# Darla Hood
**Darla Hood** (originally Dorla Jean Hood) was an American child actress who played the leading girl in [Hal Roach](https://www.edgepedia.org/hal-roach)'s *Our Gang* comedy shorts (televised as *The Little Rascals*) from 1935 to 1941, and who later worked as a singer and voice performer. Most reference works give her birth date as November 4, 1931, in Leedey, Oklahoma, although a detailed fan filmography argues from local Oklahoma newspapers that she was born on November 4, 1930, and the Social Security Index agrees with 1930[1](https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry?entry=HO026) • [4](https://theluckycorner.com/kids/hood.html). She died on June 13, 1979[1](https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry?entry=HO026).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | Leedey, Oklahoma; November 4, 1931 per most references, but November 4, 1930 per the Social Security Index and local Oklahoma newspapers[1](https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry?entry=HO026) • [4](https://theluckycorner.com/kids/hood.html) |
| Discovery | Brought to New York by her dance teacher Katherine Duffy; seen there by Hal Roach casting director Joe Rivkin, who offered a screen test[1](https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry?entry=HO026) • [5](https://tv.apple.com/nz/person/darla-hood/umc.cpc.6vrx6jq0rnyvynbt0rf6q6zdq) |
| Our Gang contract | Seven-year contract at $75 a week, signed in 1935; first film *Our Gang Follies of 1936*[1](https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry?entry=HO026) |
| Tenure in the series | 1935 to 1941, ending at MGM; final short *Wedding Worries* (December 1941)[4](https://theluckycorner.com/kids/hood.html) |
| Feature films | *The Bohemian Girl* (1936), *Born to Sing* (1942), *Happy Land* (1943), *Calypso Heat Wave* (1957), *The Bat* (1959)[3](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/PersonDetails/35798) |
| Marriages | Robert W. Decker (1949, divorced 1957); music publisher Jose Granson (1957), also her manager[1](https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry?entry=HO026) • [5](https://tv.apple.com/nz/person/darla-hood/umc.cpc.6vrx6jq0rnyvynbt0rf6q6zdq) |
| Voice work | Chicken of the Sea mermaid, Campbell's Kids, Tiny Tears doll commercials; dubbing for *Airport* and *The Towering Inferno*[1](https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry?entry=HO026) |
| Died | June 13, 1979, after contracting hepatitis following hospitalization for routine surgery; buried at Hollywood Forever Cemetery[1](https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry?entry=HO026) • [5](https://tv.apple.com/nz/person/darla-hood/umc.cpc.6vrx6jq0rnyvynbt0rf6q6zdq) |
## Early life and discovery
Hood was the only child of James Claude Hood, Jr., a banker, and Elizabeth Hood, who enrolled her daughter in singing and dancing lessons[1](https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry?entry=HO026) • [5](https://tv.apple.com/nz/person/darla-hood/umc.cpc.6vrx6jq0rnyvynbt0rf6q6zdq). Her teacher at the Duffy Dance Studios in [Oklahoma City](https://www.edgepedia.org/oklahoma-city), Katherine Duffy, took her to New York City, where a talent scout found her[1](https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry?entry=HO026). The Apple TV biographical sketch places the discovery at the Edison Hotel ballroom in [Times Square](https://www.edgepedia.org/times-square), where the child was invited onstage to conduct the band and sing, and where Joe Rivkin, a casting director for Hal Roach Studios, was in the audience[5](https://tv.apple.com/nz/person/darla-hood/umc.cpc.6vrx6jq0rnyvynbt0rf6q6zdq).
The name Darla was itself a studio accident: her mother coined "Dorla," but a clerical error at the studio rechristened her Darla for her film debut, and the misspelling stuck[5](https://tv.apple.com/nz/person/darla-hood/umc.cpc.6vrx6jq0rnyvynbt0rf6q6zdq) • [4](https://theluckycorner.com/kids/hood.html).
## Our Gang, 1935 to 1941
In 1935 Hood signed a seven-year contract at seventy-five dollars a week and immediately starred in *Our Gang Follies of 1936*[1](https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry?entry=HO026). The number of shorts she made in the series is reported differently across sources: the Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History says 150 episodes[1](https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry?entry=HO026), Encyclopedia.com says over 150 between 1935 and 1945[2](https://www.encyclopedia.com/women/dictionaries-thesauruses-pictures-and-press-releases/hood-darla-1931-1979), the LordHeath Hal Roach filmography lists 50 appearances between 1935 and 1941[7](https://www.lordheath.com/menu1_531.html), and a [Los Angeles Unified School District](https://www.edgepedia.org/los-angeles-unified-school-district) alumni record says 102[8](https://www.lausd.org/cms/lib08/CA01000043/Centricity/Domain/599/LAUSD%20Alumni%20History%20and%20Hall%20of%20Fame.pdf). What the sources agree on is the span: she was in the series from 1935 until 1941, with her final short, *Wedding Worries*, filmed in the autumn of 1941 and released that December[4](https://theluckycorner.com/kids/hood.html).
Her screen persona was the sweetheart of the gang, singing and dancing through production numbers opposite George "Spanky" McFarland, Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer, and Billie "Buckwheat" Thomas[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/darla_hood). Beyond the shorts she took a title role with [Laurel and Hardy](https://www.edgepedia.org/laurel-and-hardy) in *The Bohemian Girl* (1936), playing Arline as a child[1](https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry?entry=HO026) • [3](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/PersonDetails/35798).
**Leaving the studio.** Hood spent seven years attending school and filming on the [Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer](https://www.edgepedia.org/metro-goldwyn-mayer) lot, and at age eleven had difficulty adjusting to life outside the studio[1](https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry?entry=HO026). Her MGM contract ended around 1943 or early 1944; she later recalled being relieved, telling an interviewer she could finally "go to public school" and "be normal," though the adjustment to a Los Angeles high school was hard and classmates thought her a snob[4](https://theluckycorner.com/kids/hood.html).
## Singer and voice performer
As a teenager she formed a vocal group that supplied background music for late 1940s films; Encyclopedia.com names the group "Darla Hood and the Enchanters," formed with her husband, and credits it on films including *A Letter to Three Wives*[1](https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry?entry=HO026) • [2](https://www.encyclopedia.com/women/dictionaries-thesauruses-pictures-and-press-releases/hood-darla-1931-1979). By the late 1950s she was using her three-octave-range voice in television commercials for the Tiny Tears doll, Campbell's soup, and Chicken-of-the-Sea tuna[1](https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry?entry=HO026).
She also recorded. A 1959 single of Les Baxter's "Quiet Village," backed by bird calls and voodoo drums, led her friend Joe Rivkin to invite her to test for *The Bat* (1959), Crane Wilbur's remake of the old dark house thriller starring [Vincent Price](https://www.edgepedia.org/vincent-price) and [Agnes Moorehead](https://www.edgepedia.org/agnes-moorehead); it was her last feature film appearance[5](https://tv.apple.com/nz/person/darla-hood/umc.cpc.6vrx6jq0rnyvynbt0rf6q6zdq) • [3](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/PersonDetails/35798). Through the 1960s she recorded singles for labels including Acama and Ray Note, some of which she co-wrote[4](https://theluckycorner.com/kids/hood.html).
Her voice reached audiences mostly through dubbing and commercials. She dubbed television shows and motion pictures including *The Towering Inferno* and *Airport*[1](https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry?entry=HO026), provided the singing voice of the Chicken of the Sea mermaid under a four-year contract[4](https://theluckycorner.com/kids/hood.html), and voiced the Princess in the English version of the Japanese animated feature *Gulliver's Travels Beyond the Moon* (1966)[5](https://tv.apple.com/nz/person/darla-hood/umc.cpc.6vrx6jq0rnyvynbt0rf6q6zdq) • [4](https://theluckycorner.com/kids/hood.html).
## Nostalgia circuit and final work
When television syndication revived the shorts under the *Little Rascals* name, Hood joined surviving cast members at conventions and public appearances[5](https://tv.apple.com/nz/person/darla-hood/umc.cpc.6vrx6jq0rnyvynbt0rf6q6zdq). She appeared on the Mike Douglas Show in November 1973 in a surprise reunion with Spanky McFarland, attended the international [Sons of the Desert](https://www.edgepedia.org/sons-of-the-desert) convention in Chicago in August 1978, and in June 1979 was reported to be writing a book called *That Old Gang Of Mine*[4](https://theluckycorner.com/kids/hood.html).
Her last credit was the animated *The Little Rascals' Christmas Special* (December 3, 1979), on which she was the voice of the mother while the character Darla was voiced by Randi Kiger; the special aired nearly six months after her death and credited her as Darla Hood Granson[4](https://theluckycorner.com/kids/hood.html).
## Death
In June 1979 Hood entered the hospital, reportedly for routine surgery while organizing an [Our Gang](https://www.edgepedia.org/our-gang) reunion, and contracted hepatitis; she died on June 13, 1979[5](https://tv.apple.com/nz/person/darla-hood/umc.cpc.6vrx6jq0rnyvynbt0rf6q6zdq) • [1](https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry?entry=HO026). She was buried in Hollywood Memorial Cemetery, now called Hollywood Forever[1](https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry?entry=HO026). Her funeral on June 18, 1979, was attended by Matthew "Stymie" Beard and Mickey "Happy" Laughlin[4](https://theluckycorner.com/kids/hood.html).
One recurring problem in the record of the series is impersonation: a 1999 interviewee who claimed to have played "Darla Hood" was among the many false claimants, and a 1968 newspaper item attributing a different identity to her was plainly erroneous[4](https://theluckycorner.com/kids/hood.html).
## References
1. [Linda D. Wilson, "Hood, Darla Jean," The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture](https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry?entry=HO026)
2. ["Hood, Darla (1931–1979)," Dictionary of Women Worldwide, Encyclopedia.com](https://www.encyclopedia.com/women/dictionaries-thesauruses-pictures-and-press-releases/hood-darla-1931-1979)
3. [Darla Hood filmography, AFI Catalog of Feature Films](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/PersonDetails/35798)
4. [Darla Hood, The Lucky Corner (filmography with Matthew Lydick)](https://theluckycorner.com/kids/hood.html)
5. [Darla Hood biography, Apple TV](https://tv.apple.com/nz/person/darla-hood/umc.cpc.6vrx6jq0rnyvynbt0rf6q6zdq)
6. [Darla Hood, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/darla_hood)
7. [Darla Hood, LordHeath Hal Roach filmography](https://www.lordheath.com/menu1_531.html)
8. [LAUSD Alumni History and Hall of Fame](https://www.lausd.org/cms/lib08/CA01000043/Centricity/Domain/599/LAUSD%20Alumni%20History%20and%20Hall%20of%20Fame.pdf)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Film people and crafts › Film actors and performers › Child and young film performers*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license