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Darla Hood (November 4, 1931 – June 13,
1979) was an United States|American child actress.

She was born Darla Jean Hood 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.

Her mother started her in singing and dancing at
an early age, taking her to lessons in Oklahoma
City, Oklahoma|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 Film|movies.

From 1935 in film|1935 to 1941 in film|1941, she
played Darla in Our Gang. The comedy movie shorts
were later syndicated for television, in the
mid-1950s, under the title The Little Rascals. 

When she outgrew her role in Our Gang, she
appeared in a couple of other movies and attended
school in Los Angeles, California|Los Angeles.
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 City|New York and Hollywood,
California|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 in television|1950 to 1951 in
television|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 singing a
duet with Johnny Desmond.

Hood had two marriages, insurance salesman Robert
W. Decker (married 1955-divorced 1957) and record
company head Jose Granson (married 1957). She and
Granson had three children.

In January 1959, she 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 (1959 movie)|The Bat (1959 in
film|1959) with Vincent Price and Agnes Moorehead.

Hood was a guest on such TV shows of the early
1960s as Tell It to Groucho starring Groucho Marx
and The Jack Benny Show, where she appeared as
"Darla" in a spoof of the old Our Gang shows with
Jack Benny. She did singing and voice-over on TV
commercials, which included Campbell Soup and
Chicken of the Sea Tuna. And she appeared in her
own nightclub act at the Coconut Grove in Los
Angeles, the Copacabana in New York and the Sahara
in Las Vegas, Nevada|Las Vegas.

During the 1960s and 1970s, she went to many Our
Gang/Little Rascals festivals and conventions,
meeting and greeting the various generations of
fans. 

At forty-seven, Hood died in North Hollywood, Los
Angeles, California|North Hollywood, California,
of acute hepatitis contracted while in the
hospital for a minor surgery.

Darla Hood is interred at the Hollywood Forever
Cemetery in Hollywood, California|Hollywood.

==External links==
*http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0393454/ IMDb entry
for Darla Hood

	Web Quotableonline.com Frasescelebres.org Greatbookscollection.org

Darla Hood (November 4, 1931 – June 13,
1979) was an United States|American child actress.

She was born Darla Jean Hood 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.

Her mother started her in singing and dancing at
an early age, taking her to lessons in Oklahoma
City, Oklahoma|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 Film|movies.

From 1935 in film|1935 to 1941 in film|1941, she
played Darla in Our Gang. The comedy movie shorts
were later syndicated for television, in the
mid-1950s, under the title The Little Rascals. 

When she outgrew her role in Our Gang, she
appeared in a couple of other movies and attended
school in Los Angeles, California|Los Angeles.
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 City|New York and Hollywood,
California|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 in television|1950 to 1951 in
television|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 singing a
duet with Johnny Desmond.

Hood had two marriages, insurance salesman Robert
W. Decker (married 1955-divorced 1957) and record
company head Jose Granson (married 1957). She and
Granson had three children.

In January 1959, she 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 (1959 movie)|The Bat (1959 in
film|1959) with Vincent Price and Agnes Moorehead.

Hood was a guest on such TV shows of the early
1960s as Tell It to Groucho starring Groucho Marx
and The Jack Benny Show, where she appeared as
"Darla" in a spoof of the old Our Gang shows with
Jack Benny. She did singing and voice-over on TV
commercials, which included Campbell Soup and
Chicken of the Sea Tuna. And she appeared in her
own nightclub act at the Coconut Grove in Los
Angeles, the Copacabana in New York and the Sahara
in Las Vegas, Nevada|Las Vegas.

During the 1960s and 1970s, she went to many Our
Gang/Little Rascals festivals and conventions,
meeting and greeting the various generations of
fans. 

At forty-seven, Hood died in North Hollywood, Los
Angeles, California|North Hollywood, California,
of acute hepatitis contracted while in the
hospital for a minor surgery.

Darla Hood is interred at the Hollywood Forever
Cemetery in Hollywood, California|Hollywood.

==External links==
*http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0393454/ IMDb entry
for Darla Hood