About Brandon deWilde
Andre Brandon deWilde (April 9, 1942 – July 6, 1972) was an American actor, who had a successful career as both a child actor and in adulthood, on both stage and screen. Born into a theatrical family in Brooklyn, he debuted on Broadway at the age of seven and became a national phenomenon by the time he completed his 492 performances for The Member of the Wedding. He won a Donaldson Award for his performance, becoming the youngest actor to win one, and starred in the subsequent film adaptation, for which he won a Golden Globe Award. DeWilde also played Joey Starrett in the film Shane (1953), for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. He also starred in his own sitcom Jamie on ABC and became a household name, making numerous radio and TV appearances before being featured on the cover of Life magazine on March 10, 1952, for his second Broadway outing, Mrs. McThing. He continued acting in stage, film and television roles into adulthood, notably costarring with Paul Newman in Hud (1963), before his death at age 30 in a car crash in Colorado on July 6, 1972. Fritz deWilde became an actor and Broadway production stage manager.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.