Robert E. Hutchins was born on March 29th, 1925, in Tacoma, Washington, to James Hutchins and Olga Hutchins (nee Roe). As a charming and outgoing boy, his friends persuaded his parents to take him to a Hollywood photographer, where his intelligence and charisma caught the attention of the photographer, who asked to take a few feet of film of him. The results were so impressive that the film ended up in the projection room at Hal Roach Studios, where the renowned director, Hal Roach, decided that the boy would be a great addition to his "Our Gang" short films, signing him to a five-year contract.
On his first day at the studio, Robert didn't have a name for his part in the movies, and his high energy level led to the coining of the nickname "Wheezer," which he would carry for the rest of his time in Our Gang. As a perky, tag-along little brother, Robert played a part in both silent films and talkies, always eager to be part of the mischief that the gang was getting into.
However, Robert's father, James, had a plan to make his son a star, which involved malnourishing him and isolating him from the other kids when not filming. James wanted to keep Robert small and employable by underfeeding him, and he forbade the children from learning that normal kids got more to eat. Unfortunately, this plan backfired, and as Robert aged, he looked and acted more like the slow-witted, malnourished child he was.
After leaving Our Gang with the 1933 film "Mush and Milk," Robert's film career was essentially over, with only a few appearances outside of his Our Gang shorts. His mother and father divorced, and he, his brother James, and his mother moved back to Washington, where they lived with their grandmother and Olga's new husband.
Robert got a job as a gas station attendant in 1942 and enrolled as an air cadet in 1943. He was close to completing his advanced flight training when a tragic event occurred on May 17th, 1945. Robert was killed in a mid-air collision while trying to land a North American AT-6D Texan at Merced Army Air Field Base in California. The other pilot involved received only minor damage and landed safely.
