Buckwheat was a famous character in the Our Gang (Little Rascals) short films from 1934 until the series’ end in 1944, played by the actor William “Billie” Thomas, Jr. (March 12, 1931 – October 10, 1980). Buckwheat is also a "pseudo-grain," it's actually a seed from a plant related to rhubarb and sorrel, not a grain like wheat. Buckwheat is gluten-free and botanically unrelated to wheat. Interestingly enough, the character Buckwheat was named for the cereal buck wheat.