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From the age of six, Jonathan Brandis was one of the busiest young actors in Hollywood, with the Connecticut-born performer consistently finding work in high-profile projects such as «It,» «Blossom,» «L.A. Law,» «The Flash,» and «The Wonder Years.» When he was cast as a series lead on «SeaQuest DSV» in 1994, he became so popular with young audiences that he received as many as 4,000 pieces of fan mail per week and eventually won a Young Artist Award. But on November 12, 2003, he died by suicide in his Los Angeles apartment, becoming one of many actors who sadly died soon after they got famous.
At the time of his passing, friends of Brandis began to speculate that the actor may have been suffering from depression due to his struggling career. Following a supporting role in an early Ang Lee film called «Ride with the Devil,» he had to wait almost three years for another acting job to come through, in the 2002 World War II drama «Hart’s War.» According to these friends, Brandis was distraught when he learned his role had largely been cut from the film in post-production.
More recently, however, Brandis’ father Gregory has firmly disputed this narrative. He told People in 2021 that his son’s death «wasn’t due to the entertainment industry,» instead sharing that, in hindsight, he believes his son exhibited symptoms of bipolar disorder. «I look back now, and in his 20s, he showed signs of manic depression,» Gregory said. «I hope that anyone suffering can go get help.»
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