[edit] Early life
Brandon De Wilde made his much-acclaimed Broadway debut at the age of 7 in
The Member of the Wedding, and was the first child actor to win the Donaldson Award. He also starred in the 1952 film version (directed by
Fred Zinnemann).
[edit] Career
As the tow-headed Joey who worshipped the mysterious gunman in
Shane, he stole the movie and was nominated for an
Oscar. He also starred in his own
television series,
Jamie (1953-1954) which, although popular, was cancelled due to a contract dispute.
In 1956 he starred opposite
Walter Brennan and
Phil Harris in the coming of age movie
Good-bye, My Lady adapted from James Street's book. This movie showcased the then rare dog breed -
Basenji, the African bark-less dog, to American audiences.
He shared an on-screen camaraderie with both
James Stewart and
Audie Murphy in the 1957 western
Night Passage. De Wilde made his mark onscreen as an
adolescent in the 1959 drama
Blue Denim, co-starring
Carol Lynley. He also appeared in Martin Ritt's
Hud (1963) costarring with
Paul Newman,
Patricia Neal and
Melvyn Douglas, and in
All Fall Down (1962) opposite
Warren Beatty and
Eva Marie Saint.
Although the only lead actor not to be Oscar-nominated for
Hud, he went on stage to accept the Best Supporting Actor trophy for co-star Melvyn Douglas (who was in Israel at the time).
De Wilde delivered another widely acclaimed performance at the age of 22 as Jere Torry, the screen son of
John Wayne in
In Harm's Way (1965). In a career spanning the years 1951 to 1972 (including six Broadway plays and 16 movies), he made his last screen appearance in
Wild In The Sky.
[edit] Death
Brandon De Wilde was critically injured in a traffic accident in the
Denver suburb of
Lakewood on the evening of July 6, 1972, while en route to perform in the play
Butterflies Are Free. Swerving to avoid another vehicle, he struck a construction trailer parked on the side of the road, and was pinned under the wreckage of his motorcycle for some time before being taken to
Denver General Hospital. He died four hours later. He was 30 years old.
[edit] Legacy
De Wilde -- who watched as
Paul McCartney wrote the song
Wait during the filming of the Beatles movie
Help! -- had hoped to embark on a music career. He asked his friend
Gram Parsons (of
The Byrds), and his band at the time,
International Submarine Band, to back him in a recording session. Guitarist John Nuese claimed that De Wilde sang harmony with Parsons better than anyone except
Emmylou Harris.
Parsons and Harris later co-wrote a song entitled "In My Hour Of Darkness", whose first verse refers to the accident that killed De Wilde: "Once I knew a young man / Went driving through the night, / Miles and miles without a word / But just his high-beam lights. / Who'd have ever thought they'd build / Such a deadly Denver bend; / To be so strong, to take so long / As it would till the end."
De Wilde was married to his second wife when he died. He left a son, Jesse.
He was originally buried in
Hollywood, California, but his parents later moved his remains to Pinelawn Memorial Park in
Farmingdale, New York in
Suffolk County, to be closer to their home in Long Island. Frederick De Wilde died in 1980. Eugenia De Wilde died in 1987.
