Jean Darling (born Dorothy Jean LeVake; August 23, 1922 – September 4, 2015) was an American

child actress 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 ...

who was a regular 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 1927–29. Prior to her death, she was one of four surviving cast members from the

silent era A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, wh ...

cast of ''Our Gang'' (

Lassie Lou Ahern Lassie Lou Ahern (June 25, 1920 – February 15, 2018) was an American actress. Originally discovered by Will Rogers, she was best known for her role as Little Harry in the 1927 silent film ''Uncle Tom's Cabin'' and also for her recurring appea ...

Mildred Kornman Mildred Gene Kornman (July 10, 1925 – August 19, 2022), also billed as Ricki VanDusen, was an American actress, model, businesswoman, and photographer. At the time of her death, she was one of the last living actresses of the silent era. L ...

and Dorothy Morrison being the others). At the time of her death in 2015, Darling was, along with

Baby Peggy Diana Serra Cary (born Peggy-Jean Montgomery; October 29, 1918 – February 24, 2020), known as Baby Peggy, was an American child film actress, vaudevillian, author and silent film historian. She was the last living person with a substantial car ...

, one of the last surviving actors who worked in the silent film era.

Child star

Born Dorothy Jean LeVake, her name was legally changed to Jean Darling when she was five months old, a few days after her mother and father separated. She began in movies at six months old as a freelance baby. She got her break in 1926 when she passed a screen test and was accepted for a part in

Hal Roach Harry Eugene "Hal" Roach Sr.Randy Skretvedt, 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, a ...

's ''Our Gang'' series. Darling appeared in 46 silents and five talkies with ''Our Gang'' during this period. She left the series in the fall of 1929 along with

Joe Cobb Joe Frank Cobb (November 7, 1916 – May 21, 2002) was an American child actor, most notable for appearing as the original "fat boy" in the ''Our Gang'' comedies from 1922 to 1929. Early life and career Born in Shawnee, Oklahoma, on Novemb ...

and

Harry Spear Harry Sherman Bonner (December 16, 1921 – September 22, 2006),Harry S. Bonner, Social Security Death Index, SSN 557-26-4992 also known as Harry Spear, was an American child actor and vaudevillian. He was notable for appearing in the ''Our Gang'' ...

. She was not replaced right away. She continued to appear in films after leaving the gang, including an appearance in

Laurel & Hardy Laurel and Hardy were a British-American comedy duo act during the early Classical Hollywood era of American cinema, consisting of Englishman Stan Laurel (1890–1965) and American Oliver Hardy (1892–1957). Starting their career as a duo in ...

's adaptation of '' Babes in Toyland'' (uncredited) and as the young Jane in ''

Jane Eyre ''Jane Eyre'' ( ; originally published as ''Jane Eyre: An Autobiography'') is a novel by the English writer Charlotte Brontë. It was published under her pen name "Currer Bell" on 19 October 1847 by Smith, Elder & Co. of London. The first ...

'' (both 1934). A round of stage and radio shows followed. Stage shows involved up to seven performances a day. It was a punishing schedule for a fourteen-year-old, and that was not taking into account her educational studies.

Later life and career

Darling began to study singing, and in 1940 she was given a scholarship by the New York Municipal Opera Association. She turned down an offer to appear alongside

Mickey Rooney Mickey Rooney (born Joseph Yule Jr.; other pseudonym Mickey Maguire; September 23, 1920 – April 6, 2014) was an American actor. In a career spanning nine decades, he appeared in more than 300 films and was among the last surviving stars of the ...

in one of the

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...

Andy Hardy Andrew "Andy" Hardy is a fictional character best known for the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer series of 16 films in which he was played by Mickey Rooney. The films were released from 1937 to 1946, except for a final one made in 1958 in an unsuccessful att ...

'' movies, and went on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

, making her debut in the musical ''Count Me In'' in 1942. Darling's stage career hit a real high when she landed the role of Carrie Pipperidge in the original Broadway production of ''

Carousel A carousel or carrousel (mainly North American English), merry-go-round (List of sovereign states, international), roundabout (British English), or hurdy-gurdy (an old term in Australian English, in South Australia, SA) is a type of amusement ...

'' in 1945. She appeared in 850 consecutive performances. Her role as Carrie Pipperidge helped her with parts for radio and TV in the 1950s. She hosted her own television show for

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, ''A Date with Jean Darling''. Her daily TV show for women, ''The Singing Knit-Witch'', was aired on

KHJ-TV KCAL-TV (channel 9) is an independent television station in Los Angeles, California, United States. It is owned by the CBS News and Stations group alongside CBS West Coast flagship KCBS-TV (channel 2). Both stations share studios at the C ...

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

. Her last work was a humorous silent comedy short, ''The Butler's Tale'', from 2013. Written and directed by her good friend René Riva, a Dutch actor and singer, it was styled after the ones Darling starred in as a child. In 1974, Darling moved to

Dublin, Ireland Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 cen ...

, where she wrote mystery stories and had over 50 short stories published in the ''

Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine ''Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine'' (AHMM) is a bi-monthly digest size fiction magazine specializing in crime and detective fiction. ''AHMM'' is named for Alfred Hitchcock, the famed director of suspense films and television. History ''AHM ...

'' and '' Whispers''. As "Aunty Poppy", she read stories, which she wrote herself, on RTÉ radio and TV. She also wrote plays for radio and worked as a journalist.

Personal life

Darling married Reuben Bowen; they had a son, Roy. Reuben Bowen died of cancer on August 22, 1980. She never remarried. She later lived with her son in

Rodgau Rodgau is a town in the Offenbach district in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Darmstadt in Hesse, Germany. It lies southeast of Frankfurt am Main in the Frankfurt Rhine Main Region and has the greatest population of any municipality in the Offenbach ...

, Germany. She died at a nursing home in

Rödermark Rödermark is a town in the Offenbach (district), Offenbach district in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Darmstadt (region), Darmstadt in Hesse, Germany, southeast of Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main and northeast of Darmstadt. Geography Location The town ...

on September 4, 2015, after a sudden illness,Notice of death of Jean Darling
faz.net; accessed September 13, 2015 aged 93. Her death was reported two days later.Notice of death of Jean Darling
broadwayworld.com; accessed September 6, 2015.

References

External links

* *
Official website''Jean Darling – A Personal Reminiscence'' by Jay Weissberg
a
Brenton Film
{{DEFAULTSORT:Darling, Jean 1922 births 2015 deaths 20th-century American actresses American child actresses American expatriates in Germany American expatriates in Ireland American women singers American musical theatre actresses American silent film actresses American voice actresses Actresses from Santa Monica, California Hal Roach Studios actors Our Gang 21st-century American women