Our Gang in 1929: Joe Cobb, Allen "Farina" Hoskins, Harry Spear, Jean Darling, Mary Ann Jackson, Bobby "Wheezer" Hutchins, and Pete the Pup.
Posted on 09/06/2015 6:33:45 PM PDT by lowbridge
Jean Darling, one of the last surviving members of the silent movie Our Gang comedies, has died. Her death was reported on Sunday September 6 on social media sites by her friends. She had turned 93 years old only two weeks earlier. Our Gang were also called Hal Roach's Rascals. The series was known as The Little Rascals on television. In its long history, from the 1920s into the 1940s, the Our Gang roster changed a lot, with some notable members including Jackie Cooper, Farina Hoskins, Stymie Beard, Spanky McFarland, Darla Hood, and Alfalfa Switzer.
Jean Darling joined Our Gang in 1927 when she was only 5 years old. Jean was the pretty girl, often getting the attention of the boys, and causing rivalries among them. Along with appearing in seveal silent Our Gang comedies, Jean also acted a handful of the early talkies.
One of Jean's most noted silent Our Gang comedies was "Crazy House" where she played a lonesome rich girl who was stuck in her mansion and not allowed to play with the "common" children in the neighborhood. When the parents and servants are away, Jean invites several of the kids into her house, which her father has rigged with April Fool gags for a party later that evening. Great visual gags and a heartfelt performance by Jean Darling make "Crazy House" one of the best Gang comedies of the silent era. Another of Jean's best films was the early talkie "Boxing Gloves" (1929) when she played the object of affection for rival boys Fat Joe Cobb and Norman "Chubby" Chaney, who end up fighting in a boxing ring over her. Since this is such an early talkie, it is part sound and part silent, giving the movie some historical significance as well.
(Excerpt) Read more at examiner.com ...
Our Gang in 1929: Joe Cobb, Allen "Farina" Hoskins, Harry Spear, Jean Darling, Mary Ann Jackson, Bobby "Wheezer" Hutchins, and Pete the Pup.
bump
They lived a different culture then, not like this rot we have to wade through now. With each passing the cultural rot just gets a little stronger.
Robert Blake still around
Yeah I hear on one of old movie Facebook fan sites
I’m just barely old enough to remember the old “Our Gang” being shown in reruns later on Saturday morning along with Laurel & Hardy and the occasional WC Fields, after the cartoons. It was clearly old even then, late sixties, but still funny and enjoyable.
Anyone know names pictures of all the stars? Think there was one girl with Bette Davis eyes.
I've seen a number of them. It is a more quiet and quaint style of humor. The thing that is most bothersome is that we remember these people as young children. It's hard to believe that they have now all died of old age.
When did it become”Spanky”? And where is Darla and Alfalfa?
Prayers up... RIP spent many many hours watching the Gang as a kid
I had the biggest schoolboy crush on Miss Crabtree.
Joe Cobb? Hell, for a moment I thought that was Hermann Goering! J/K
Rest in Peace
Some of them like Froggy passed away young. I always wonder how he did that with his voice, was that natural?
I can’t place her, though I only saw the Our Gang/Little Rascals shorts a time or two as a kid. My favorite was “Spooky Hooky”, where the guys skip school only to find out the entire class got taken on a field trip to the amusement park. Pretty funny stuff.
BTW, I found out recently that the 1994 Little Rascals film by Penelope Spheris is something of a cult classic among many 20-somethings. The critics hated it, but I’ve seen it spoken of on many forums by that group with the same sort of reverence aging Gen-X’ers like myself think of A Christmas Story. Weird.
Same here, they reran those, they still run the 3 stooges on satellite.
Our Gang was really “Great Depression” like it seemed, entertaining.
Butch the tough guy, a lot of characters.
They were memorable, Spanky and the gang in the haunted house was a classic. There was a WC Fields episode with a woman in a dentist chair that was the most hilarious slapstick comedy I’ve ever seen.
How times have changed. In 1928, this was innocent. Today, a five year old's parents would have the kid in the operating room tomorrow morning for your Addadictome or your Chopadicoffame.
Jean Darling, Photos: http://liambluett.com/tag/jean-darling/
I do remember Darla Hood, Darla of course:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darla_Hood
Wasn’t she a cutie? And then all the makeup they did to get her mini bee stung lips. Probably curlers too.
I watched those reruns as a child. I remember little Mickey - I think that was Robert Blake’s name.
We had them until the early 70's, when i was young child. I liked watching them, it was like a window back in time.
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