In contrast to Farina, the character whom he replaced, Stymie was a slick-tongued con-artist who was self-assured, nonchalant and ready with a sly comment and clever ideas to solve the problems that he faced.

The character's trademark was a bald head crowned by an oversize derby hat, a gift to Beard from comedian Stan Laurel, who had worked under Our Gang creator Hal Roach.

Beard's paycheck helped support his family in East Los Angeles, including 13 brothers and sisters.

After Beard left the series in 1935 at age 10, he acted in minor roles in feature films such as Captain Blood (1935) and Jezebel (1938).

[4] In the 1960s, he checked himself into Synanon, a drug rehabilitation facility and cult in Los Angeles and successfully ended his heroin use.

He appears in episodes of Maude as a resident of an apartment complex where the title character's husband temporarily lived,[5] and on Good Times, where he had a recurring role (1974–1977) as Monty.

[5] In 1978, he appeared in the film The Buddy Holly Story as a member of the backstage crew at the Apollo Theater, wearing his trademark derby hat.