Darlene Fields - 1957 Los Angeles Times

Darlene Fields was born Darlene Lavena Cook, was born to Dewey Emery Cook (born 1903) and Lura Reed (born 1908). Both parents were born in Arkansas. She had one brother, Dewey Eugene Cook (1929 - 2017). Darlene Fields was born in Arkansas and married 21-year-old Loyd Keeland when she was 19 on July 12th, 1946 in Carroll Arkansas. At the time Darlene was living in Shell Knob, Barry, Missouri and Loyd was living in Berryville Carroll Arkansas. Darlene was a former Miss New Orleans Beauty Queen who used her good looks and charm to become a frequent television actress from 1952 through 1963. She is likely best remembered for playing Dolly Owners in the 1957 film 'Spook Chasers', as Rosa in 'Gunsight Ridge' which was a 1957 American Western film starring Joel McCrea, and as Marby's wife in the 1955 film 'Betrayed Women'. She might have used her good looks to get started in acting, however, she really dedicated herself to fitting the roles of the women she played. See The Bags Under Her Eyes Are Real, But It's All for Art for a fascinating interview with Darlene in 1957 where she described what she did to her diet and sleep habits to play the part of a woman with 'baggy eyes'. Regarding her role in 'Spook Chasers', it's interesting to note that on December 15th 1957 the Springfield News-Sun in Springfield Ohio wrote: "Darlene Fields really learned how to roughhouse the men for her role in "Spook Chasers," which stars Huntz Hall and the Bowery Boys and now is at the Liberty. She had to take a course in Jujutsu because the script calls for her to toss Hall and his sidekicks all over the room for one of the hilarious scenes of the film." In 1958, she was described in an article in the Rocky Mount Telegram as "a young actress who is starting to make a name for herself in Hollywood." See Darlene Fields: Professions to find an extensive list of her television credits. Also see Darlene Fields: Obituary.