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Mickey Daniels
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born:
11 October 1914 Rock Springs, Wyoming, United States of America |
died:
20 August 1970 San Diego, California, United States of America (cirrhosis of the liver, age 55) |
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Red haired, freckle-faced Mickey Daniels was one of the most prolific of all child actors from the Hal Roach Studios. Born Richard Daniels in Wyoming on October 11th, 1914, he was one of eleven children. His father, Richard Daniels was also a semi-regular in some of the films with Mickey, in particular the Our Gangs. His mother was Hannah Reese Daniels (b. 1876 d.1930). Mickey's siblings: Edgar Josephus Daniels (1893-1959), Melvin Clyde Daniels (1895-?), Sarah Daniels Rowe (1897-1985), Margaret Daniels Penrod (1899-1919), Leonard Lloyd Daniels (1901-1956), Louis Daniels Norton (1903-1959), Elsie Daniels Wolfe (1903-1959), Adele Daniels Hartka (1911-1953), [then along came Mickey - 9th child], Clifford N. Daniels (1916-1964) and finally Ruth Laveral Daniels Bourne (1917-1981). Upon his arrival at the Hal Roach Studios in 1922, at the age of only 7 years old, Mickey Daniels would go on to appear in over 80 films for Mr. Roach over a 20 year period. He was paid a little over 37 dollars a week for his first six months. His salary had increased significantly to 175 dollars within 2 years. In 1926 Mickey made his 50th and final appearance in the Our Gang series as a regular, and was replaced by the equally freckled faced Jay R. Smith. Mickey would return to make a couple of surprise guest appearances later in the series during the 1930s though these were nothing more than walk-on parts. By his mid-teens, Mickey found a new lease of life in The Boy Friends series in 1930. This venture, which ran for two years reunited him once again with fellow star and real-life friend of the family Mary Kornman, whom he had a memorable on-screen chemistry with in his child years. It was during this run of film appearances Mickey developed his unusual laugh which resembled that of a chipmunk. Unfortunately it all came to an end in 1932, when, after starring in all fifteen films in the series, The Boy Friends was cancelled, and with it Mickey's contract for Roach - which ended on April 23rd. Although Mickey did go on to make small cameo appearances in a handful of films for the studio over the next nine years, his prime years were long behind him. His last appearance was in 1941 at the age of 27, when he appeared as a grocery boy in the film Miss Polly, sharing one brief scene with the ageing ZaSu Pitts. In his later years Mickey became an engineer in the construction business but during this period he began to drink heavily. At the time of his passing in August 1970, he was working as a taxi driver for a company called Red Top. He was found dead in a motel residence in San Diego. The cause of death: cirrhosis of the liver. He was 55 years old. Mickey's cremated remains sat unclaimed for twenty-one years before they were finally recovered. He is buried alongside his parents in Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, Los Angeles, California. |
| Real name: Richard Daniels Jr. | Films listed on this page: complete Hal Roach filmography. |
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THE HAL ROACH STUDIO PLAYERS: TALES FROM THE DARK SIDE Episode 2: Mickey Daniels (Produced by Lord Heath) |
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