Darla Hood
Darla Hood | |
---|---|
Born | Darla Jean Hood November 8, 1931 Leedey, Oklahoma, U.S. |
Died | June 13, 1979 | (aged 47)
Resting place | Hollywood Forever Cemetery |
Other names | Cookie |
Occupation | Child actress |
Years active | 1935–1979 |
Spouses | Robert W. Decker
(m. 1949; div. 1957)Jose Granson (m. 1957) |
Children | 3 |
Darla Jean Hood (November 8, 1931 – June 13, 1979) 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 music teacher Elizabeth Davner, and James Claude Hood, who worked in a bank.
Our Gang
Hood's mother introduced her to singing and dancing at an early age, taking her to lessons in Oklahoma City. 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 series.
Hood used her real name in the series except for her debut, in which her character's name was "Cookie". She made her debut at age four in the 1935 film
Hood's final Our Gang appearance was at age 10 in 1941's Wedding Worries.
After Our Gang
When she outgrew her role in Our Gang, Hood appeared in several other movies and attended school in Los Angeles. While at Fairfax High School, she organized a vocal group called the Enchanters with four boys. Shortly after graduation, the quintet was booked by producer and vaudeville 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 City and Hollywood.
Hood went solo with singing engagements in
In January 1959, Hood released a new record, "My Quiet Village" (Ray Note Records). Joe Rivkin, who discovered her as a child, saw the cover and cast her in her final film role —her first adult role in a movie— playing a secretary in the suspense drama The Bat with Vincent Price and Agnes Moorehead. In 2018, along with Hood's recording of "Silent Island," "My Quiet Village" was re-released by The Numero Group both on the Exotica compilation Technicolor Paradise: Rhum Rhapsodies & Other Exotic Delights and on Silent Island, a digital-download-only retrospective of Hood's vocal music.
Hood was a guest on such TV shows of the early 1960s as
Personal life
Hood was married twice, first to singer and insurance salesman Robert W. Decker (1949–1957), then to record-company executive Jose Granson (1957–1979). She and Granson had three children. Tommy "Butch" Bond mentioned that her marriage to Granson was difficult because he used a wheelchair following a stroke.[4]
Death
Hood was busy organizing the 1980 Little Rascals reunion for the Los Angeles chapter of The Sons of the Desert when she underwent an appendectomy at Canoga Park Hospital, Canoga Park, California. After the procedure, she died suddenly of heart failure on June 13, 1979, at age 47. An autopsy disclosed that Hood had contracted Hepatitis C from a contaminated blood transfusion given during the operation which led to her death.[5]
Upon learning of Hood's death, fellow Our Gang member
Filmography
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1936 | The Bohemian Girl | Arline as a Child | |
1936 | Neighborhood House | Mary Chase | |
1939 | The Ice Follies of 1939 | Sister | Uncredited |
1942 | Born to Sing | 'Quiz Kid' | |
1943 | Happy Land | Lenore Prentiss - Age 12 | Uncredited |
1957 | Calypso Heat Wave | Johnny's Duet Partner | |
1957 | The Helen Morgan Story | Girl Singer at Piano | Uncredited |
1959 | The Bat | Judy Hollander | |
1965 | Gulliver's Travels Beyond the Moon | Princess | (English version), Voice |
References
- ^ The Scott Vincent Archive (June 12, 2015). "ABN The Merv Griffin Show (1957)" – via YouTube.
- ^ "Darla Hood". vintagepowderroom.com.
- ^ "Darla Hood Discography – USA – 45cat". 45cat.com.
- ISBN 0-9630976-5-2
- ^ "FACT CHECK: 'Our Gang' Curse".
- ISBN 0-517-58325-9
- ^ "Darla Hood Is Laid to Rest". Santa Cruz Sentinel. June 19, 1979. Retrieved May 16, 2023.
External links
- Darla Hood at IMDb
- Darla Hood at the TCM Movie Database
- Darla Hood at AllMovie
- Darla Hood at Find a Grave
- Darla Hood Archived October 18, 2010, at the Wayback Machine at the Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture