Eugene Gordon Lee (October 25, 1933 – October 16, 2005) 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 ...

, most notable for appearing in the ''

Our Gang ''Our Gang'' (also known as ''The Little Rascals'' or ''Hal Roach's Rascals'') is an American series of comedy short films chronicling a group of poor neighborhood children and their adventures. Created by film producer Hal Roach, also the ...

'' (''Little Rascals'') comedies as Porky from 1935 to 1939. During his tenure in ''Our Gang'', Porky originated the catchphrase "O-tay!", though it is commonly attributed to fellow character Buckwheat, played by

Billie Thomas Billie may refer to: People * Billie Allen (1925-2015), American actress * Billie Bird (1908-2002), American actress and comedian * Billie Burke (1884-1970), American actress * Billie Joe Armstrong (born 1972), American singer and guitarist fo ...

Early life

Eugene Lee was born in Fort Worth,

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

and was adopted.

Career

''Our Gang''

Lee began performing in motion pictures in 1935, after producer

Hal Roach Harry Eugene "Hal" Roach Sr.Randy Skretvedt, Skretvedt, Randy (2016), ''Laurel and Hardy: The Magic Behind the Movies'', Bonaventure Press. p.608. (January 14, 1892 – November 2, 1992) was an American film and television producer, director, a ...

noted how much the eighteen-month-old toddler looked like ''Our Gang'' star

Spanky McFarland George McFarland (October 2, 1928 – June 30, 1993) was an American actor most famous for starring as a child as Spanky in the ''Our Gang'' series of short-subject comedies of the 1930s and 1940s. The ''Our Gang'' shorts were later syndicated ...

(who was also from Texas). The Lee family traveled from Texas to

Culver City, California Culver City is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,779. Founded in 1917 as a "whites only" sundown town, it is now an ethnically diverse city with what was called the "third-most ...

. Nicknamed "Porky" by the studio, Eugene Lee joined the cast as Spanky's little brother. Porky appeared in 42 ''Our Gang'' comedies over four years. Lee, McFarland, and ''Our Gang'' co-stars

Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer Carl Dean Switzer (August 7, 1927 – January 21, 1959) was an American singer, child actor, dog breeder, and guide. He was best known for his role as Alfalfa in the short subjects series '' Our Gang''. Switzer began his career as a child ...

Billie "Buckwheat" Thomas William "Billie" Thomas Jr. (March 12, 1931 – October 10, 1980) was an American child actor best remembered for portraying the character of Buckwheat in the ''Our Gang'' (''Little Rascals'') short films from 1934 until the series' end in 1 ...

, and

Darla Hood Darla Jean Hood (November 8, 1931 – June 13, 1979) was an American child actress, best known as the leading lady in the ''Our Gang'' series from 1935 to 1941. She was born in Leedey, Oklahoma, the only child of music teacher Elizabeth Da ...

constituted what is today the most familiar incarnation of ''Our Gang''. This group moved from Hal Roach Studios to

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 ...

in 1938 after Roach sold the series. When Lee grew several inches in height during early 1939 (to the point that the five-year-old was the same height as ten-year-old McFarland), MGM replaced him with Mickey Gubitosi, later better known by the stage name of

Robert Blake Robert Blake may refer to: Sportspeople * Bob Blake (American football) (1885–1962), American football player * Robbie Blake (born 1976), English footballer * Bob Blake (ice hockey) (1914–2008), American ice hockey player * Rob Blake (born 19 ...

Educator

After leaving the series, Lee retired from motion pictures, and entered public school. As an adult, he became an

alternative school An alternative school is an educational establishment with a curriculum and methods that are nontraditional. Such schools offer a wide range of philosophies and teaching methods; some have strong political, scholarly, or philosophical orientati ...

educator at Broomfield High School in

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

. Lee changed his name to Gordon Lee (naming himself after his favorite ''Our Gang'' director, Gordon Douglas) to avoid any connection with his former acting career.

Embracing his acting career

In the early 1980s, Lee began appearing at ''Little Rascals'' reunions and began a business selling "Porky"-related merchandise. Finally embracing his past, Lee was known to tell ''Our Gang'' fans "we are relics of history." Maltin, Leonard and Bann, Richard W. (1977, rev. 1992). ''The Little Rascals: The Life and Times of Our Gang'', p. 272. New York: Crown Publishing/Three Rivers Press.

Personal life and death

After retiring from education, Lee moved to

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the List of U.S. states and territories by population, 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minne ...

Twin Cities Twin cities are a special case of two neighboring cities or urban centres that grow into a single conurbation – or narrowly separated urban areas – over time. There are no formal criteria, but twin cities are generally comparable in stat ...

to be closer to his son, Douglas. Janice McClain was his partner for his final 13 years. On October 16, 2005 after battling

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from transformed, malign ...

and

brain cancer A brain tumor occurs when abnormal cells form within the brain. There are two main types of tumors: malignant tumors and benign (non-cancerous) tumors. These can be further classified as primary tumors, which start within the brain, and secon ...

, he died at the age of 71, nine days before his 72nd birthday.

References

External links

* * *
Meeting Porky Lee in 2000
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Eugene American male child actors American male film actors Male actors from Texas Deaths from cancer in Minnesota Deaths from lung cancer Deaths from brain cancer in the United States Hal Roach Studios actors 1933 births 2005 deaths American male comedy actors Our Gang 20th-century American male actors