Eugene Gordon Lee

Eugene "Porky" Lee
Born	Eugene Gordon Lee October 25, 1933(1933-10-25) Fort Worth, Texas U.S.
Died	October 16, 2005(2005-10-16) (aged 71) Minneapolis, Minnesota U.S.
Cause of death	Lung cancer Brain cancer
Other names	Gordon Lee Eugene Lee
Occupation	Child actor
Years active	1935 – 1939

Eugene Gordon Lee (October 25, 1933 – October 16, 2005) was a former American child actor, most notable for appearing in the Our Gang (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 Buckwheat. Lee was born in Fort Worth, Texas as Eugene Lee, and was adopted.

Our Gang

Lee got his break in motion pictures in 1935, after producer Hal Roach noted how much the eighteen-month-old toddler looked like Our Gang star Spanky McFarland, also from Texas. The Lee family traveled from Texas to Culver City, California, and Eugene Lee, nicknamed "Porky" by the studio, joined the cast as Spanky's little brother. Porky appeared in forty-two Our Gang comedies over four years. Lee, McFarland, and Our Gang co-stars Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer, Billie "Buckwheat" Thomas, and Darla Hood constituted what is today the most familiar incarnation of Our Gang.

This group moved from Hal Roach Studios to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer 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.

Later years

After leaving the series, Lee retired from motion pictures, and entered public school. As an adult, he became an alternative school educator at Broomfield High School in Colorado. Lee changed his name and began going by Gordon Lee (naming himself after his favorite Our Gang director, Gordon Douglas) to avoid any correlation with his former acting career.

After retiring, Lee moved to Minnesota to be closer to his son Douglas. 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."^[1]

Death

In 2005, after battling lung and brain cancer, Lee died at the age of 71, nine days before his 72nd birthday.

See also

• List of notable brain tumor patients

References

1. ^ 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. ISBN 0-517-58325-9

External links

• Eugene Gordon Lee at the Internet Movie Database
• Eugene "Porky" Lee at AllRovi
• Meeting Porky Lee in 2000
• Gordon ‘Porky’ Lee at Find a Grave

Persondata
Name	Lee, Eugene "Porky"
Alternative names	Lee, Eugene Gordon
Short description	Film actor
Date of birth	1933-10-25
Place of birth	Fort Worth, Texas U.S.
Date of death	2005-10-16
Place of death	Minneapolis, Minnesota U.S.