Now we come to one of my earlier crushes. At one point when I was thirteen or so, pictures of Jonathan Brandis covered literally almost every available inch of space in my room. I knew his favorite color, had seen all his movies, and even avidly sat through seaQuest. Yes, even after it got lame. I wrote a fan letter and got a real signed picture in return - a picture that I'm still thrilled to have.
As Jonathan grew up, he faded from the teen heartthrob limelight. He also became an immensely better actor and even began dabbling in directing. I honestly believe that he would have continued to be as talented and gorgeous as always.
Unfortunately for me and a lot of other fans who were still in love and still watching, Jonathan Brandis committed suicide on November 12, 2003. I know, I know, this column is supposed to be fun, but not all crushes end well. Silly as it may be, I will always be grateful for how much he let his fans in and how warm he always was to them even when he was hurting so much himself.
