Dorothy DeBorba, Star of Our Gang Comedies, Passes at 85
During her brief but celebrated career, DeBorba was a fan favorite.
Dorothy DeBorba, an actress who achieved success as a child performer in the Our Gang comedies of the 1930s, died June 2, 2010, in Walnut Creek, California. She was 85.
Although her career spanned just three years, DeBorba starred over fifteen feature films. She was born in Los Angeles on March 28, 1925, to a family already involved in the entertainment industry. Her father was a drummer with the Paul Whiteman band and her mother was an occasional theater actress.
In 1930, at age five, Dorothy DeBorba joined Our Gang, also known as The Little Rascals, a group of children who acted in a series of comedic short films from producer Hal Roach.
After her first film, A Royal Romance, DeBorba became an audience favorite with her witty appeal, elaborate hair bows and trademark hair curls that her mother reportedly spent two hours each night brushing.
Her best known Our Gang shorts include Pups Is Pups, Dogs Is Dogs, Little Daddy, Love Business, Free Wheeling and Birthday Blues.
After leaving Our Gang in 1933, DeBorba left show business.