Allen Hoskins - Career

Career

Born in Boston, Hoskins was just one year old when his tenure with Our Gang began. His character stayed in the series through the silent years and the transition to talking pictures, and he left the series in 1931 at the age of eleven. With his pigtailed hair and patchy outfits, Farina resembled a pickaninny in the tradition of the character Topsy from Uncle Tom's Cabin, but as the character became more popular, and as Allen Hoskins got older, Farina developed his own personality separate from that of Topsy. The name "Farina", derived from a type of cereal, was chosen because its gender was ambiguous: As a toddler, Farina was portrayed as both a boy and a girl, sometimes both genders in the same film.

During his time in the Gang, Farina became both the series' anchor and its most popular character. While he was not the first black child actor (or even the first black Our Gang kid), Farina became arguably the first black child star. Allen Hoskins's last contract with the Hal Roach Studio called for $250 a week, more than any other cast member was earning at that time. When he finally outgrew the series, he was replaced by Matthew Beard in 1931.

In 1931, Columnist Jack Lait wrote the following in his Highlights of Broadway, from the Circle to the Square column:

"Have you ever wondered what became of Farina, that little black dish that used to take all the punishment in the Our Gang comedies? Lemme spill: Eight years ago Allen Clayton Hoskins, dressed as a girl pickaninny started getting bumps and stopping pies. Millions all over the world knew and liked him. He got $500.00 a week. Now he is 11 years old and is no longer cute so he can't scrabble a dime out of Hollywood. Recently, New York Vaudeville agents were sounded out on a proposed act to be played by Farina and his sister, Mango. Photoplay announces he is definitely through in the films."