HOLLYWOOD, Oct. 27 - A landmark of laughter disappears this month when the old Hal Roach Studio is auctioned off to the highest bidder - and among those who regret its passing is a pert redhead named Darla Hood.
It was in this studio that Darla, a dimpled tot with curls, made some 150 "Our Gang" comedies during a nine-year period that started when she was three and ended when she was 12.
Darla, now the mother of two youngsters, was the "sweetheart" of gang members Spanky MacFarland, "Alfalfa" Switzer and Buckwheat - as well as "Pete," the pooch with the black eye.
No one knows the fate of the Roach studio after the auction, but Darla feels that in keeping with present-day trends it will be turned into a parking lot. Perhaps a few oil wells to keep up with the area's over-all landscaping.
"They did it to the old Charlie Chaplin studios," she sighed. "It's a shame. Part of it is a supermarket, the rest a mess of cars. All the laughter and happiness that was created all over the place and now it's just a memory."
Although interested in the past, Darla, a trim and attractive performer, is more concerned right now with the future - specifically this coming Tuesday, Oct. 30, when she makes a guest appearance on CBS-TV's "The Jack Benny Program."
Darla recalls the old days with affection and sadness.
"Carl Switzer, who played 'Alfalfa,' was killed in an argument over some money," she said. "Another 'Gang' member was arrested on a narcotics charge and a third wasted all his money on liquor, and one was killed in a car crash. So I guess being a child star presented problems for some youngsters. I was lucky."
Darla thinks that today's child stars are more stable than in her era because the courts see to it that their money is protected and saved for them.
"I know of some parents who wasted their kids' money as fast as it came in," she said. "Jackie Coogan, of course, was the most famous victim. Imagine earning a million dollars as a child, then growing up to find you're penniless!"
Hal Roach, Darla recalled, was like "a second father" to the "Gang" members and often let them play a scene the way they wanted to even if it wasn't according to the script.