Eyewitness account of Alfalfa's shooting on January 21, 1959

As has been noted at various points in this Internet appreciation, it is not our intention to add to the already excessive collection of Internet theories and sensationalistic speculation about the shooting of Alfalfa nearly 45 years ago. However, we do feel that the below article, originally published in 2001, would be an appropriate addition to our site, as it is a rare eyewitness account of the events of January 21, 1959. The story is told by Tom Corrigan, stepson of Moses "Bud" Stiltz, Alfalfa's assailant. Corrigan was in the house when Alfalfa was killed. 4alfalfa.com will be contacting Corrigan to attempt to gain further amplification of this account.

4alfalfa.com would like to thank Kathy Sommers, a fan of Alfalfa and his brother Harold, for locating this article and forwarding it to us.

The life of Carl Switzer, the saucer-eyed Alfalfa of the "Our Gang" comedies who made America laugh, came to an unhappy ending.

For Tom Corrigan of Thousand Oaks California, he was just a few feet from Switzer when the fatal shot was fired.

A coroner's jury ruled Corrigan's step-father, Moses S. "Bud" Stiltz, acted in self defense, but that's not how the then-14 year old Corrigan saw it.

"It was more like murder", said Corrigan, today a 56-year-old restaurateur who sports the 10-gallon hats of his late father, western movie star Ray "Crash" Corrigan.

Corrigan rarely speaks of the night of January 21st, 1959, but, surprised to hear that the internet brims with conspiracy theories about the death of the man he called Alfie, agreed to go on the record. While web postings claim Alfie used a police badge to bluff his way into the house, and that he was killed over a drug deal, the truth is simpler and sadder.

Just before dark on that January day, Tom heard a knock on the front door. Then Alfie said, "Western Union for Bud Stiltz". Tom recognized the voice instantly. Although Alfie was 32, his voice deepened only slightly from the twang of his Little Rascals days.

Alfie had been around Tom's family as long as he could remember. Ray "Crash" Corrigan and Alfie had a mutual friend in TV cowboy Roy Rogers. Alfie tended bar and along with Rogers guided celebrities on bear hunts. Young Tom worked at Rogers' Chatworth skeet shooting range. He often hung out with Alfie, stopping with him at the dingy bars that dotted the long boulevards of the San Fernando Valley.

Although Rogers landed Alfie small parts in movies, syndicators were making millions running the shows on television, but not one cent was going to the Gang.

Rita Corrigan opened the door to find Alfie demanding to see Stiltz. By now, Tom had come into the living room. Alfie swore he would beat Stiltz. With him was Jack Piott, a 37-year-old bit actor. Alfie and Stiltz had feuded for months over a debt.

Alfie had borrowed one of Stiltz's hounds for a hunting trip near Lake Shasta. The dog had chased after a bear and disappeared. A rancher found the dog and wanted a $50 reward. Alfie believed Stiltz should pay because it was his dog. When Stiltz refused to hand over the cash, Alfie was forced to borrow the money or lose the dog.

"It just got to be a principle stand with Alfie", remembers Corrigan. "He was feeling down and out and thought Bud should cover it."

For his part, Stiltz decided he wanted more than principle on his side. He greeted Alfie that night with a .38-caliber revolver in his hand.

Stiltz was not a man to be trifled with. Crash Corrigan hired the 38-year-old St. Louis tough guy as a bodyguard when he recieved death threats after a business deal went sour. In addition to supplying muscle, Stiltz was a crack welder and mechanic—skills that came in handy at Corriganville, the movie set and tourist attraction Crash built near Simi Valley, California. But Stiltz was the proverbial fox guarding the henhouse. It wasn't long before Rita Corrigan left her husband for him.

Corrigan readily admits he never liked his stepdad. "He was mean. He'd push me around. I never knew what my mother saw in him."

So it was not a shock to young Tom when a brawl broke out over the gun that night. While Alfie wrestled for control of the weapon, Piott broke a glass-dome clock over Stiltz's head. His eye swelled shut.

The gun went off. Tom screamed. A piece of plaster from a hole blown in the wall or shrapnel from the bullet grazed his leg. Tom's two younger sisters ran to a neighbor's house to call the police.

The room got dead quiet. " Well, we shot Tommy. Enough of this" he remembers Alfie saying as he and Piott retreated. Tom had just stepped out the front door when he heard the gun go off in the entryway behind him. He didn't see Stiltz shoot Alfie, but he turned around and saw Alfie—a surprised look on his face—sliding down the wall, he had been shot in the groin.

It was then Corrigan spotted a closed penknife at Alfie's side. He figured it either fell out of his fist or pocket.

Stiltz backed Piott against the kitchen counter and threatened to kill him. Piott pleaded for his life. Rita begged her husband not to shoot. Stiltz didn't fire. Corrigan thinks he would have if he hadn't heard emergency sirens wailing in the distance.

But in the days that followed, he might have wished he had. Piott's version of events bore little resemblence to Stiltz's account. Stiltz claimed Alfie came after him with a knife, screaming he was going to kill him. Stiltz said Alfie managed to close the weapon as he fell after being shot. Corrigan knew that was a lie.

A now-deceased Los Angeles Police Department detective, Pat Pow, interviewed Corrigan and asked if he would tell a judge what he saw. Although afraid of his step-dad, he agreed to testify.

He was never called. A coroner's jury bought Stiltz's version and cleared him a few days after the shooting.

"He didn't have to kill him", Corrigan said as he pointed to a bearskin rug above the bar of his Thousand Oaks Boulevard steakhouse. "Alfie gave that to me when I was 11. He said I was to old for a teddy bear so he gave me a real bear."

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