Billy Laughlin

William Robert "Billy" Laughlin (born July 5, 1932 in San Gabriel , California , † August 31, 1948 in La Puente , California) was an American film actor .

Life

Billy Laughlin suffered from his squint all his life , so that he had to rely on glasses that would later become part of his trademark. Since he was often ridiculed by children from the neighborhood, and Laughlin's mother wanted to strengthen her son's self-confidence, she enabled him to participate in a casting at the age of eight .

With the 10-minute short film The New Pupil from 1940 - an episode of The Little Rascals - Laughlin made his acting debut. Because of his glasses, but even more because of his distinctive voice, he was soon nicknamed Froggy , who last appeared in 30 such short films. His brother, Mickey , followed Billy and also stood next to him in episodes of The Little Rascals in front of the camera. After Laughlin shot his last Little Rascals film in Dancing Romeo in 1944 , his only full-length feature film was shot in the same year. In Johnny Doesn't Live Here Any More , Laughlin met stars like Robert Mitchum and Simone Simon, among others .

Despite their son's success, Laughlin's parents decided he should quit school first and took him off the film set in 1944. After that, Laughlin enjoyed the unspectacular life of a teenager.

It was the last day of August 1948 when Billy and a friend of his were delivering newspapers on a scooter to help them improve their cash register. A truck, which was obviously traveling at excessive speed, hit the boys' vehicle from behind and threw them both onto the road. Billy Laughlin was dead on the spot - only 16 years old. His friend also died at the scene of the accident.

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personal data
SURNAME	Laughlin, Billy
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Laughlin, William Robert
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	American film actor
DATE OF BIRTH	July 5, 1932
PLACE OF BIRTH	San Gabriel , California , USA
DATE OF DEATH	August 31, 1948
Place of death	La Puente , California , USA