He played Spanky’s best friend in many of the Our Gang shorts between 1934 to 1935.
The nurses were so impressed that they carried him from room to room brightening patient’s days. He was entertaining his father in a hospital by singing songs in Pig Latin. Many claim her death was suicide, though the official report said her death was caused by an embolism resulting from a dancing accident.īeckett began his career in show business at only three years old when a casting director just happened to hear him sing. Sadly, Dandridge died under mysterious circumstances in 1965 at age 42. She sued the tabloid paper Confidential for libel in 1957, earning an out-of-court settlement of $10,000. Dandridge also became the first black woman to appear on the cover of Life magazine. However, Dandridge persevered, eventually becoming the first black woman to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress. Image by Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images
When was the original little rascals made code#
Furthermore, it was against the Motion Picture Code to show interracial dating in films, further limiting the roles available to the young starlet. At the time, roles for black actors were very limited and stereotypical. Her role was relatively minor, however, the experience helped build her resume and land more acting jobs. Dorothy Dandridge’s first on-screen appearance was on Our Gangĭorothy Dandridge, the famed singer, began her career on a 1935 Our Gang short film.