Bobby Hutchins

Bobby Hutchins
Hutchins as Wheezer in School's Out
Born	Robert E. Hutchins (1925-03-29)March 29, 1925 Tacoma, Washington, U.S.
Died	May 17, 1945(1945-05-17) (aged 20) Merced, California, U.S.
Cause of death	Plane crash
Occupation	Child actor
Years active	1927–1933
Military career
Allegiance	United States of America
Service/branch	United States Army United States Army Air Corps
Years of service	1943–1945

Robert E. "Bobby" Hutchins (March 29, 1925 – May 17, 1945) was an American child actor who was a regular in the Our Gang short subjects series from 1927 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.

Bobby Hutchins was born to James and Olga (Constance) Hutchins in Washington state. His father was a native of Kentucky and his mother a native of Washington.

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' first film in Our Gang was the 1927 short Baby Brother. Hutchins' 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, Pups is Pups, Big Ears and Dogs is Dogs. He left the series at the end of the 1932-33 film season after appearing in Mush and Milk; his only film work outside of Our Gang includes a handful of appearances in three outside features in 1932 and 1933. Hutchins was 8 when he left the series in 1933.

One of the enduring mysteries of the series is why Hutchins suddenly and drastically fell out of favor with creator/producer Hal Roach and/or chief writer/senior director/producer Robert F. McGowan: With the departure of all four regular members of the older "gang" in the series (Jackie Cooper, Allen "Farina" Hoskins, Norman "Chubby" Chaney, and Mary Ann Jackson) at the end of the 1930-31 season, Hutchins, as hitherto leader of the younger, "shadow" gang (composed of him, Matthew "Stymie" Beard, and Dorothy DeBorba), seemed poised to become the star of the series, i.e., the gang's on-screen leader. Indeed, although only three more shorts were produced in the remaining months of 1931, Hutchins was the lead in each, the second was very well received, and the third one, "Dogs is Dogs", is regarded as one of the very best shorts of the entire series.