Classic Movie Journeys: Darla Hood
Darla Jean Hood was born on November 8, 1931 in Leedey, Oklahoma. She was born to James and Elizabeth Hood. James worked as a bank teller while Elizabeth was a housewife. Elizabeth was instrumental in introducing Hood to song and dance and regularly took her to music classes in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. On her third birthday, Hood was discovered by Hal Roach Studios casting director Joe Rivkin. After a successful screen test, she and her family traveled to Culver City, California to perform in the
Our gang shorts.
First she showed up Our gang as a character named Cookie. For all her others Our gang Performances she took on the role of Darla. Her character was known for being the love interest of Alfalfa as well as other characters occasionally. Among many screen appearances she was seen Our Gang Follies from 1936 (1935) and The Bohemian Girl (1936) with Laurel and Hardy. Her last appearance on Our Gang was there worried about the wedding (1941).
As she grew, she pursued more mature roles while attending Fairfax High School. She continued to show off her vocal prowess and organized a singing group called The Enchanters in Fairfax, which featured her vocals and backing vocals provided by four male students. Upon graduation, the group were booked to perform on a variety show and stayed with Ken Murray’s Blackouts variety show throughout its run in New York City and Hollywood.
Hood married singer and insurance salesman Robert W. Decker in 1949. They divorced in 1957.
Hood later performed solo in nightclubs and as a guest on television shows. She worked with ventriloquist Edgar Bergen as the lead in his skits and appeared regularly The Merv Griffin Show. She also recorded several singles for the Ray Note and Acama labels. Rivkin, who discovered her, saw the cover of one of her albums and eventually cast her in her last film role and first adult film role – portraying a secretary in The bat (1959) with Vincent Price.
Hood continued to make guest appearances on many television shows, including You bet your life, the Jack Benny Showand The Little Rascals Christmas Special. She sang and provided voiceovers for commercials for Campbell’s Soup and Chicken of the Sea tuna. In addition, she performed a nightclub act at Coconut Grove in Los Angeles, California; Copacabana in New York, New York; and the Sahara Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Hood remarried in 1957 to record company executive Jose Granson, to whom she had three children and remained married until her death.
Hood worked on organizing a 1989 Little rascals Reunion when she had to undergo appendix surgery at Canoga Park Hospital. She died of heart failure on June 13, 1979. She was 47 years old. Hood is interred in Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Hollywood, California.
There are a few sites relevant to Hood that survive today. In 1940, Hood and her parents lived at 911 N. Alfred St., Los Angeles, California. This location no longer exists.
In 1956 she was living at 13802 Runnymede St., Van Nuys, California. The house still stands today.
Hollywood Forever Cemetery is located at 6000 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles, California.
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–Annette Bochenek for Classic Movie Hub
Annette Bochenek writes our monthly Classic Movie Travels column. Here you can read all articles from Annette’s Classic Movie Travel.
Annette Bochenek, from Chicago, Illinois, is a graduate student at Dominican University and an independent scholar of Hollywood’s Golden Age. She manages the blog Hometowns to Hollywood, where she writes about her travels exploring the legacies and hometowns of Golden Age stars. Annette also hosts the Hometowns to Hollywood film series in the Chicago area. She has appeared in Turner Classic Movies and is the President of the Chicago chapter of TCM Backlot. Not only does she write for Classic Movie Hub, but also for Silent Film Quarterly, nostalgia digestand Magazine of the Chicago Art Deco Society.
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