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It's almost 16 years since Jonathan Brandis took his own life in Nov 2003, time flies
a kid who at the world at his feet but his career slowly faded away.
and 1 years since Richard Hillman, Jr overdosed on Heroin and his family tried to wipe the internet of his existence afterwards.
From A Friend of Richards...
Hi everyone, Richard and I were close friends. First I want to say that friendship with Richard was a double edged sword. I cared about him very much, but he could be a real pain in the ass at times "I say that lovingly". He was a spoiled rich kid from a prominent local family in the Pacific Palisades/Santa Monica area "again I say this with the utmost respect".
As an actor he was highly rated and was destined for stardom. He had it all the looks, the chops, and the charisma. There was not a chick on this planet who could resist his charm. In fact he dated Daryl Hannah for awhile, and a host of other female celebrities, even John Denver's widow for a spell. He was also close friends with Edward Furlong. Richard had a good heart, and he would have done anything for anyone.
He lived a fast life, and was not without his demons, and for good reason. Circa 1998/99 he was diagnosed as being HIV positive. He contracted the virus through intravenous drug use, particularly sharing a dirty needle with his then girlfriend. However being HIV positive is NOT what killed him. It was the guilt and shame his father Dick Hillman cast upon him. This estranged relationship with his father took its toll. Dick was always ashamed of Richard. I could go on and on about the two of them but I won't. I have no doubt that it's Dick who deleted that Wikipedia reference in fear that people would read about what really happened and about his son being HIV positive. Because believe you me Richard is very well deserving of his own Wikipedia page and then some.
But I digress, . . . in the end what killed Richard was himself. It was a long drawn out suicide of drugs and alcohol that took years to take effect. The funny thing is the HIV was never really a factor because in that respect he was VERY healthy. He refused to take the bullshit drugs like AZT, consequently Richard became a leading authority on the subject of HIV. Plain and simple he just wanted his pain to end.
One time I saw Richard take a handful of Codeine only to find out he was allergic to it his face turned into the staypuff marshmallow man for a full day . Another time I sat and watched a drug dealer slip an envelope through the car window at a gas station in Santa Monica only to have Richard look at me minutes later and say "watch this" as he took almost every pill in the envelope and dumped it into his mouth "were talking Codeine, Vicodin and whatever else" and he sucked it down with a swig of Patron Tequila. I was convinced, that he was convinced, this would kill him. Weirdly it didn't seem to affect him at all.
To Richard these were merely kiddie drugs, party favors if you will. No, his drug of choice was heroin. He hated needles for obvious reasons so he would always smoke it. I always hated it when he got high on that crap because he became downright scary.
It wasn't until late July of 2009 that I caught wind of Richards passing. I saw it coming down the pipe years before, all of us did. If you were to ask me I would say that Richard died of a broken heart. He always felt betrayed by the people closest to him because of how his father treated him, but the facts are he died of a heroin overdose. I would say accidental however when it came to Richard what could ever be construed as accidential. Suffice it to say Richard was not some dumb actor his level of intelligence soared off the charts sometimes too much for his own good.
My words are something his family never wanted anyone to hear. His father has gone to great lengths to cover it up. Richard was considered the black sheep of his hoity toity family. He never really fit in, and he went to great lengths to lash out at his father most times in a very humours way. I would NEVER in a million years condone the use of narcotics, but in Richards case it was the only way he could escape the massive amount of pain Richard Hillman Sr. bestowed upon him. I never envied him, not in the very least.
I miss my friend a great deal, and I miss him even more now that he is gone. There will never be another one like him and where ever he is I imagine he's now at peace. I hope my words will help shed some light on the great Richard Hillman mystery/Dick Hillman coverup. I swear his father is paying people to remove any information about his existence from the internet.
However I know the good people here at Find a Grave will see to it that does not happen. I've been a fan for many years. In fact Richard and I would browse the site back in the early otts.
Richard deserves to be recognized for his accomplishments and shame on anyone for trying to sweep his memory under the carpet.
a kid who at the world at his feet but his career slowly faded away.
and 1 years since Richard Hillman, Jr overdosed on Heroin and his family tried to wipe the internet of his existence afterwards.
From A Friend of Richards...
Hi everyone, Richard and I were close friends. First I want to say that friendship with Richard was a double edged sword. I cared about him very much, but he could be a real pain in the ass at times "I say that lovingly". He was a spoiled rich kid from a prominent local family in the Pacific Palisades/Santa Monica area "again I say this with the utmost respect".
As an actor he was highly rated and was destined for stardom. He had it all the looks, the chops, and the charisma. There was not a chick on this planet who could resist his charm. In fact he dated Daryl Hannah for awhile, and a host of other female celebrities, even John Denver's widow for a spell. He was also close friends with Edward Furlong. Richard had a good heart, and he would have done anything for anyone.
He lived a fast life, and was not without his demons, and for good reason. Circa 1998/99 he was diagnosed as being HIV positive. He contracted the virus through intravenous drug use, particularly sharing a dirty needle with his then girlfriend. However being HIV positive is NOT what killed him. It was the guilt and shame his father Dick Hillman cast upon him. This estranged relationship with his father took its toll. Dick was always ashamed of Richard. I could go on and on about the two of them but I won't. I have no doubt that it's Dick who deleted that Wikipedia reference in fear that people would read about what really happened and about his son being HIV positive. Because believe you me Richard is very well deserving of his own Wikipedia page and then some.
But I digress, . . . in the end what killed Richard was himself. It was a long drawn out suicide of drugs and alcohol that took years to take effect. The funny thing is the HIV was never really a factor because in that respect he was VERY healthy. He refused to take the bullshit drugs like AZT, consequently Richard became a leading authority on the subject of HIV. Plain and simple he just wanted his pain to end.
One time I saw Richard take a handful of Codeine only to find out he was allergic to it his face turned into the staypuff marshmallow man for a full day . Another time I sat and watched a drug dealer slip an envelope through the car window at a gas station in Santa Monica only to have Richard look at me minutes later and say "watch this" as he took almost every pill in the envelope and dumped it into his mouth "were talking Codeine, Vicodin and whatever else" and he sucked it down with a swig of Patron Tequila. I was convinced, that he was convinced, this would kill him. Weirdly it didn't seem to affect him at all.
To Richard these were merely kiddie drugs, party favors if you will. No, his drug of choice was heroin. He hated needles for obvious reasons so he would always smoke it. I always hated it when he got high on that crap because he became downright scary.
It wasn't until late July of 2009 that I caught wind of Richards passing. I saw it coming down the pipe years before, all of us did. If you were to ask me I would say that Richard died of a broken heart. He always felt betrayed by the people closest to him because of how his father treated him, but the facts are he died of a heroin overdose. I would say accidental however when it came to Richard what could ever be construed as accidential. Suffice it to say Richard was not some dumb actor his level of intelligence soared off the charts sometimes too much for his own good.
My words are something his family never wanted anyone to hear. His father has gone to great lengths to cover it up. Richard was considered the black sheep of his hoity toity family. He never really fit in, and he went to great lengths to lash out at his father most times in a very humours way. I would NEVER in a million years condone the use of narcotics, but in Richards case it was the only way he could escape the massive amount of pain Richard Hillman Sr. bestowed upon him. I never envied him, not in the very least.
I miss my friend a great deal, and I miss him even more now that he is gone. There will never be another one like him and where ever he is I imagine he's now at peace. I hope my words will help shed some light on the great Richard Hillman mystery/Dick Hillman coverup. I swear his father is paying people to remove any information about his existence from the internet.
However I know the good people here at Find a Grave will see to it that does not happen. I've been a fan for many years. In fact Richard and I would browse the site back in the early otts.
Richard deserves to be recognized for his accomplishments and shame on anyone for trying to sweep his memory under the carpet.
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