Carl Switzer’s Death – Cause and Date
The tv actor Carl Switzer died at the age of 31. Here is all you want to know, and more!
Biography - A Short Wiki
He gained fame as Alfalfa on the original Our Gang kids comedy cast and played roles in short films until the group disbanded in 1940. Unfortunately, due to typecasting, he never was able to find any other significant roles.
He married Diantha Collingwood in 1954 and had a son named Justin Lance Collingwood Switzer before divorcing in 1957.
How did Carl Switzer die?
Switzer had agreed to train a hunting dog for Moses Samuel Stiltz. Unfortunately, the dog disappeared after running after a bear.
To find the dog, Switzer offered a $35 reward for its return. A man found the dog a few days later and brought it to Switzer at his workplace, Studio City. Switzer paid the man $35 and additionally bought him $15 worth of drinks.
A few days later, Switzer and his friend Jack Piott, concluded that Stiltz ought to pay the expenses of $50 for finding the dog. $35 for the reward and $15 for the drinks.
Switzer and Piott went to pay Stiltz a visit on the evening of January 21, 1959, shortly before 7 p.m, to collect the money. Stiltz was staying at Rita Corrigan’s home in Mission Hills.
Stiltz later testified before the coroner’s jury that Switzer had banged on the front door, saying, “Let me in, or I’ll kick in the door.” Once inside, he and Stiltz began to argue. Switzer said, “I want that fifty bucks you owe me now, and I mean now.”
Stiltz refused to hand the money over, and the men began to fight. Switzer allegedly struck Stiltz with a glass-domed clock, which caused him to bleed from his left eye. Stiltz retreated to his bedroom and returned with a .38-caliber revolver. Switzer grabbed the gun, resulting in a shot being fired that struck the ceiling.
Switzer then forced Stiltz into a closet, although Stiltz had regained his revolver. Switzer allegedly pulled a knife and screamed, “I’m going to kill you!” Fearing for his life, Stiltz shot him in the groin. Switzer suffered massive internal bleeding and was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital.
Burial
Carl Switzer was interred at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Hollywood, California.
Having died the same day as Cecil B. DeMille, his death received only minor notice in most newspapers, as DeMille’s obituary dominated the columns.
Coincidentally, Switzer appeared as a slave (uncredited) in the last film for which DeMille was credited as a director, The Ten Commandments.
