Richard Daniels Jr. (October 11, 1914 – August 20, 1970) known professionally as Mickey Daniels, was an American actor. Signed by

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 ...

in 1921, he was, 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 ...

Jackie Condon John Michael Condon (March 25, 1918 – October 13, 1977) credited as Jackie Condon was an American child actor who was a regular in the ''Our Gang'' short series as an original cast member from 1922 until 1929, during the Hal Roach produce ...

Jackie Davis Jackie Davis (December 13, 1920 – November 2, 1999) was an American soul jazz singer, organist and bandleader. He is notable for his contributions in bringing the Hammond organ to the forefront of jazz and pop, preceding the better-known Jim ...

Mary Kornman Mary Kornman (born Mary Agnes Evans, December 27, 1915 – June 1, 1973) was an American child actress who was the leading female star of the ''Our Gang'' series during the Pathé silent era. ''Our Gang'' She was born as Mary Agnes Evans, the ...

, and

Ernie Morrison Ernest Fredric Morrison (December 20, 1912 – July 24, 1989) was an American child actor, comedian, vaudevillian and dancer who also performed under the stage name Sunshine Sammy Morrison and was the only black member of the '' East Side K ...

, a regular in the popular ''

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 ...

'' comedies during the silent era of the series, between 1922 and 1926.

Early life and career

Daniels was born in

Rock Springs, Wyoming Rock Springs is a city in Sweetwater County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 23,036 at the 2010 census, making it the fifth most populated city in the state of Wyoming, and the most populous city in Sweetwater County. Rock Springs is ...

, the son of Welsh-born American actor

Richard Daniels Richard Daniels (23 January 1864 – 27 January 1939), was a Welsh-born American film actor. He appeared in 27 films between 1922 and 1926. He was born in Gwubach, Wales and died in Los Angeles, California four days after his 75th birthday ...

and his wife Hannah. In 1921, Daniels was discovered by a talent scout while performing at an amateur night at the Rialto Theatre in Rock Springs. Shortly thereafter, he was signed by Hal Roach to appear in the ''Our Gang'' film series. The red-haired, freckle-faced Daniels was one of the lead characters in the ''Our Gang'' film shorts from 1922 to 1926. In the earlier shorts, he was often a rival (often with Davis) for Mary Kornman's attentions. He first appeared in the first Our Gang short ''

'' in 1922 when he was 8 years old. He was known for his big, distinctive laugh and a gift for physical comedy and timing. Daniels stayed with the series for four years until he left the series at the age of 12 in 1926. His last film was the 1926 short ''

Thundering Fleas ''Thundering Fleas'' is a 1926 ''Our Gang'' film directed by Robert F. McGowan. It was the 51st ''Our Gang'' short subject released. Cast The Gang * Joe Cobb as Joe * Jackie Condon as Jackie * Mickey Daniels as Mickey * Johnny Downs as John ...

''. After ''Our Gang'', Daniels continued his career in

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...

and played bit parts in feature films and comedy shorts. From 1930 to 1932, Daniels and former ''Our Gang'' co-star Mary Kornman appeared in the film series ''

The Boy Friends ''The Boy Friends'' is a series of American Pre-Code comedy short films released between 1930 and 1932. The series consisted of fifteen films and was spun off from the long running '' Our Gang'' film series (also known as ''The Little Rascals'' ...

'' for Hal Roach. He continued public appearances with co-star Mary Kornman for feature film roles in the 1940s.

Post acting career

After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Daniels quit the movie industry and began working in construction engineering in the United States and overseas. In 1967, he began working as a taxi driver for Red Top Taxi in

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

. He remained at that job until his death.

Death

Daniels became a chronic

alcoholic Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomin ...

and was found dead on August 20, 1970, in a transient hotel in San Diego. His death was attributed to

cirrhosis Cirrhosis, also known as liver cirrhosis or hepatic cirrhosis, and end-stage liver disease, is the impaired liver function caused by the formation of scar tissue known as fibrosis due to damage caused by liver disease. Damage causes tissue repai ...

. Daniels is buried at

Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale Forest Lawn Memorial Park is a privately owned cemetery in Glendale, California. It is the original and current flagship location of Forest Lawn Memorial-Parks & Mortuaries, a chain of six cemeteries and four additional mortuaries in Southern Cal ...

Glendale, California Glendale is a city in the San Fernando Valley and Verdugo Mountains regions of Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, California, United States. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 U.S. Census the population was 196,543, up from ...

Partial filmography

References

External links