Darwood Kenneth Smith (September 8, 1929 – May 15, 2002), also known as Darwood Kaye, was an American
child actor
The term child actor or child actress is generally applied to a child acting on stage or in movies or television. An adult who began their acting career as a child may also be called a child actor, or a "former child actor". Closely associated t ...
most notable for his semi-regular role as the bookish rich kid Waldo in the ''
Our Gang
''Our Gang'' (also known as ''The Little Rascals'' or ''Hal Roach's Rascals'') is an American series of comedy short films chronicling a group of poor neighborhood children and their adventures. Created by film producer Hal Roach, also the ...
''
short subjects
A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...
series from 1937 to 1940. As an adult, Smith became a
Seventh-day Adventist pastor, ministering at several churches until his death in 2002.
Kaye was "discovered" in 1935 while his family was on vacation in
Hollywood, California
Hollywood is a neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. Its name has come to be a shorthand reference for the U.S. film industry and the people associated with it. Many notable film studios, such as Columbia Pictures, ...
; he was asked to come to the studios for a screen test, and made some uncredited appearances in films in 1936.
''Our Gang''
Kaye had a small role in
Hal Roach
Harry Eugene "Hal" Roach Sr. Skretvedt, Randy (2016), ''Laurel and Hardy: The Magic Behind the Movies'', Bonaventure Press. p.608. (January 14, 1892 – November 2, 1992) was an American film and television producer, director, and screenwriter, ...
's 1937 ''Our Gang'' comedy ''
Glove Taps
''Glove Taps'' is a 1937 ''Our Gang'' short comedy film directed by Gordon Douglas. It was the 151st ''Our Gang'' short (152nd episode, 63rd talking short, and 64th talking episode) that was released.
Plot
Butch explains that he clobbers every ...
''. His first speaking part was in ''
Hearts Are Thumps
''Hearts Are Thumps'' is a 1937 ''Our Gang'' short comedy film directed by Gordon Douglas. It was the 152nd ''Our Gang'' short released (153rd episode, 64th talking short, and 65th talking episode). An audio clip from the short was included (o ...
'', released the same year. In most of his ''Our Gang'' appearances, Kaye portrayed "Waldo", a rich kid with an officious, studious nature who competed with schoolmates
"Alfalfa" Switzer and
"Butch" Bond for the affections of little
Darla Hood
Darla Jean Hood (November 8, 1931 – June 13, 1979) was an American child actress, best known as the leading lady in the ''Our Gang'' series from 1935 to 1941. She was born in Leedey, Oklahoma, the only child of music teacher Elizabeth Da ...
.
[ Maltin, Leonard and Bann, Richard W. (1977, rev. 1992). ''The Little Rascals: The Life and Times of Our Gang'', p. 278. New York: Crown Publishing/Three Rivers Press. ]
Kaye appeared with other ''Our Gang'' cast members in live performances in the early 1940s. A 1940 ''
Fort Worth Star-Telegram'' article about the ''Our Gang'' cast said that Kaye and another cast member "display the most essential characteristics of actors in that neither is affected by the constantly unsympathetic roles they must play. Darwood is easily recognizable as a 'regular guy' in any juvenile company and conducts himself with good manners and lack of effrontery which distinguish him from Waldo." According to ''Variety'', he and Switzer performed "an eccentric tap routine which registered well for nice laughs and applause" in San Antonio in late December 1940.
Kaye remained a semi-regular in ''Our Gang'' through 1940, by which time production of the series had moved from the Hal Roach studio to
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. He appeared in a total of 21 ''Our Gang'' films. After leaving the ''Our Gang'' series Kaye appeared as "Waldo" in ''
Barnyard Follies
''Barnyard Follies'' is a 1940 Republic Pictures musical B movie directed by Frank McDonald with music directed by Cy Feuer and dance choreography by Josephine Earl. In the rural American West, a small-town orphanage struggles to become self-supp ...
'' at
Republic Pictures in late 1940. Minor roles in other films included the musical ''
Best Foot Forward'' (1943) and ''
Kansas City Kitty
''Kansas City Kitty'' is a 1944 American romantic musical film directed by Del Lord, starring Joan Davis and Jane Frazee. The film features the singing Williams Brothers, including the youngest of the quartet, Andy Williams.
Cast
* Joan Dav ...
'' (1944); in both he played "Killer".
Pastor Smith
After serving in the United States Army for a year and a half, Smith attended
La Sierra University
La Sierra University (La Sierra or LSU) is a private, Seventh-day Adventist university in Riverside, California. Founded in 1922 as La Sierra Academy, it later became La Sierra College, a liberal arts college, and then was merged into Loma Li ...
, a
Seventh-day Adventist college in
Riverside, California. He married another student attending La Sierra, Jean Venden, in June 1951, with whom he had four sons: Dan, David, Richard, and Donald.
Smith became a minister in the
Seventh-day Adventist Church, ministering at churches in the nearby cities of
San Diego,
Palm Springs
Palm Springs (Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Riverside County by land a ...
,
Escondido,
Santa Maria Santa María is a title of Mary, mother of Jesus, in languages such as Italian, Portuguese and Spanish.
Santa Maria or Santa María may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
Music
* "Santa Maria" (Tatjana song), released 1995
* "Santa Maria ...
,
Oceanside.
[ and in northern California at the Saint Helena SDA church.
In 1957, the Smiths moved to Siam (present day Thailand), where Darwood, now known as Pastor Ken Smith, did missionary work. Three years later, the couple's fourth son, Donald, was born in ]Bangkok
Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populatio ...
. The Smiths remained in Thailand for fourteen years before going back to the U.S. permanently. Smith continued his clerical career, ministering in several Southern California churches and supervising missionary work.[
]
Death and legacy
On May 15, 2002, Smith was severely injured in a hit and run
In traffic laws, a hit and run or a hit-and-run is the act of causing a traffic collision and not stopping afterwards. It is considered a supplemental crime in most jurisdictions.
Additional obligation
In many jurisdictions, there may be a ...
accident on Arlington Avenue in Riverside, California. He died later that evening at Riverside Community Hospital, surrounded by his family. He was buried at the Crestlawn Memorial Park in Riverside.
His son David wrote the biography ''Finding Waldo: From Little Rascal to Adventist Pastor by Darwood Kaye'' (Pacific Press, 2009).
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Kaye, Darwood
1929 births
2002 deaths
American male child actors
American Seventh-day Adventists
Burials in Riverside County, California
Male actors from Colorado
Actors from Fort Collins, Colorado
Seventh-day Adventist religious workers
Seventh-day Adventist missionaries in Thailand
Pedestrian road incident deaths
Road incident deaths in California
American male comedy actors
Hal Roach Studios actors
Our Gang