Belated Obit: Jonathan Brandis

This is SO random, even for me, but I just happened to find out that Jonathan Brandis committed suicide almost three years ago. How sad and how strange.

He starred in The Never-Ending Story II (which, oddly, I saw before the first one), Ladybugs (the soccer movie with Rodney Dangerfield) and the TV series Seaquest DSV, among others. It's not that any of these were incredibly successful, but if you saw one you'd probably think "Oh yeah, that kid. Whatever happened to him?"

I just assumed that a young, good-looking actor like him who had found success so early would keep getting work. I guess I thought I'd be seeing him around, maybe not in major, serious movies (maybe because he didn't have time to develop and/or show off a more serious side?), then at least still around on TV and big-screen romantic comedies and such.

But according to his Wikipedia page, friends have said he was upset about his "career lull," especially after his role in Hart's War, the Bruce Willis war movie, was cut down to nothing. His mother claims he only drank socially, while friends claim he was a heavy drinker. Obviously, there were troubles lurking underneath that telegenic smile. It's sad to think what might have been if he had the resources, internally or externally, to get through a low point that many successful actors have had to get through.

On a side note, how did I not hear about this? I've always followed pop culture pretty closely and even things that don't completely interest me still cross my radar. But this one slipped by and it's just so strange.

Sorry for the depressing entry about something that happened almost three years ago. I just had to...I don't know what. Share? I'm not sure what the point in sharing this would be. I guess I just thought I'd focus attention on the tragic death of a talented young actor - no more, no less.