Alfalfa's Demise
Carl Dean Switzer portraying Alfalfa Carl Dean Switzer as Angus in The Defiant Ones On this day in 1959, Carl Dean Switzer, better known as "Alfalfa" from the Our Gang shorts, was shot and killed in a Mission Hills, California, home. He was allegedly trying to collect money owed him for dog training services. He was 31 years old at the time of his death. Carl Dean Switzer was born on August 7, 1927, in the town of Paris, Illinois. In 1934, while visiting relatives in California, the Switzer family toured the Hal Roach Studios. Producer Hal Roach was present when six-year-old Carl and his older brother Harold started singing and dancing for diners in the studio's cafeteria. He signed the Switzer brothers to appear in the Our Gang shorts. Harold was known as "Slim" or "Deadpan" while Carl famously became known as "Alfalfa". By the end of 1937, "Alfalfa" had become the most famous member of Our Gang . While he got along with