Darla Hood
Encyclopedia
Darla Jean Hood was an American
child actress, best known as the leading lady in the Our Gang
series from 1935 to 1941. She was born in Leedey, Oklahoma
, the only child of James Claude Hood and Elizabeth Davner. Her father worked in a bank and her mother was a music teacher.
. Just after her third birthday, she was taken to New York City
, where she was seen by Joe Rivkin, a casting director for Hal Roach Studios, who arranged a screen test
. She was then taken to Culver City, California
, to appear in the Our Gang
movies
.
Hood played Darla in Our Gang
. She made her debut at age four in the 1935 film Our Gang Follies of 1936
and was soon given a role in The Bohemian Girl
with Laurel and Hardy
. From 1935 to 1941, she continued to play in Our Gang
. She is well remembered for her coquettish character, typically the love interest of Alfalfa
, Butch
, or (usually) Waldo. One of her most memorable moments was singing "I'm in the Mood for Love
" in The Pinch Singer
.
. While at Fairfax High School
, she organized a vocal group called the Enchanters with four boys. Shortly after graduation, the quartet was booked by producer and star Ken Murray
for his famous "Blackouts", a stage variety show. The group remained with Murray's Blackouts during its long run in New York
and Hollywood.
Hood then went out on her own with singing engagements in nightclubs and guest appearances on TV. She was a regular on The Ken Murray Show from 1950 to 1951. In 1955, she was a leading lady in the act of ventriloquist Edgar Bergen
. She had a hit record in 1957, "I Just Wanna Be Free", and appeared in the movie Calypso Heat Wave (1957) singing a duet with Johnny Desmond
. She also recorded two songs with the Ray Whitaker Orchestra, "Only Yours" and "Silent Island", for RayNote Records.
In January 1959, Hood released a new record, Quiet Village. Joe Rivkin, who discovered her as a child, saw the cover and cast her in her final film role, which was also her first adult role in a movie. She played a secretary in the suspense drama The Bat with Vincent Price
and Agnes Moorehead
.
Hood was a guest on such TV shows of the early 1960s as Tell It to Groucho
and The Jack Benny Show, where she appeared on 30 October 1962 as "Darla" in a spoof of the Our Gang comedies with Jack Benny
(who appeared as Alfalfa). She did singing and voice-over on TV commercials, which included Campbell Soup and Chicken of the Sea
tuna. She appeared in her own nightclub
act at the Coconut Grove in Los Angeles, the Copacabana
in New York, and the Sahara Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada
.
During the 1960s and 1970s, Hood attended many Our Gang/Little Rascals festivals and conventions, meeting and greeting various generations of fans.
when she underwent a relatively minor operation at a North Hollywood hospital. Following the procedure, Hood contracted acute hepatitis
and died suddenly of heart failure on June 13, 1979; she was 47.
The Our Gang community was stunned at Hood's unexpected death. Fellow Our Gang member Billie "Buckwheat" Thomas said, "I hate to hear it. It's a shock. She was an awfully nice person, a fine woman. We got along real good as kids."
Hood is buried at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery
in Hollywood.
mentioned that her marriage to Granson was difficult because Granson used a wheelchair
following a stroke
.
Church Web site.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
child actress, best known as the leading lady in the Our Gang
Our Gang
Our Gang, also known as The Little Rascals or Hal Roach's Rascals, was a series of American comedy short films about a group of poor neighborhood children and the adventures they had together. Created by comedy producer Hal Roach, the series is noted for showing children behaving in a relatively...
series from 1935 to 1941. She was born in Leedey, Oklahoma
Leedey, Oklahoma
Leedey is a town in Dewey County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 435 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Leedey is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , all of it land....
, the only child of James Claude Hood and Elizabeth Davner. Her father worked in a bank and her mother was a music teacher.
Our Gang
Hood's mother introduced her to singing and dancing at an early age, taking her to lessons in Oklahoma CityOklahoma City, Oklahoma
Oklahoma City is the capital and the largest city in the state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, the city ranks 31st among United States cities in population. The city's population, from the 2010 census, was 579,999, with a metro-area population of 1,252,987 . In 2010, the Oklahoma...
. Just after her third birthday, she was taken to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, where she was seen by Joe Rivkin, a casting director for Hal Roach Studios, who arranged a screen test
Screen test
A screen test is a method of determining the suitability of an actor or actress for performing on film and/or in a particular role. The performer is generally given a scene, or selected lines and actions, and instructed to perform in front of a camera to see if they are suitable...
. She was then taken to Culver City, California
Culver City, California
Culver City is a city in western Los Angeles County, California. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 38,883, up from 38,816 at the 2000 census. It is mostly surrounded by the city of Los Angeles, but also shares a border with unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County. Culver...
, to appear in the Our Gang
Our Gang
Our Gang, also known as The Little Rascals or Hal Roach's Rascals, was a series of American comedy short films about a group of poor neighborhood children and the adventures they had together. Created by comedy producer Hal Roach, the series is noted for showing children behaving in a relatively...
movies
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
.
Hood played Darla in Our Gang
Our Gang
Our Gang, also known as The Little Rascals or Hal Roach's Rascals, was a series of American comedy short films about a group of poor neighborhood children and the adventures they had together. Created by comedy producer Hal Roach, the series is noted for showing children behaving in a relatively...
. She made her debut at age four in the 1935 film Our Gang Follies of 1936
Our Gang Follies of 1936
Our Gang Follies of 1936 is a 1935 Our Gang short comedy film directed by Gus Meins. Produced by Hal Roach and released to theaters by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, it was the 140st Our Gang short to be released and the first of several musical entries in the series.-Plot:The gang stages a big musical revue...
and was soon given a role in The Bohemian Girl
The Bohemian Girl (1936 film)
The Bohemian Girl is a 1936 feature film version of the opera The Bohemian Girl by Michael William Balfe. It was produced at the Hal Roach Studios, and stars Laurel and Hardy and Thelma Todd in her last role before her death.-Plot:...
with Laurel and Hardy
Laurel and Hardy
Laurel and Hardy were one of the most popular and critically acclaimed comedy double acts of the early Classical Hollywood era of American cinema...
. From 1935 to 1941, she continued to play in Our Gang
Our Gang
Our Gang, also known as The Little Rascals or Hal Roach's Rascals, was a series of American comedy short films about a group of poor neighborhood children and the adventures they had together. Created by comedy producer Hal Roach, the series is noted for showing children behaving in a relatively...
. She is well remembered for her coquettish character, typically the love interest of Alfalfa
Carl Switzer
Carl Dean "Alfalfa" Switzer was an American child actor, professional dog breeder and hunting guide, most notable for appearing in the Our Gang short subjects series as Alfalfa, one of the series' most popular and best-remembered characters.-Early life and family:Switzer was born in Paris,...
, Butch
Tommy Bond
Thomas Ross "Tommy" Bond was an American actor. A native of Dallas, Texas, Bond was best known for his work as a child actor for two different nonconsecutive periods on Our Gang comedies, and also for being the first actor to portray the role of "Superman's pal" Jimmy Olsen on screen.-Early years...
, or (usually) Waldo. One of her most memorable moments was singing "I'm in the Mood for Love
I'm in the Mood for Love
"I'm in the Mood for Love" is a popular song. The music was written by Jimmy McHugh, the lyrics by Dorothy Fields. The song was published in 1935. It was introduced by Frances Langford in the movie Every Night at Eight released that year...
" in The Pinch Singer
The Pinch Singer
The Pinch Singer is a 1936 Our Gang short comedy film directed by Fred C. Newmeyer. It was the 142rd Our Gang short that was released, although it was produced before the short which followed it on the release schedule, Divot Diggers.-Plot:...
.
After Our Gang
When she outgrew her role in Our Gang, Hood appeared in a couple of other movies and attended school in Los AngelesLos Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
. While at Fairfax High School
Fairfax High School (Los Angeles)
Fairfax High School is a Los Angeles Unified School District high school located in Los Angeles, USA, near the border of West Hollywood in the Fairfax District of Los Angeles...
, she organized a vocal group called the Enchanters with four boys. Shortly after graduation, the quartet was booked by producer and star Ken Murray
Ken Murray (entertainer)
Ken Murray was an American entertainer and author.-Vaudeville:Murray was born Kenneth Doncourt in New York City to a family of vaudeville performers. According to Murray's autobiography , he changed his name because he did not want to ride the coattails of his father's success; he wanted to make a...
for his famous "Blackouts", a stage variety show. The group remained with Murray's Blackouts during its long run in New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and Hollywood.
Hood then went out on her own with singing engagements in nightclubs and guest appearances on TV. She was a regular on The Ken Murray Show from 1950 to 1951. In 1955, she was a leading lady in the act of ventriloquist Edgar Bergen
Edgar Bergen
Edgar John Bergen was an American actor and radio performer, best known as a ventriloquist.-Early life:...
. She had a hit record in 1957, "I Just Wanna Be Free", and appeared in the movie Calypso Heat Wave (1957) singing a duet with Johnny Desmond
Johnny Desmond
Johnny Desmond , born Giovanni Alfredo De Simone, was a popular American singer.-Early years:...
. She also recorded two songs with the Ray Whitaker Orchestra, "Only Yours" and "Silent Island", for RayNote Records.
In January 1959, Hood released a new record, Quiet Village. Joe Rivkin, who discovered her as a child, saw the cover and cast her in her final film role, which was also her first adult role in a movie. She played a secretary in the suspense drama The Bat with Vincent Price
Vincent Price
Vincent Leonard Price, Jr. was an American actor, well known for his distinctive voice and serio-comic attitude in a series of horror films made in the latter part of his career.-Early life and career:Price was born in St...
and Agnes Moorehead
Agnes Moorehead
Agnes Robertson Moorehead was an American actress. Although she began with the Mercury Theatre, appeared in more than seventy films beginning with Citizen Kane and on dozens of television shows during a career that spanned more than thirty years, Moorehead is most widely known to modern audiences...
.
Hood was a guest on such TV shows of the early 1960s as Tell It to Groucho
You Bet Your Life
You Bet Your Life is an American quiz show that aired on both radio and television. The original and best-known version was hosted by Groucho Marx of the Marx Brothers, with announcer and assistant George Fenneman. The show debuted on ABC Radio in October 1947, then moved to CBS Radio in September...
and The Jack Benny Show, where she appeared on 30 October 1962 as "Darla" in a spoof of the Our Gang comedies with Jack Benny
Jack Benny
Jack Benny was an American comedian, vaudevillian, and actor for radio, television, and film...
(who appeared as Alfalfa). She did singing and voice-over on TV commercials, which included Campbell Soup and Chicken of the Sea
Chicken of the Sea
Chicken of the Sea is a brand of canned tuna produced by a company owned by Thai Union Group.-Company:Based in San Diego, California, the company markets a variety of other seafood items under the Chicken of the Sea brand name, including clam, crab, mackerel, salmon, sardines and tuna...
tuna. She appeared in her own nightclub
Nightclub
A nightclub is an entertainment venue which usually operates late into the night...
act at the Coconut Grove in Los Angeles, the Copacabana
Copacabana (nightclub)
The Copacabana is a famous New York City nightclub. Many entertainers, among them Danny Thomas, Pat Cooper and the comedy team of Martin and Lewis, made their debuts at the Copacabana. The 1978 Barry Manilow song "Copacabana" is named after, and is about the nightclub. Part of the 2003 Yerba...
in New York, and the Sahara Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
.
During the 1960s and 1970s, Hood attended many Our Gang/Little Rascals festivals and conventions, meeting and greeting various generations of fans.
Death
Hood was busy organizing the 1980 Little Rascals reunion for the Los Angeles Chapter of The Sons of the DesertThe Sons of the Desert
The Sons of the Desert is an international fraternal organization devoted to lives and films of comedians Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. The group takes its name from a lodge that Laurel and Hardy belonged to in the 1933 movie Sons of the Desert....
when she underwent a relatively minor operation at a North Hollywood hospital. Following the procedure, Hood contracted acute hepatitis
Hepatitis
Hepatitis is a medical condition defined by the inflammation of the liver and characterized by the presence of inflammatory cells in the tissue of the organ. The name is from the Greek hepar , the root being hepat- , meaning liver, and suffix -itis, meaning "inflammation"...
and died suddenly of heart failure on June 13, 1979; she was 47.
The Our Gang community was stunned at Hood's unexpected death. Fellow Our Gang member Billie "Buckwheat" Thomas said, "I hate to hear it. It's a shock. She was an awfully nice person, a fine woman. We got along real good as kids."
Hood is buried at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery
Hollywood Forever Cemetery
Hollywood Forever Cemetery, originally called Hollywood Memorial Park Cemetery, is one of the oldest cemeteries in Los Angeles, California. It is located at 6000 Santa Monica Boulevard in the Hollywood...
in Hollywood.
Personal life
Hood was married twice. Her first marriage was to insurance salesman Robert W. Decker (1949-1957). Her second was to record company executive, Jose Granson (1957-1979). She and Granson had three children. Tommy "Butch" BondTommy Bond
Thomas Ross "Tommy" Bond was an American actor. A native of Dallas, Texas, Bond was best known for his work as a child actor for two different nonconsecutive periods on Our Gang comedies, and also for being the first actor to portray the role of "Superman's pal" Jimmy Olsen on screen.-Early years...
mentioned that her marriage to Granson was difficult because Granson used a wheelchair
Wheelchair
A wheelchair is a chair with wheels, designed to be a replacement for walking. The device comes in variations where it is propelled by motors or by the seated occupant turning the rear wheels by hand. Often there are handles behind the seat for someone else to do the pushing...
following a stroke
Stroke
A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...
.
In popular culture
- Darla Hood is mentioned in the song "Purple Stain" by the Red Hot Chili PeppersRed Hot Chili PeppersRed Hot Chili Peppers is an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles in 1983. The group's musical style primarily consists of rock with an emphasis on funk, as well as elements from other genres such as punk, hip hop and psychedelic rock...
with the lines:
-
- Knock on wood we all stay good
' Cause we all live in Hollywood- With Dracula and Darla Hood
- Unspoken words were understood
- A short sound clip of Darla, Spanky and Alfalfa from an episode of Our Gang can be heard at the beginning of the REO SpeedwagonREO SpeedwagonREO Speedwagon is an American rock band. Formed in 1967, the band grew in popularity during the 1970s and peaked in the early 1980s. Hi Infidelity is the group's most commercially successful album, selling over ten million copies and charting four Top 40 hits in the US...
song "Tough Guys", from the album Hi InfidelityHi InfidelityHi Infidelity is the ninth studio album by REO Speedwagon, released in 1980 . It went on to become the biggest selling rock LP of 1981, eventually selling over ten million copies. Six songs from this album hit Billboard charts, including "Keep on Loving You" which was the band's first Number 1 hit,...
.
Darla Impostor
In 1999, an elderly woman named Mollie Barron claimed to have "played Darla" for one year starting in 1926, when the other actress who played 'Darla' was on sick leave. She also claimed to have played opposite Alfalfa during this time. However, Carl Switzer, the only actor who played Alfalfa in the original series, was not born until the following year, with Darla being born four years later. In addition, both Darla and Alfalfa joined in 1935, nine years after Barron's claimed time as 'Darla'. Barron's claims were presented as fact on a BaptistBaptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
Church Web site.