Jonathan Brandis

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. At the height of his popularity, Brandis received approximately 4,000 fan letters a week and had to be escorted by three studio security guards onto the set of seaQuest DSV due to the amount of female fans present.

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. Read Less

He was 27 years old. The Los Angeles Police Department released a statement regarding his death:

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 was going to kill himself. 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." Read Less