Holmes never really seemed to take her acting profession too seriously, as evidenced by the few projects she has done since her breakout performance in 1994.
But in 2014, it appeared as though she was putting on a sort of resurgence in her profession before slipping back into selected obscurity once more.
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What Happened to Darla (Brittany Ashton Holmes)
Although Brittany Ashton Holmes, better known as “Darla” from The Little Rascals, is now an adult, what has she been up to since her breakthrough role in the beloved children’s film? As it happens, not much.
At least it’s not on the public’s mind. As far as we can tell, her final public appearance was at The Little Rascals’ 20th reunion celebration, where she mentioned that she was “newly married” and hinted that she had departed Hollywood to pursue her studies.
There have been some noteworthy exceptions to the general consensus that the cast of The Little Rascals had a terrible and tragic finish to their lives, with many of them stemming from their inability to make the transition from child actors to adults.
Jackie Cooper, Spanky McFarland, and Darla Hood were a few of them; the latter’s tale is especially heartbreaking because it might have been prevented so easily.
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Darla life after the “Gang”
Darla filmed a couple more films after Our Gang, but she also welcomed a little regularity in her life by enrolling in Fairfax High School in Los Angeles.
She formed a singing group as a teenager, Darla Hood and the Enchanters, and the group experienced success performing in nightclubs, recording over a dozen songs, doing background music for movies, and becoming a regular on Merv Griffin’s radio show.
She has made several television appearances alongside Jack Benny and Groucho Marx. She also started recording a lot of commercial jingles, which proved to be very successful for her.
Darla had a very successful life overall, both personally and professionally, but on June 13, 1979, she was admitted to the hospital to have her appendix removed.
She suffered a fatal heart attack shortly after the procedure. She received a transfusion of blood during surgery, but the blood included hepatitis.
A big-screen reincarnation of Our Gang caught Darla’s attention shortly before she passed away. She found it humorous in one specific way:
“The only thing is that the little girl up there on the screen was a total stranger.” As if I was seeing her for the first time.
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