Biography[]
Character: Waldo
Birthday: September 8, 1929
Place of Birth: Fort Collins, Colorado
Date of Death: May 15, 2002
Place of Death: Riverside, California
First Short: Glove Taps
Last Short: Waldo's Last Stand
Number of Shorts: 21
Year Active: 1935–1957
History: Darwood Kenneth Smith was discovered in 1936 as his family was taking a vacation in California. His father listed him with Central Casting. He starred in a few feature films, later starting in the Our Gang series after appearing in "Quality Street" with Katherine Hepburn. After his last movie, he joined the Army in 1944, but later decided on a career in the ministry and converted to the Seventh Day Adventist faith, becoming a minister in 1952 with a master's degree in the ministry from Michigan State University. From 1957 to 1974, he lived in Thailand, returning to Southern California, where he became pastor of the Seventh Day Adventist Church in La Crescenta, California. Two of his own sons followed him into the ministry. He fondly recalls his Our Gang as a happy time, his favorite short being Three Men In A Tub. On May 15, 2002, Rev. Smith was taking a daily walk, when he was severely injured by a hit-and-run driver. The driver was never identified. Smith died later that day, just a month shy of his fifty-first wedding anniversary.
List of Shorts[]
Waldo in Hearts Are Thumps
- Glove Taps
- Hearts Are Thumps
- Three Smart Boys
- Rushin' Ballet
- Fishy Tales
- The Pigskin Palooka
- Mail And Female
- Our Gang Follies Of 1938
- Three Men In A Tub
- Came The Brawn
- The Little Ranger
- Party Fever
- Aladdin's Lantern
- Duel Personalities
- Cousin Wilbur (short)
- Captain Spanky's Show Boat
- Dad For A Day
- Time Out For Lessons
- The Big Premiere
- The New Pupil
- Waldo's Last Stand
Other Projects[]
- The Plot Thickens
- Quality Street - with Katherine Hepburn
- Gone With The Wind
- Barnyard Follies
- Best Foot Forward
- The Human Comedy
- Kansas City Kitty (1944)
- Blue Monday/135th Street (1954) - Lucy Robertshaw
- Three Wishes for Jamie (1964)