Carl Dean "Alfalfa" Switzer (August 7, 1927 – January 21, 1959) was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 child actor

Child actor

The term child actor or child actress is generally applied to a child acting in motion pictures or television, but also to an adult who began his or her acting career as a child; to avoid confusion, the latter is also called a former child actor...

, professional dog breeder and hunting guide, most notable for appearing in the Our Gang

Our Gang

Our Gang, also known as The Little Rascals or Hal Roach's Rascals, was a series of American comedy short films about a group of poor neighborhood children and the adventures they had together. Created by comedy producer Hal Roach, the series is noted for showing children behaving in a relatively...

short subjects series as Alfalfa, one of the series' most popular and best-remembered characters.
Switzer was born in Paris, Illinois

Paris, Illinois

Paris is a city in Paris Township, Edgar County, Illinois, USA, south of Chicago, and west of Indianapolis. In 1900, 6,105 people lived in Paris, Illinois; in 1910, 7,664; and in 1940, 9,281. The population was 8,837 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Edgar County.-Geography:Paris is...

, the second son, fourth and last child of Gladys C. Shanks (née

Married and maiden names

A married name is the family name adopted by a person upon marriage. When a person assumes the family name of her spouse, the new name replaces the maiden name....

 Doerr) and G. Frederick Switzer.