Andre Brandon De Wilde (April 9, 1942 – July 6, 1972) was an American actor born into a theatrical family in Brooklyn. His father, Frederick A. De Wilde, was a Broadway production stage manager, and his mother, Eugenia De Wilde, was a part-time Broadway actress. The De Wilde family moved from Brooklyn to Baldwin, Long Island after he was born.

Early life and Career

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).

In 1952, De Wilde acted in the film Shane as Joey Starrett and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance. 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, Phil Harris, and Sidney Poitier 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.

In 1956 at the age of 14, De Wilde also narrated classical music works Peter and The Wolf by Sergei Prokofiev and Sir Benjamin Britten's musical work entitled Young Person's Guide To The Orchestra based around music composed by 17th Century English Composer Sir Henry Purcell. This had originally been recorded by a piece commissioned by The Ministry of Education in England in 1945. The original work was narrated by English Theatrical Director Eric Crozier.

De Wilde shared an on-screen camaraderie with both James Stewart and Audie Murphy in the 1957 western Night Passage. He made his mark onscreen as an adolescent in the 1959 drama Blue Denim, co-starring Carol Lynley. He also appeared in All Fall Down (1962), opposite Warren Beatty and Eva Marie Saint, and in Martin Ritt's Hud (1963) costarring with Paul Newman, Patricia Neal and Melvyn Douglas. Although the only lead actor not to be Oscar-nominated for Hud, De Wilde went on stage to accept the Best Supporting Actor trophy for co-star Melvyn Douglas (who was in Israel at the time). That same year, he appeared on Jack Palance's ABC circus drama, The Greatest Show on Earth.

De Wilde delivered another widely acclaimed performance at the age of twenty-two 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.

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. De Wilde was married to his second wife when he died. He left a son, Jesse.

He was originally buried in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, but his parents later moved his remains to Pinelawn Memorial Park in Farmingdale, New York, in Nassau County, to be closer to their home on Long Island. Frederick De Wilde died in 1980 and Eugenia De Wilde died in 1987.

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."

Filmography

Film
Year	Film	Role	Notes
1952	The Member of the Wedding	John Henry
1953	Shane	Joey Starrett	Nominated: Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
1956	Good-bye, My Lady	Skeeter
1957	Night Passage	Joey Adams
1958	The Missouri Traveler	Biarn Turner
1959	Blue Denim	Arthur Bartley	Alternative title: Blue Jeans
1962	All Fall Down	Clinton Willart
1963	Hud	Lon "Lonnie" Bannon	Credited as Brandon de Wilde
1965	Those Calloways	Bucky Calloway	Credited as Brandon de Wilde
	In Harm's Way	Ens. Jeremiah "Jere" Torrey
1967	The Trip	Extra	Uncredited
1971	The Deserter	Ferguson	Alternative titles: The Devil's Backbone Ride to Glory
1972	Wild in the Sky	Josh	Alternative titles: Black Jack God Bless the Bomb
Television
Year	Title	Role	Notes
1951-1952	The Philco Television Playhouse		2 episodes
1953	ABC Album	Jamie McHummer	1 episode
1953-1954	Jamie	Jamison Francis McHummber	22 episodes
1955-1956	Climax!	Robbie Eunson Tip Malone	2 episodes
1956	Screen Director's Playhouse	Terry Johnson	1 episode
1957	The United States Steel Hour	David	1 episode
1959	Alcoa Theatre	George Adams	1 episode
1959-1961	Wagon Train	Danny Benedict Mark Miner	2 episodes
1961	Thriller	Tim Branner	1 episode
1962-1970	The Virginian	James "Mike Flynn" Cafferty Walt Bradbury Rem Garvey	3 episodes
1963	The Nurses	Paul Marker	1 episode
1964	The Greatest Show on Earth	Vic Hawkins	1 episode
	The Wonderful World of Disney	Jim Tevis	3 episodes
	12 O'Clock High	Cpl. Lawrence	1 episode
1965	The Defenders	Roger Bailey, Jr.	1 episode
1966	Combat!	Wilder	1 episode
	ABC Stage 67	Carl Boyer	1 episode
1969	The Name of the Game	Bobby Currier	1 episode
	Journey to the Unknown	Alec Worthing	1 episode
	Hawaii Five-O	Arnold Potter	1 episode
	Love, American Style	Jimmy Devlin	1 episode
1970	Insight	Weissberg
	The Young Rebels	Young Nathan Hale	1 episode
1971	Night Gallery	Johnson	1 episode
	Ironside	George Whittaker	1 episode

External links

• Brandon De Wilde at Classic Movie Kids

1. Lillian and Helen Ross, The Player: A Profile of an Art, c. 1961, New York, NY. "Brandon De Wilde," p. 43 First Limelight Edition, 1984