Jaleel White says co-star’s death made him ‘want out’ of acting

There’s no business like show business, but a tragic death in Jaleel White’s professional life almost threw him off course.
The actor and “Family Matters” alum reflected on the death of his former co-star Jonathan Brandis in his new memoir “Growing Up Urkel.”  White and Brandis were both cast in a television pilot for the 2003 drama series “111 Gramercy Park.”
The show, set to star Frank Langella, Peter Strauss and Tippi Hedren, revolved around the work lives of several maids, nannies and maintenance workers employed at an apartment building in the affluent New York City neighborhood, according to IMDb.
“I imagine that Jonathan felt he needed that pilot to feed his soul,” White wrote in Chapter 13 of his book “I’ll Love You for As Long As I Need You.”
“I’ve never known an actor to ask me repeatedly about our pickup prospects the way he did when we shot ‘111 Gramercy Park.’ … It seemed to me that Jonathan, much like myself, had come to another career crossroads and (the show) would have offered him an honest chance at leading-man status,” he goes on.
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Brandis, a fellow former child star who starred in the early ’90s comedies “Ladybugs” and “Sidekicks,” died by suicide in November 2003. He was 27 years old.
“I stared at my computer screen, tears rolling down my face. I could only speculate what Jonathan was going through at that time,” said White of Brandis’ death. “Just like me, he had dedicated his entire life to achieving what Leonardo DiCaprio and the rest of his peer group had seemingly accomplished with ease.
“In my own way, I was the more well-adjusted success story. I grew up in an industry that always told me I couldn’t match Leo’s or Tobey Maguire’s level of success and still I’d made a tremendous living for myself.”
In a 2021 interview with People magazine, Brandis’ father Greg said his son’s death was not caused by his work in the entertainment industry, speculating instead that undiagnosed bipolar disorder may have contributed to his suicide. “I look back now, and in his 20s, he showed signs of manic depression,” Greg said. “I hope that anyone suffering can go get help.”
White said Brandis’ death darkened his outlook on his own career in showbiz. The actor recalled in the memoir telling his mother, “I want out. This business kills people from the inside.”
Although White continued working in the entertainment industry, he “cried for what felt like a fallen soldier” in his grief for Brandis.
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“Jonathan and I were not close at all as kids. But he and I always had a way of crossing paths again and again,” White said, adding that the two developed a friendship while filming “111 Gramercy Park” in Toronto.