Brad Barron Renfro (1982 - 2008)

Brad Barron Renfro was born July 25,1982, in Knoxville, Tennessee.^[1] He was the son of Mark Renfo and Angela Denise Olsen McCrory.

By the age of five his parents divorced and Brad was raised by his paternal grandmother, Joanne Renfro. He reportedly did not have a close relationship with his father.

When he was 10 years of age, Renfro was discovered by a casting director for the movie The Client (1994). He had no prior acting experience or training. At the time, Renfro had been living in a trailer park outside Knoxville with his grandmother. The Client became one of the top-grossing films of 1994. In 1995, Renfro won The Hollywood Reporter's "Young Star" award, and was nominated as one of People magazine's "Top 30 Under 30."

Renfro played Huckleberry Finn in Tom and Huck (1995). He also won a second "Young Star" award, as well as a "Young Artist" award, for his performance in The Cure (1995).

In 1996, Renfro appeared in Sleepers.

In 1998, he starred in Apt Pupil. He played in a live-action ad for Resident Evil 2. Renfro went on to act in other films, including 2001's Ghost World and Bully, 2002's Confessions of an American Girl, and 2005's The Jacket. He also appeared in the 2006 Law & Order: Criminal Intent episode "Watch", and completed filming on the film The Informers.

Renfro appeared in the first version of the music video for the 10 Years song "Wasteland". He also featured in the video for N.E.R.D song "Provider", playing the part of a petty drug dealer.

Renfro's abuse of alcohol and drugs began at an early age.

On June 3, 1998, Renfro, then 15, and his 19-year-old cousin were arrested and charged with drug possession.

By the age of 18, Renfro had already been in drug rehabilitation more than once.

On August 28, 2000, Renfro and a friend attempted to steal a yacht from the Fort Lauderdale harbor. Renfro was charged with grand theft and criminal mischief; in January 2001, he was sentenced to two years' probation and ordered to pay investigative costs and yacht repair costs. Renfro violated his probation in May 2001 when he was arrested for underage drinking. On January 14, 2002, Renfro violated his probation again and was arrested on charges of public intoxication and driving without a valid license in Knoxville. He was placed into a three-month substance abuse treatment program as a result.

Renfro had one son, Yamato Renfro born in 2003 in Japan, and raised there by his mother, a Japanese citizen.

On November 24, 2005, Renfro was charged with a misdemeanor count of driving under the influence and two counts of driving with a suspended license, leading to 10 days in jail and 18 months of alcohol education classes. He was arrested by LAPD officers on December 22, 2005, during an undercover drug sweep of Skid Row. Following that arrest, he was charged with attempted possession of heroin. He pleaded guilty, was sentenced to three years' probation, and was fined $450. In May 2006, he spent 10 days in jail for driving while under the influence and attempted heroin possession.

In June 2007, Renfro was found to have violated his probation by failing to enroll in a long-term drug treatment program. A judge warned him that if he violated probation two more times, he could be sentenced to a live-in rehabilitation program or to jail.

Renfro was found dead on January 15, 2008, in his Los Angeles apartment from accidental overdose of heroin and morphine intoxication.^[1] His body was returned to Tennessee, where he was buried on January 22, 2008, at Red House Cemetery in Blaine, Grainger, Tennessee.^[2]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} United States Social Security Death Index, Brad Barron Renfro, 15 Jan 2008; citing U.S. Social Security Administration, Death Master File.
2. ↑ Find A Grave, memorial page for Brad Renfro (25 Jul 1982–15 Jan 2008), Find a Grave Memorial ID 23990481, citing Red House Cemetery, Blaine, Grainger County, Tennessee, USA.

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