Frankie Darro

Biography: Darro was born Frank Johnson, but he was also billed as Frankie Darrow. A pint-sized, good-looking character actor with dark curly hair, he often played a little tough guy. The son of circus aerialists, at age four he first began appearing in films and went on to play child roles in some 40 films throughout the rest of the silent era. He was cast in adolescent roles in the early sound era, appearing in many serials; later he was cast as hard-boiled heroes in low-budget action films, and frequently, due to his size, he played jockeys. Gradually Darro drifted into bit roles and stunt work, appearing in few films after 1950; but in the '50s he appeared regularly as the Old Lady on the TV series The Red Skelton Show.