Jean Darling

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Jean Darling (born Dorothy Jean LeVake ; born August 23, 1922 in Santa Monica , California - † September 4, 2015 in Rödermark , Germany ) was an American actress and singer . She began her long career with the Kleine Strolchen , but was later also successful as a singer and entertainer.

life and career

Jean Darling was born in 1922 under the name Dorothy Jean LeVake to a former actress. At the age of five months, her name was legally changed to her now known name after her parents separated. She never got to know her father. Jean was already in front of the camera for commercials when he was only six months old. Her first significant role was in Hal Roach's popular film series The Little Tramp (Our Gang) when she was five . Although she says she almost only cried during the filming at the beginning, she became an integral part of the series. By 1929 she played in a total of 35 short films in the series. The girl with the eye-catching blond curls mostly acted as the “ leading lady ” of the little rascals, similar to Darla Hood in the Our Gang films of the 1930s.

After Darling left the Little Tramp in 1929 - shortly after the start of the sound film era - she was rarely in front of the camera in Hollywood. In 1934 she played the title character as a child in a film adaptation of Jane Eyre alongside Virginia Bruce and Colin Clive . In 1934 she was also seen as Goldilocks in the Laurel and Hardy film Revenge is Sweet . At times, Stan Laurel had a close relationship with Jean and her mother. From the 1930s onwards, Jean Darling devoted himself more to the theater and radio. She later studied singing in New York and in 1944 worked as an entertainer for the US soldiers in Naples during World War II . She was also seen in two Broadway plays in the 1940s , including the 1945 original performance of the hit musical Carousel . In this play, Darling starred as Carrie Pipperidge in over 850 performances over a period of over two years . She worked as a television presenter in the 1950s and had her own show called A Date with Jean Darling . In 1954 she married the magician Reuben Bowen ("Kajar the Magician"), they had a son.

In 1974 she moved to Dublin with her husband Bowen , who died there of cancer in 1980. She did not remarry. In the following decades she wrote numerous radio plays and crime short stories, which were published in magazines such as Alfred Hitchcock 's Mystery Magazine . For many years Darling appeared on the Irish television channel Raidió Teilifís Éireann in the children's program in the role of the storyteller "Aunty Poppy". In 2013 she starred in a feature film for the first time in 60 years: Darling had a leading role in the short film The Butler's Tale , which is stylistically based on the silent film comedies . In addition, she worked as a contemporary witness on numerous documentaries about the silent film era. She spent her last years with her son in Rodgau in Hesse . When she died, she was one of the last remaining actors from the silent film era .

Jean Darling died a few days after turning 93 in a nursing home in the Rödermark district of Ober-Roden after a brief illness. On September 22, 2015, Jean Darling was buried in the cemetery in Rodgau-Dudenhofen.

Filmography

From 1927 to 1929: The Little Strolche ( Our Gang ; 35 short films):

  • 1927: Dog Heaven
  • 1927: Heebee Jeebees
  • 1927: Chicken Feed
  • 1927: The Old Wallop
  • 1927: Yale vs. Harvard
  • 1927: Olympic Games
  • 1927: Baby Brother (with Oliver Hardy)
  • 1927: Tired Business Men
  • 1927: Ten Years Old
  • 1927: Seeing the World (with Stan Laurel)
  • 1927: Bring Home the Turkey
  • 1928: The Spanking Age
  • 1928: The Ol 'Gray Hoss
  • 1928: Growing Pains
  • 1928: School Begins
  • 1928: Crazy House
  • 1928: Fair and Muddy
  • 1928: Barnum & Ringling, Inc. (with Oliver Hardy)
  • 1928: Edison, Marconi & Co.
  • 1928: The Smile Wins
  • 1928: Rainy Days
  • 1928: Spook spoofing
  • 1928: Playin 'Hookey
  • 1929: Saturday's Lesson
  • 1929: Bouncing Babies
  • 1929: Cat, Dog & Co.
  • 1929: Boxing Gloves
  • 1929: Lazy Days
  • 1929: Railroadin '
  • 1929: Little Mother
  • 1929: Small Talk
  • 1929: Fast Freight
  • 1929: Wiggle Your Ears (only known as a talkie in Germany!)
  • 1929: The Holy Terror
  • 1929: Noisy Noises

Subsequent roles:

  • 1933: A Woman Doesn't Forget (Only Yesterday)
  • 1934: Jane Eyre
  • 1934: Laurel and Hardy: Revenge is Sweet (Babes in Toyland)
  • 1953: The I Don't Care Girl
  • 2013: The Butler's Tale (short film)

Web links

Commons : Jean Darling  - Collection of Images

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Jean Darling, Actress in 'Our Gang' Series, Dies at 93
  2. ↑ What happened to the little tramp with the blond curls , FAZ from August 21, 2015
  3. ↑ What happened to the little tramp with the blond curls , FAZ from August 21, 2015
  4. ↑ What happened to the little tramp with the blond curls , FAZ from August 21, 2015
  5. ↑ From the Little Tramp to the Lady , RP Online, 2013
  6. ↑ The Butler's Tale on Youtube
  7. ↑ What happened to the little tramp with the blond curls , FAZ from August 21, 2015
  8. ^ Jean Darling at the FAZ
  9. ↑ Big as a little rascal: Jean Darling lived in Rodgau. In: Offenbach-Post , September 19, 2015. Retrieved September 19, 2015.
personal data
SURNAME Darling, Jean
ALTERNATIVE NAMES LeVake, Dorothy Jean (maiden name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION US-american actress
DATE OF BIRTH August 23, 1922
PLACE OF BIRTH Santa Monica , California , United States
DATE OF DEATH 4th September 2015
Place of death Rodgau , Germany