Jonathan Brandis

Jonathan Gregory Brandis (April 13, 1976 – November 12, 2003) was an American actor, director, and screenwriter.

Early life and career
Brandis was born in Danbury, Connecticut, the only child of Mary, a teacher and personal manager, and Gregory Brandis, a food distributor and firefighter. He began his career as a child model and began acting in television commercials. Brandis landed a recurring role on One Life to Live when he was six years old. He moved to Los Angeles with his family at age nine, and made guest appearances on shows such as L.A. Law, Who's the Boss?, Murder, She Wrote, Full House and Kate & Allie.

At the age of fourteen, he received his first starring role in The NeverEnding Story II: The Next Chapter as Bastian Bux, a young boy who returns to a world of wonder on the wings of his imagination. That same year, Brandis played the young "Stuttering Bill" Denbrough, the main character in the 1990 miniseries Stephen King's It, based on the epic horror novel by Stephen King. Following this, Brandis appeared in Sidekicks co-starring Chuck Norris and Ladybugs with actor/comedian Rodney Dangerfield. Around the age of seventeen, Brandis landed one of his best known roles as scientific prodigy Lucas Wolenczak in Steven Spielberg's futuristic science fiction series seaQuest DSV. The role propelled him into teen idol status. During the run of seaQuest DSV, he also voiced Mozenrath, a young evil sorcerer and necromancer in Disney's animated series Aladdin.

In addition to acting, Brandis also directed several independent films and authored screenplays. During his stint on seaQuest DSV, he co-wrote an episode of the series entitled "The Siamese Dream". He also produced and directed the short film The Slainville Boys, shortly before his death.

Personal life
Brandis dated actress/singer Tatyana Ali from 1995 until 1998.

Death
On November 11, 2003, Brandis died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles from injuries he suffered after he hanged himself. He was 27 years old. The Los Angeles Police Department released a statement regarding his death:

"On November 11, 2003, at about 11:40 p.m., a friend of Jonathan Brandis called police to report that the actor had attempted suicide at his apartment, located in the 600 block of Detroit Avenue. Paramedics from the Los Angeles Fire department responded and transported Brandis to Cedars Sinai Medical Center where he eventually died from his injuries. Brandis's death was announced by hospital staff on November 12, 2003, at about 2:45 p.m.''"

Brandis did not leave a suicide note, although friends were quoted as saying he was depressed about his career, which had slowly declined in recent years. One friend admitted that Brandis drank heavily, and had even mentioned that he might commit suicide. He was also said to be upset when his appearance in Hart's War, a role he hoped would be his comeback, was cut from the film.

Following Brandis's death, Paul Petersen, president of A Minor Consideration, an organization that deals with issues affecting child actors stated, "Speculations as to the underlying cause of this tragedy are exactly that: speculations. It serves no purpose to leap to conclusions for none of us will really know what led Jonathan to his decision to take his life."