Darla Hood was one of the Little Rascals that played the childhood love interest of Alfalfa. A couple of the other boys had their eyes on her as well (Butch and Waldo). She was in the series from 1935 to 1941, during which time the name, "The Little Rascals" was changed to "Our Gang" in 1938.
Born an only child in Oklahoma, her parents got her into singing and dancing at a young age. Her mom took her to the Hal Roach Studios in California for an audition when she was only three years old. Her first film part in the Rascals was in 1936, at age 4.
Darla went to high school at Fairfax High School in Los Angeles, California, and organized a vocal group. She continued to sing in nightclubs and TV commercials up until her untimely death in 1979. She was organizing a Little Rascals Reunion for 1980, but never got to attend. After a minor surgery at a North Hollywood hospital, Darla Hood died suddenly from complications, at the age of 47.
I just loved the Little Rascals. Accidentally, my new blog is becoming kind of Our Gangish. I had stolen the name Stinky from a blogger named Jo who had a big plant and that's what she named it and that name reminded me of the little rascal names. Stinky wasn't one of them, but Stymie was taken and that was my first choice. Darla was just my favorite. Well, all of them were.
ReplyDeleteI always liked Darla; what boy didn't. I like her even more now, finding that she grew up to be a fine looking woman. I have to laugh at her handwriting, though, because it looks just like mine. She must have spent much more time singing with the boys than working on penmanship. We still love you Darla.
ReplyDeleteWe love The Little Rascals at our house. My favorite is when Darla sang, "Baby Face." I taught it to my son when he was four and recorded it. So cute!
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