Deaths 2022

Deaths 2021

Deaths 2020

Deaths 2019

Deaths 2018

Deaths 2017

Deaths 2016

Deaths 2015

Deaths 2014

Deaths 2013

Deaths 2012

Deaths 2011

Deaths 2010

Deaths 2009


Full list by date of death

Jean Darling

Actress

Born - 23 August 1922, Santa Monica, California, USA
Died - 4 September 2015

As a moppet with a mass of golden curls, this American child performer, born Dorothy Jean LeVake (later legally changed), was indeed the darling of the little tykes who made up 'Our Gang' in a long series of comedy shorts from the Hal Roach studio. She appeared in more than 50 of their brief romps, from Bring Home the Turkey (1927) to Saturday's Lesson (1929). Later, there were a few feature film appearances - Only Yesterday (1933), Babes in Toyland (1934), Jane Eyre (1934) - before she completed her education and concentrated on radio and stage work as an actress and singer. She was the original Carrie Pipperidge in Broadway's Carousel from 1945 on, and portrayed silent actress Lilyan Tashman in the movie The 'I Don't Care' Girl in 1953. The following year, she married Reuben Bowen, alias Kajar the Magician, and toured the world with him and his act. He died in 1980, and Darling moved permanently to Ireland, where she became the writer of dozens of short detective stories which she sold to American magazines. In 2013, she appeared in a silent comedy short, The Butler's Tale.