Leedey's "Leading Lady" is now well on her way to being Hollywood's leading lady. Little Dorla Jeanne Hood has been chosen above all the thousands of children waiting for a chance at Hollywood, and is to go to work in front of the cameras as "leading lady."
Under a seven year contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Dorla Jeanne left last week for Hollywood, where she is scheduled to make her initial screen appearance as the star of "Our Gang Follies." The contract which she signed in New York with Hal Roach and M-G-M calls for roles in feature pictures after finishing the initial starring part. Plans have been laid to build her into a feature star of the magnitude of Shirley Temple, Fox's sensation.
Dorla Jeanne is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. J. C. Hood, and received her first training toward stardom at home. Much credit for her success is due to her mother, who has carefully laid the foundation for the development of the child's talent. Mrs. Hood, a pianist of exceptional ability, plays Dorla Jeanne's accompaniments, and was at the piano when the little Miss made her final appearance in Oklahoma City last Friday (the 6th) at the Chamber of Commerce luncheon.
Since early last spring Dorla Jeanne has been under the able tutelage of Kathryn Duffy, instructor of the dance in Oklahoma City. Her first public appearance of note was at the Shrine Auditorium in Oklahoma City, in Miss Duffy's presentation of "Follies de Paree," when her singing and dancing drew applause from the packed house.
At the Criterion Theatre, she appeared again in the "Theatre Cabaret," sponsored by the Daily Oklahoman and Times milk and ice fund, and was again acclaimed by the crowds.
In company with Miss Duffy and her husband, H. L. Braudis, Dorla Jeanne left early in July for New York. The party stopped at Chicago, and Dorla Jeanne sang at the Continental Room in the Hotel Stevens, at the St. Clair Roof and several theatres.
In New York, she sang at the Hollywood Restaurant, and appeared as guest artist on several radio programs.
Wherever she went, Little Dorla Jeanne attracted the eye of film producers. She was given a 1000 foot screen test at the Long Island studio, during which she sang 15 songs, carried on an impromptu conversation, and also enacted a scene from Shirley Temple's picture "Little Miss Marker." She passed the test with flying colors.
Word was received from Hollywood last Thursday (the 5th), requesting Dorla to report for work before September 11. She will play the lead in the picture, "Our Gang Follies," which goes into production this week.
Before leaving for Hollywood, Dorla was guest of the Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce at their luncheon last Friday (the 6th). The entire luncheon program was broadcast over WKY. Her final appearance in Leedey was at the Lions Club last Wednesday evening (the 4th) when the Lions entertained the Lionesses. At that time it was necessary for her to exhaust her entire repertoire to appease the applauding audience.
Dorla Jeanne left last Friday (the 6th) for Hollywood in company with her manager, Miss Kathryn Duffy, who won a contract as assistant director of the "Follies," and as an M-G-M dance director.
Mrs. Hood will leave Wednesday (the 11th) to join Dorla in Hollywood. Thus, Leedey's loss to Hollywood is double.
Leedey alone can lay claim to Dorla Jeanne, as she was born while her parents were occupying apartments over the bank, and has spent her few years of childhood here.
Leedey's loss in this instance is great, as both Dorla Jeanne and her mother were always ready and willing to assist in any community affair. We had come to depend upon Mrs. Hood to plan and direct all local musical productions, and upon Dorla to take a leading part is such performances.
Everyone in Leedey feels sure that our little star will go far on her road to success, and we know that we will miss the friendly little smile that was Dorla's greeting to everyone.
Her natural love for acting, coupled with her lovable personality and her mother's patient and constant training, will be the greatest factors in her journey on the road to stardom and national headlines.
We of Leedey hope that our little star will in some way compensate for the loss of Oklahoma's great Star-of-stars, Will Rogers.
Special note: According to the Beckham County Democrat of September 12th, Darla left for Hollywood on Sunday the 8th, as opposed to what's reported above. However, the Associated Press corroborated this article's claim that it was the 6th. Also, the departure of Darla's mother was reported to be on "Wednesday afternoon" in The Sayre Daily Headlight-Journal of September 10th, which would either place it on the next day (the 11th) or Wednesday of the following week (the 18th). This article repeats the same information, but since it was published on the 12th, it seems to imply that Mrs. Hood would be leaving on the 18th. However, it may simply be a case of copying words out of the earlier article, which was a fairly common practice.