“Forgotten Hollywood”- Remembering Member of Our Gang…
Manny P. here…
Jackie Lynn Taylor, who played one of the Little Rascals in five Our Gang comedic shorts that were released in 1934, died in the Sacramento suburb of Citrus Heights. She debuted as Jane, the girlfriend of Wally, in Hi-Neighbor. When she grew too tall, she was famously replaced by Darla Hood.
The group of suburban youngsters was an idea of producer Hal Roach to appear in the two-reelers, which began in the 1920s and continued into the 1940s. The enduring series has been acclaimed by critics for child actors who behaved naturally on screen. In an era of racial and gender prejudice, the flicks also gave equal status among blacks and whites; and boys and girls. I chronicle this story in Son of Forgotten Hollywood Forgotten History. Our Gang (JACKIE LYNN TAYLOR in center)
Born in Compton, CA, Taylor also appeared in Laurel & Hardy films, The Devil’s Brother and Babes in Toyland. As an adult, she interviewed big names in politics and entertainment for KTTV in Los Angeles as one of the first female television news hosts in Southern California. The San Francisco Examiner named her TV Woman of the Year in 1955. Three years later, NBC tried to hire her after a one-week appearance as a guest host on Today, but the station where she was working refused to let her out of her contract. Taylor spent the remainder of her career in San Diego, Salinas, and Sacramento. She was inducted into National Academy of TV Arts and Sciences Silver Circle, and was honored by the San Diego Press Club for her pioneering work in broadcasting.
She wrote a book about the Little Rascals, and began hosting the Little Rascals Family Theater in San Diego and Los Angeles with her husband. Her final years were spent as a minister in the nondenominational Unity Church, counseled girls in local juvenile halls, and acted as a chaplain in retirement communities.
A victim of Alzheimer’s disease, Jackie Lynn Taylor Fries was 88.
Until next time> “never forget”
This entry was posted on Thursday, May 8th, 2014 at 12:48 am and is filed under Blog by Manny Pacheco. You can follow any comments to this post through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.
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