Question: Pre-Our Gang

[jasonspencer]

Hi,

I'm a newspaper reporter in Spartanburg, SC. I interviewed a couple of sisters today who said their mother, Thelma Lorraine Pierce, in 1931, played in the "Our Kiddie" comedy, an all-talking motion picture shot in Washington, D.C. Pierce was 7 at the time. She played a character named "Little Sweetheart." It was directed by F. Herrick Herrick, and Arthur da Titta was involved, I believe as the cinematographer. It was presented by the Fox Theater-Washington Times.

Now, the sisters are convinced that their mother turned down a chance to become Darla in "The Little Rascals." They say that "Our Kiddie" became "Our Gang," which, of course, became "The Little Rascals."

I cannot find any source to substantiate this, so I figured I'd ask the experts. Any information on "Our Kiddie" and its relation to "Our Gang" would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,

Jason Spencer

[Mark]

Everything sounds bogus. Before the second episode, the series was titled "Hal Roach's Rascals" and the first episode was titled "Our Gang." Then that episode title became the *series* title by the time the second episode was filmed. To the best of my knowledge, there is no such thing as an "Our Kiddie" series.

[ymymeatemup]

I've never heard of "Our Kiddie," so I can't tell you whether or not that ever existed, but a couple of the other claims are erroneous. "Our Gang" began in 1922, and didn't derive from anything called "Our Kiddie." Darla Hood was the original (and only) Darla, and the studio was not looking for somebody to cast as "Darla." The character simply took the name of the actress (sort of - her original name was Dorla, but it was changed to Darla when somebody at the studio mispelled it and people liked it that way). Also, the Our Gang comedies were almost exclusively shot in the Hollywood area and never in Washington DC.

Again, I can't verify that "Our Kiddie" is fake, but it's nothing new to find people claiming to be Our Gang kids, or claiming that their parents or grandparents were. There have literally been hundreds (if not thousands) who have made this claim over the years. In fact, it may be that the sisters honestly believe that their mother was in the gang, since this is a very common aspect of the phenomenon.

[jasonspencer]

Thanks for the feedback.

The grandmother in question, I don't doubt, appeared in the "Our Kiddie" production. I've got the newspaper articles to prove it.

But it seems the "Darla" idea must have cropped up over the years and taken a life of its own. "Our Kiddie" had a huge cast, mostly children, so I can see how people involved might have thought it was similar.

This helps a great deal. Thanks again.

Jason Spencer