Jean Darling

 Jean Darling (August 23, 1922 – September 4, 2015)

Darling was a regular in the Our Gang short subjects series from 1927-29. Prior to her death, she was one of four surviving cast members from the silent era cast of Our Gang (Lassie Lou Ahern, Mildred Kornman and Dorothy Morrison being the others). At the time of her death in 2015, Darling was, along with Baby Peggy, one of the last surviving actors who worked in the silent film era. She later turned down an offer to appear alongside Mickey Rooney in one of the MGM Andy Hardy movies, and went on Broadway, making her debut in the musical Count Me In in 1942. Darling's stage career hit a real high when she landed the role of Carrie Pipperidge in the original Broadway production of Carousel in 1945. She appeared in 850 consecutive performances. Her role as Carrie Pipperidge helped her with parts for radio and TV in the 1950s. She hosted her own television show for NBC in New York City, A Date with Jean Darling. Her daily TV show for women, The Singing Knit-Witch, was aired on KHJ-TV in Hollywood. Her last work was a humorous silent comedy short, The Butler's Tale, a 2013 short silent comedy film styled after the ones Darling starred in as a child. She died at a nursing home in Rödermark, Germany on September 4, 2015, aged 93.