Jean Darling, actress who appeared in ‘Our Gang’ series of silent films, dies at age 93

LOS ANGELES, Calif. – Jean Darling, an actress who appeared in the silent-film series “Our Gang” and the original Broadway production of “Carousel,” has died at age 93.

Darling’s son Roy Hamilton-Bowen said Tuesday that his mother died Friday in Rodermark, Germany, after a sudden illness.

Darling appeared in the “Our Gang” series between 1927 and 1929, when the short films began incorporating sound into the productions. Some of the films were later repackaged as “The Little Rascals.”

In 1945, she starred as Carrie Pipperidge in the original Broadway run of “Carousel” and later appeared as Aunt Poppy in children’s programming on Ireland’s RTE radio and television broadcasts.

Hamilton-Bowen says his mother remained active up until her death and recently had finished writing a crime novel.

Darling was born Dorothy Jean LeVake in Santa Monica, California, in August 1922. Her son said the precise date is unknown because a fire destroyed her birth records.

She moved to Dublin in 1974 and moved to Germany two years ago, Hamilton-Bowen said.