Mickey Daniels

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)

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.

81


THE HAL ROACH STUDIO PLAYERS: TALES FROM THE DARK SIDE
Episode 2: Mickey Daniels (Produced by Lord Heath)


1922
One Terrible Day
Mickey

1922
The Golf Bug
Cupid

1922
Our Gang
Mickey

1922
Dr. Jack
Sonny

1922
Young Sherlocks
JJJ member

1922
Saturday Morning
Mickey

1922
A Quiet Street
Mickey

1923
The Champeen!
Mickey

1923
The Cobbler
Mickey

1923
The Big Show!
Mickey

1923
A Pleasant Journey
Mickey

1923
Safety Last!
Newsboy with freckles

1923
Boys To Board
Mickey

1923
Giants vs. Yanks
'Iron man' Mickey

1923
Back Stage
Mickey

1923
Dogs Of War!
Mickey

1923
Lodge Night
Mickey

1923
July Days
Mickey

1923
No Noise
Mickey

1923
Stage Fright
Mickey

1923
Derby Day
Mickey

1923
Sunday Calm
Mickey McTeeter

1924
Tire Trouble
Mickey

1924
Big Business
Mickey

1924
The Buccaneers
Mickey

1924
The 'Fraidy Cat
Member of the gang

1924
Seein' Things
Mickey

1924
Commencement Day
Mickey

1924
Cradle Robbers
Mickey

1924
Rupert Of Hee Haw
Boy who kicks Rudolph

1924
Jubilo, Jr.
Jubilo, Jr.

1924
It's A Bear
Mickey

1924
Short Kilts
McPherson kid

1924
High Society
Mickey

1924
The Sun Down Limited
Mickey

1924
The Battling Orioles
Gang member

1924
Every Man For Himself
Mickey

1924
Fast Company
Mickey

1924
The Mysterious Mystery!
Mickey
 

1925
The Big Town
Mickey
 

1925
Circus Fever
Mickey
 

1925
Dog Days
Mickey

1925
The Love Bug
Mickey

1925
Shootin' Injuns
Mickey
 

1925
Ask Grandma
Mickey/Michael/Martha

1925
Official Officers
Mickey

1925
Boys Will Be Joys
Mickey

1925
Mary, Queen Of Tots
Mickey

1925
Your Own Back Yard
Mickey

1925
Better Movies
Mickey
 

1925
One Wild Ride
Mickey
 

1926
Good Cheer
Mickey

1926
Buried Treasure
Mickey

1926
Monkey Business
Mickey

1926
Baby Clothes
Mickey
 

1926
Uncle Tom's Uncle
Mickey/
Simon Legree
 

1926
Thundering Fleas
Mickey

1926
45 Minutes From Hollywood
Mickey

1929
Thundering Toupees
[unidentified character]
 

1930
Doctor's Orders
Mickey

1930
Bigger And Better
Mickey

1930
Ladies Last
Mickey

1931
Blood And Thunder
Mickey

1931
High Gear
Mickey

1931
Love Fever
Mickey

1931
Bargain Day
Monkey (voice)

1931
Air-Tight
Mickey

1931
Let's Do Things
Nightclub bellhop

1931
Call A Cop!
Mickey

1931
Mama Loves Papa
Mickey

1931
The Kick-Off!
Mickey

1932
Love Pains
Mickey

1932
The Knockout
Mickey

1932
You're Telling Me
Mickey

1932
Too Many Women
Mickey

1932
Wild Babies!
Mickey

1933
Fish Hooky
Mickey

1934
Honky-Donkey
Algebra's laugh (voice)
 

1936
An All-American Toothache
Elmer

1937
Reunion In Rhythm
Mickey

1941
Miss Polly
Elmer, the grocery boy


Acknowledgements:
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/9173/mickey-daniels
https://ourgang.fandom.com/wiki/Mickey_Daniels_(actor)
http://silenceisplatinum.blogspot.com/2016/08/mickey-daniels.html
Fran Gilbert (profile photo)
Jim Dallape (termination letter)

This page was last updated on: 01 June 2024