Darla Hood will give you a qualified "yes" if you ask her whether it's true most child actors are brats.
She'll say that the child actor is generally caught in the middle between "adulation that gradually knocks out any humility they had" and "pushy parents who want to make sure their little darlings are given the proper amount of film footage."
Darla is an expert in this respect since she filmed 140 "Our Gang" comedies over a nine-year period, starting in 1935.
"The 'Our Gang' kids got along pretty well together," she said by phone from Hollywood, "but when the parents started squabbling over who got to do what, the kids joined in the uproar, too."
When the "Our Gang" company was disbanded, Darla went into retirement for a few years, then emerged as featured vocalist on Ken Murray's television variety series in 1949.
"I was doing the show in New York when someone told me they had sold the 'Our Gang' comedies to TV," she said. "I rushed home to dig out my old contract, hoping that I could share in whatever money was being passed around. I found in the fine print that I had waived the right to any payment for the reshowing of the films on any medium including those that hadn't been invented yet.
"But the publicity resulting from the release of the films to TV have outweighed the loss of residuals."
Darla will appear on Jack Benny's CBS-TV show tonight to re-create a scene from the "Our Gang" era. Benny will play Alfalfa, and Don Wilson will appear as Spanky.
In recent months Darla has confined her professional activities to the lucrative field of commercials, appearing in several of the on-camera variety and doing the voices of various animated characters.
Now in her early 30's, Darla is the mother of two youngsters, Brett, 3, and Darla Jo, 16 months. She also has a 12-year-old stepdaughter from the previous marriage of her husband, Jose Granson, a music publisher.
Asked whether she intended to become a pushy parent herself, Darla replied:
"I've always thought I wouldn't want my own children going into show business, but nowadays children are more in demand for commercials than for acting roles. All they do is stand around eating bread and jelly; they don't develop the attitude that they're God's gift to the world.
"I won't push my children into the business, but if the opportunity develops, I won't say 'no' either."