George Robert Philips McFarland (October 2, 1928 – June 30, 1993)[6] was an American actor most famous for starring as a child as Spanky in Hal Roach's Our Gang series of short-subject comedies of the 1930s and 1940s.

In addition to his work in Our Gang and its feature-film spin-off General Spanky (1936), McFarland regularly appeared in co-starring or supporting juvenile roles in feature films produced by other studios throughout the 1930s.

These included Kentucky Kernels (1934) with Bert Wheeler and Robert Woolsey, The Trail of the Lonesome Pine (1936) with Sylvia Sidney and Fred MacMurray, and Peck's Bad Boy with the Circus (1938).

In January 1931, in response to a trade magazine advertisement from Hal Roach Studios in Culver City, California, requesting photographs of "cute kids", Spanky's Aunt Dottie (Virginia's sister) sent pictures from Sonny's portfolio.

His scene-stealing abilities brought him more attention, and by 1935 he was the de facto leader of the gang, often paired with Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer, and always the enterprising "idea man".

[10] Switzer's character became as much of a scene-stealer as the young McFarland was, and the two boys' fathers fought constantly over screen time and star billing for their children.

[12] In mid-1938, Hal Roach sold the Our Gang unit to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, who began casting for a new "team leader" character in Spanky's vein and ended up rehiring McFarland himself.

Upon his return to civilian life, indelibly typecast in the public's mind as "Spanky" from Our Gang, he found himself unable to find work in show business.

[13] During the 1990s, after his self-described "semi-retirement", Spanky lent his name and celebrity to help raise money for charities, primarily by participating in golf tournaments.

[14] In January 1994, McFarland posthumously joined fellow alumnus Jackie Cooper to become one of only two Our Gang members to receive a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame.