SANTA MONICA, Calif. (UPI) - When little Darla Hood broke into a dimpled smile, batted her tiny eyelashes and sang "I'm in the Mood for Love" in one of those "Our Gang Comedies," it was enough to give any 6-year-old boy his first crush.
Darla is 41 years old today, weighs a bare 98 pounds, stands just under five feet tall, and can still entrance you with the same dimples and pixie features that launched her into the "Our Gang Comedies" back in 1936 when she was only 3.
She still performs professionally, and opened recently at the Santa Monica Music Hall with Ken Murray, one of the pioneers of early television with his "Blackouts" series.
Dancing and singing, Darla's booming voice belies her small stature as she goes through a routine that includes impressions of Ethel Merman and a spoof rendition of "Sweethearts," playing the parts of both Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy.
"What I'm doing today is far more glamorous than my early days with the 'Gang' because yesterday I was cleaning house and today I'm here with my makeup on, false eyelashes and singing," Darla said.
Miss Hood, who with her husband and three children lives in Studio City, recalled how the Hal Roach Studios recruited her as the "new girl" in the "Our Gang Comedies" in 1935.
"I was born in a small town in Oklahoma and I guess my mother wanted to get out of there because she took me to Oklahoma City and signed me up with a dancing teacher," she said.
Darla said her dancing teacher than talked her mother into letting her go to New York City, where Darla wound up leading the band at the Edison Hotel and caught the eye of the "Our Gang" casting director.
"I signed the contract in 1935 when I was 3 years old and did my first 'Our Gang' film a year later," she recalled.
Jackie Cooper and "Stymie" Beard had outgrown their parts and left the gang by then, but the new little rascals - Spanky McFarland, "Buckwheat" and "Alfalfa" were already in the troupe when Darla arrived.
"We were together for eight years," Darla said. "My first recollection of playing as a child was on the 'Our Gang' set. They told me that I would have to come and do my lines before I could go back to my dollhouse to play."
Darla said because she was the only girl in the troupe, she was open to a number of boyish pranks.
"Alfalfa was the troublemaker," Darla said. "He was in a particularly ornery mood the day we were filming a dog catcher sequence."
Darla explained that the scene was simple enough, calling for the kids to jump on the back of a truck and cry as the dog catcher drove away.
"The first time the truck drove away, Alfalfa fell off and I made the mistake of saying the exhaust fumes of the truck were making me sick.
"May I tell you that Alfalfa fell 32 times and we did the scene 32 times," Darla said. "I finally passed out and had to be taken to the hospital and revived."