This is another story about someone I loved and lost. His name was Brad Renfro. He died by an accidental heroin overdose on January 15, 2008, here in LA. Because of the circumstances surrounding his death, he wasn't listed during the Academy Awards, as one of the greats that was lost during the year. They may have tried to sweep him under the rug, but he will always be in my heart.
My daughter Haylie, met this funny little boy shortly after he filmed The Client. He was an A -list actor, who came from terrible circumstances in the south. His Grandma Joanne was "babysitting" him, but he was far out of her reach. He came from a line of people who spent years inside of prisons and started him on hard liquor in his baby bottle as early as two, as he used to tell me. It's a miracle he had even lived as long as he had. I won't even go into all the family problems, but the minute I met him, I took him into our home. He was such a little boy who always tried to act like a man. He made me laugh till I cried at the funny things he would do around here including playing the guitar and singing at the top of his lungs(apparently an old jail favorite) I HAVE JESUS IN MY BUNK.
One evening he decided he wanted to barbeque and make all of us his special beef ribs. I took him over to Von's grocery store to make all the purchases. He told me he used a really special and expensive sauce on his ribs and that was part of his secret. That sauce was non other than Kraft's Honey BBQ. He was so proud of going shopping and showing us about all the stuff he knew regarding the culinary world.
We came home and he started the fire and didn't want any help from me. I don't know how long he cooked those ribs, but by the time he served them up, they were as black as coal and there wasn't any meat to be found. He said he cooked them like that to make sure we didn't get mad cow disease. Well, there was no way we could eat the charred bones, and he decided he wanted me to make pancakes for dinner instead.
I think it was that same night that he nicknamed me Bird. I have no idea why, but from that night on, I was Bird.
We had to leave for Montreal for Ash to film, just a week after Cliff's death. It was a hard trip, but looking back it was a relief. The girls and I had a chance to stay in a magnificent suite that was larger than our house, and we started healing. We were all sitting in a restaurant which had a TV up in the corner. By chance we happened to look up and, low and behold Brad's picture flashed on the screen. He had been arrested for stealing a yacht one evening, while filming a movie in Florida. At about the same moment Haylie's cell phone rang and in his thick southern drawl, little Brad said, "I'm so sorry Haylie Bell, but I'm in jail and I didn't want you to see it on the evenin' news. I love you and please tell Bird I am sorry to her too and I miss you and I will see you soon and don't be mad 'cuz everythin' looks worse on TV. I just wanted to go for a ride and didn't realize that boat was tied on both ends when the dock tore off and was attached to the back, it was not a good thing. I love you Haylie".
I have so many stories about Bradley. He used to call me and say he was going to marry Haylie and win her over from "that Jonny Lang boy" someday. I would always laugh and tell him he was always welcome here whether he ever won Haylie over or not.
Other times were much more serious like the time Haylie and Scotty were called to try and save him while he was staying at a 5 Star hotel, here in LA. The time they moved him to Scotty's apartment and they both watched him night and day to make sure he stayed clean, and the early morning calls that I would get asking for Bird, to come and help. My last call was about 3AM, a few years before he died. He was in trouble and somehow always he remembered our phone number. I drove to China town to get him out of a drug house, which was located over a taco stand. It was an area I wouldn't have driven through in broad daylight, but I made that trip and brought him home. I loved that little boy so much, but I somehow knew we were going to lose him at a young age. Getting into the movie business and becoming so successful now put him in the position of having a lot of time, and a lot of money to do anything he wanted. Honestly most people just wanted to use his magnificent talent and really didn't care what happened to him. He was a liability, and the studios were well aware of that, going into each picture. Everyone knew he was broken, but when that camera was on, he was magic.
The last time I saw Brad he showed up here at the house and he wanted us to pray for him. We all prayed, and he got up and walked out to his car. Before too long we heard the trash can being rolled out and he started throwing stuff into the can. He was so loud and wanted to make sure we knew he was hard at work. He came back onto the house and with his head held high he announced all his drugs and alcohol were in the trash and he was a new man. We all hugged him goodbye, not knowing it would be our last time to see him alive. The second he drove down the street, Haylie went out to the trash can and rolled it into the backyard because she knew he would have a change of heart and come back for all this stuff in the middle of the night.
On Jan 15th of last year I was on the computer when a friend imed me and said, "I am so sorry". I was a bit taken aback and responded with "what?" And she typed,” Brad was found dead in his house today”. I immediately called Jonny to tell Haylie and I got off the phone and I think I cried for days.
We all have so many wonderful memories of Brad, not the Hollywood Bad Boy, but the good kid that never had a chance, and was lost too soon.
Touching tribute made to Brad by Nancy Johnson, mother of actresses Haylie and Ashley Johnson and mother-in-law of singer Jonny Lang.
