Beckett appeared as a regular in the Our Gang short subjects series from 1934 to 1935. In the gang, Beckett played George "Spanky" McFarland's best friend and partner in mischief. His trademark look was a crooked baseball cap and an oversized sweater exposing one shoulder. His role was taken over by Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer in 1935, and Beckett left the series for features after that year.
Beckett became a prolific child and young adult actor from the late 1930s to the early 1950s. In 1939, he returned to Our Gang briefly as Alfalfa's cousin Wilbur in Cousin Wilbur and Dog Daze. He appeared as one of the unborn children in Shirley Temple's The Blue Bird (1940). He also played Al Jolson as a teenager in The Jolson Story (1946), with his singing voice being provided by fellow child actor Rudy Wissler. His performance as Jolson was described as "touching, enchanting, and to all indications, accurate".
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