrestling with Bud. Jack then came in and tried to break it up as best as he could. But supposedly, he also hit Bud with a clock… then a shot was fired."
"What happens depends on who you believe," said Tehrani. "Jack Piott said Carl’s hand was on the door as he was about to leave when he was shot. Bud said he felt threatened, and Carl was attacking him, perhaps with a knife. The problem with this case is that it’s a he-said-she-said situation."
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Carl Switzer played Alfalfa from the mid-1930s to the early 1940s. Then in 1955, the "Our Gang" comedies were turned into "The Little Rascals." (CBS via Getty Images)
There were a few things that everyone agreed on. A battered and bruised Stiltz was hit in the head with a clock. And Switzer was shot in the abdomen. He reportedly told Stiltz, "What did you shoot me for?"
When the police arrived, Switzer was hunched over on the ground by the door, clinging to life. While Switzer didn’t bleed much from the wound, he would succumb to his injuries by the time he arrived at the hospital.
A paramedic found a closed switchblade. But according to Tehrani, Piott claimed he never saw Switzer with a knife.
"What we do know is that Carl and Bud were seemingly good friends at one point," said Tehrani. "They were both hunters. But at some point, it went south. It seemed like in the months leading up to this, there were a lot of phone calls back and forth… But it was more of that he-said-she-said thing."
Carl Switzer as Alfalfa and George McFarland as Spanky in the 1938 film "Canned Fishing." (John Springer Collection/Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images)
Stiltz told reporters that Switzer had entered the property drunk or "under the influence of something" demanding his $50, the book shared. Stiltz also claimed that Switzer wrestled the gun away from him, but he got it back. That’s when Switzer pulled out his knife and said, "I’m going to kill you." Stiltz said he had no choice but to shoot the actor in self-defense.
Piott, on the other hand, said he never saw Switzer with a gun in his hand.
Despite the number of people in the home, there were "varying and sometimes vastly different recollections of what happened that night," the book emphasized.
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A jury ruled the incident justifiable homicide. Piott passed away in 1973, followed by Stiltz in 1983.
For decades, rumors persisted that Switzer was a Hollywood has-been who turned to drugs. Tehrani said it couldn’t be further from the truth.
"There’s a myth out there that after he left the ‘Our Gang’ series, he disappeared from Hollywood," he said. "To some degree, that is true. He didn’t have the biggest parts after the ‘Our Gang’ series, but he was either in a TV show or film every year until right before he died in 1959."
Carl Switzer took on odd jobs in his later years before he was killed. (Family Photo courtesy of James Tehrani.)
"Look at ‘It’s a Wonderful Life.’ It’s a film people watch every year around the holidays… He had a role there. He wasn’t credited with it, but he was in the great dance scene, and he was dancing with Donna Reed… He was in ‘The Defiant Ones’ and ‘The 10 Commandments,’ two important films."
"He deserves to be recognized," Tehrani continued.
James Tehrani hopes that his book will share the full story of Carl Switzer's brief life in Hollywood. (BearManor Media)
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"He was one of the most famous child actors of the 1930s, and arguably one of the most well-known of all time… Was he a perfect person? No, he did do some things that were not so great that I talked about in the book. But he was also a child put in a very tough situation."
