The actor played Woim in dozens of Little Rascals shorts, and also acted alongside Shirley Temple, Buster Keaton, and Henry Fonda before retiring in his youth.

Sidney Kibrick, Our Gang child actor, dies at 97

The actor played Woim in dozens of Little Rascals shorts, and also acted alongside Shirley Temple, Buster Keaton, and Henry Fonda before retiring in his youth.

By Wesley Stenzel

Wesley Stenzel is a news writer at **. He began writing for EW in 2022.

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January 6, 2026 6:19 p.m. ET

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Sidney Kibrick in an 'Our Gang' short. Credit:

Silver Screen Collection/Getty

Sidney Kibrick, the former child actor who played Woim in the *Our Gang* films in the 1930s and '40s, has died.

The actor, who appeared in dozens of Little Rascals shorts before retiring from show business as a teenager, died on in Northridge, Calif., on Saturday, *THR *reported. He was 97. A cause of death was not immediately available.

Born in Minneapolis in 1928, Kibrick's family moved to Los Angeles when he was a young child. The actor said that he was discovered after a trip to the movies in California.

Sidney Kibrick at a 100th anniversary celebration of 'Our Gang' at the Hollywood Museum in Los Angeles in 2022.

Michael Tullberg/Getty

"One day after one movie, a man came over to my mother. He said, 'I could use that little kid for a movie. I'm an agent' and pointed at me," Kibrick told Fox News in 2022. "My mother didn’t think it was all that important, but she did discuss it with my father that evening. He said, 'Well why don't we try it?' These were difficult times during the Great Depression, so they thought it could be a good opportunity for us."

Kibrick made his screen debut in the 1933 comedy *Out All Night*, which starred Slim Summerville and ZaSu Pitts. That same year, he and his older brother, Leonard, both appeared in the Raoul Walsh historical dramedy *The Bowery*, which starred Wallace Beery and *Our Gang* actor Jackie Cooper.

The actor also appeared in small roles in the Shirley Temple short *The Kid's Last Fight* and the Buster Keaton short *Allez Oop* before making his *Our Gang* debut in the 1935 short *Anniversary Trouble*. The short also starred Leonard Kibrick as Leonard and future Oscar winner Hattie McDaniel as a maid named Mandy.

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Kibrick began his time in *Our Gang* as an unnamed member of the titular crew of working-class kids, though his character, who was a sidekick for the Tommy Bond's bully character Butch, eventually became known as Woim ("Worm" pronounced with a Brooklyn accent).

The actor also appeared in a number of feature films, including William Wyler's crime drama *Dead End*, which also starred Sylvia Sidney, Joel McCrea, and Humphrey Bogart; William A. Wellman's screwball comedy *Nothing Sacred* starring Carole Lombard; and Henry King's Western *Jesse James*, which featured Tyrone Power and Henry Fonda.

'Our Gang' stars Tommy Bond (Butch), George 'Spanky' McFarland (Spanky), and Sidney Kibrick (Woim) in 1989.

Burt and Bert Productions/Courtesy Everett Collection

Kibrick's last outing with *Our Gang* occurred in 1939's *Time Out for Lessons*. His final screen credit came in 1943's *Keep 'Em Slugging*. After quitting acting, Kibrick attended the University of Southern California and worked in real estate development.

"I really felt that I was finished by age 11," he told Fox News. "I worked very hard and, then, that was it. My mother really wanted me to continue because the money was important, and it was good. But I really had enough. I had a good experience and made some lifelong friends, but I wanted to have a normal life again. I convinced my parents that I didn't want to do it anymore and that was it."

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Kibrick also reflected on the lasting popularity of *Our Gang* during his conversation with Fox News as part of a celebration of the series' 100th anniversary.

"I think people, even today, could identify with being a child and being mischievous when life was simple. It was fun, and it made people laugh," he said. "From ages 5 to 11, I was living the studio life. Those are memories I will never forget. It was a wonderful experience. I had fun."**

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