![]() Joe Rivkin, who discovered her as a child, saw the cover and cast her in her final film role -her first adult role in a movie- playing a secretary in the suspense drama The Bat with Vincent Price and Agnes Moorehead. In January 1959, Hood released a new record, "My Quiet Village" (Ray Note Records). Between 19 ,she recorded several singles for the small Ray Note and Acama labels. Other credits that year include a hit record, "I Just Wanna Be Free." and a duet with Johnny Desmond in the Sam Katzman movie Calypso Heat Wave. In 1957, Hood was a regular performer on The Merv Griffin Show for the American Broadcasting Network. In 1955, she was a leading lady in the act of ventriloquist Edgar Bergen. She was a regular on The Ken Murray Show from 1950 to 1951. Hood went solo with singing engagements in nightclubs and guest appearances on TV. The group remained with Murray's Blackouts during its long run in New York City and Hollywood. Shortly after graduation, the quintet was booked by producer and vaudeville star Ken Murray for his famous "Blackouts", a stage variety show. While at Fairfax High School, she organized a vocal group called the Enchanters with four boys. ![]() When she outgrew her role in Our Gang, Hood appeared in several other movies and attended school in Los Angeles. Hood's final Our Gang appearance was at age 10 in 1941's Wedding Worries. One of her most memorable moments was singing " I'm in the Mood for Love" in The Pinch Singer. She is well remembered for her coquettish character, typically the love interest of Alfalfa, Butch, or (occasionally) Waldo. From 1935 through 1941, she continued to play in Our Gang. She made her debut at age four in the 1935 film Our Gang Follies of 1936 and was soon given a role in The Bohemian Girl with Laurel and Hardy. Hood used her real name in the series except for her debut, in which her character's name was "Cookie". She was then taken to Culver City, California, to appear in the Our Gang series. 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. Hood's mother introduced her to singing and dancing at an early age, taking her to lessons in Oklahoma City. She was born in Leedey, Oklahoma, the only child of music teacher Elizabeth Davner, and James Claude Hood, who worked in a bank. Darla Jean Hood (Novem– June 13, 1979) was an American child actress, best known as the leading lady in the Our Gang series from 1935 to 1941.
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