Christopher Lee Pettiet (February 12, 1976 – April 12, 2000) was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 television

Television

Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...

 and film

Film

A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...

 actor best known for his role as Jesse James

Jesse James

Jesse Woodson James was an American outlaw, gang leader, bank robber, train robber, and murderer from the state of Missouri and the most famous member of the James-Younger Gang. He also faked his own death and was known as J.M James. Already a celebrity when he was alive, he became a legendary...

 in the Western

Western (genre)

The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...

 TV series The Young Riders

The Young Riders

The Young Riders is an American Western television series created by Ed Spielman that presents a fictionalized account of a group of young Pony Express riders based at the Sweetwater Station in the Nebraska Territory during the years leading up to the American Civil War...

and as Zach Crandell in the cult

Cult film

A cult film, also commonly referred to as a cult classic, is a film that has acquired a highly devoted but specific group of fans. Often, cult movies have failed to achieve fame outside the small fanbases; however, there have been exceptions that have managed to gain fame among mainstream audiences...

 comedy

Comedy

Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...

 film Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead

Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead

Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead is a 1991 comedy film directed by Stephen Herek starring Christina Applegate.Applegate stars as a teenager whose mother leaves for a two-month summer vacation in Australia, putting all five siblings in the care of a strict tyrannical elderly babysitter...

(1991).

Career

Pettiet began his career as a child actor making appearances in television series such as seaQuest DSV

SeaQuest DSV

seaQuest DSV is an American science fiction television series created by Rockne S. O'Bannon. It originally aired on NBC between 1993 and 1996. In its final season, it was renamed seaQuest 2032. Set in "the near future", seaQuest mixes high drama with realistic scientific fiction...

, Star Trek: The Next Generation

Star Trek: The Next Generation

Star Trek: The Next Generation is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry as part of the Star Trek franchise. Roddenberry, Rick Berman, and Michael Piller served as executive producers at different times throughout the production...

, L.A. Law

L.A. Law

L.A. Law is a US television legal drama that ran on NBC from September 15, 1986 to May 19, 1994. L.A. Law reflected the social and cultural ideologies of the 1980s and early 1990s and many of the cases featured on the show dealt with hot topic issues such as abortion, racism, gay rights,...

, Empty Nest

Empty Nest

Empty Nest is an American sitcom that originally aired on NBC from 1988 to 1995. The series was created as a spin-off of The Golden Girls by creator and producer Susan Harris. For its first three seasons, Empty Nest was one of the year's top 10 most-watched programs...

, Picket Fences

Picket Fences

Picket Fences is a 60-minute American television drama about the residents of the fictional town of Rome, Wisconsin, created and produced by David E. Kelley. The show initially ran from September 18, 1992, to June 26, 1996, on the CBS television network in the United States...

and Undressed

Undressed (TV series)

Undressed is an American anthology series that aired on MTV from July 26, 1999 to September 5, 2002. The series was created and executive produced by British director Roland Joffé.-Synopsis:...

. He also appeared in several films such as Point Break

Point Break

Point Break is a 1991 action film directed by Kathryn Bigelow and starring Patrick Swayze, Keanu Reeves, Lori Petty and Gary Busey. The title refers to the surfing term point break, where a wave breaks as it hits a point of land jutting out from the coastline.The film was a box office success upon...

(1991), and Boys

Boys (1996 film)

Boys is a 1996 American film starring Winona Ryder and Lukas Haas. The film was originally titled The Girl You Want. The film earned $516,350 in the United States box office. It is based on a short story called "Twenty Minutes" by James Salter....

(1996). In 1991, he won the role of a young Jesse James

Jesse James

Jesse Woodson James was an American outlaw, gang leader, bank robber, train robber, and murderer from the state of Missouri and the most famous member of the James-Younger Gang. He also faked his own death and was known as J.M James. Already a celebrity when he was alive, he became a legendary...

 on The Young Riders

The Young Riders

The Young Riders is an American Western television series created by Ed Spielman that presents a fictionalized account of a group of young Pony Express riders based at the Sweetwater Station in the Nebraska Territory during the years leading up to the American Civil War...

.

After the cancellation of The Young Riders in 1992, Pettiet's career began to wane. According to his manager, Bob Villard, Pettiet was "just about impoverished", living on "small residual check[s]". Villard's open letter

Open letter

An open letter is a letter that is intended to be read by a wide audience, or a letter intended for an individual, but that is nonetheless widely distributed intentionally....

 also notes that Pettiet's problem with drugs had been a long standing one and that he had tried "for over two years" to get Pettiet into treatment. Despite attending "a couple" of AA

Alcoholics Anonymous

Alcoholics Anonymous is an international mutual aid movement which says its "primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics achieve sobriety." Now claiming more than 2 million members, AA was founded in 1935 by Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith in Akron, Ohio...

 meetings, he refused to admit that he had a substance abuse problem. Pettiet made his last onscreen appearance in a 1999 episode of Judging Amy

Judging Amy

Judging Amy is an American television drama that was telecast from September 19, 1999, through May 3, 2005, on CBS-TV. This TV series starred Amy Brenneman and Tyne Daly...

.

Death

Pettiet died of a drug overdose

Drug overdose

The term drug overdose describes the ingestion or application of a drug or other substance in quantities greater than are recommended or generally practiced...

 on April 12, 2000, in Los Angeles

Los Ángeles

Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

 at the age of 24. After his death, his acting coach, Kevin McDermott, founded a scholarship fund in his name to help young actors attend Center Stage LA where he had trained.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1990	An Enemy of the People	Morton Stockman	Television film
1990	Star Trek: The Next Generation Star Trek: The Next Generation Star Trek: The Next Generation is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry as part of the Star Trek franchise. Roddenberry, Rick Berman, and Michael Piller served as executive producers at different times throughout the production...	Boy	Episode: "The High Ground"
1990	Doogie Howser, M.D	Gregory Pelzman	Episode: "Revenge of the Teenage Dead"
1990	The Dreamer of Oz	Teenage Frank, Jr.	Television film
1991	Fatal Exposure	Drew	Television film
1991	L.A. Law L.A. Law L.A. Law is a US television legal drama that ran on NBC from September 15, 1986 to May 19, 1994. L.A. Law reflected the social and cultural ideologies of the 1980s and early 1990s and many of the cases featured on the show dealt with hot topic issues such as abortion, racism, gay rights,...	Corey Walker	Episode: "On the Toad Again"
1991	Empty Nest Empty Nest Empty Nest is an American sitcom that originally aired on NBC from 1988 to 1995. The series was created as a spin-off of The Golden Girls by creator and producer Susan Harris. For its first three seasons, Empty Nest was one of the year's top 10 most-watched programs...	Little Harry	Episode: "The Way We Are"
1991	My Life and Times	Michael Miller	Episode: "The Collapse of '98"
1991	Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead is a 1991 comedy film directed by Stephen Herek starring Christina Applegate.Applegate stars as a teenager whose mother leaves for a two-month summer vacation in Australia, putting all five siblings in the care of a strict tyrannical elderly babysitter...	Zach Crandell
1991	Point Break Point Break Point Break is a 1991 action film directed by Kathryn Bigelow and starring Patrick Swayze, Keanu Reeves, Lori Petty and Gary Busey. The title refers to the surfing term point break, where a wave breaks as it hits a point of land jutting out from the coastline.The film was a box office success upon...	15
1991 to 1992	The Young Riders The Young Riders The Young Riders is an American Western television series created by Ed Spielman that presents a fictionalized account of a group of young Pony Express riders based at the Sweetwater Station in the Nebraska Territory during the years leading up to the American Civil War...	Jesse James Jesse James Jesse Woodson James was an American outlaw, gang leader, bank robber, train robber, and murderer from the state of Missouri and the most famous member of the James-Younger Gang. He also faked his own death and was known as J.M James. Already a celebrity when he was alive, he became a legendary...	21 episodes
1992	Sandman	Jesse
1992	Danger Island	Brian	Television film
1992	Baywatch Hawaii	Beaver	Episode: "Tequila Bay"
1993	The Goodbye Bird	Francis "Frank" Phillips
1993	seaQuest DSV SeaQuest DSV seaQuest DSV is an American science fiction television series created by Rockne S. O'Bannon. It originally aired on NBC between 1993 and 1996. In its final season, it was renamed seaQuest 2032. Set in "the near future", seaQuest mixes high drama with realistic scientific fiction...	Zachery Thomas	Episode: "Brothers and Sisters"
1994	Horses and Champions	Joe
1994	Relentless IV: Ashes to Ashes	Cory Dietz
1995	Picket Fences Picket Fences Picket Fences is a 60-minute American television drama about the residents of the fictional town of Rome, Wisconsin, created and produced by David E. Kelley. The show initially ran from September 18, 1992, to June 26, 1996, on the CBS television network in the United States...	Michael Hynes	Episode: "The Song of Rome"
1996	Carried Away	Robert Henson
1997	Against the Law	Tommy
1996	Boys Boys (1996 film) Boys is a 1996 American film starring Winona Ryder and Lukas Haas. The film was originally titled The Girl You Want. The film earned $516,350 in the United States box office. It is based on a short story called "Twenty Minutes" by James Salter....	Jon Heinz
1997	Touched by an Angel Touched by an Angel Touched by an Angel is an American drama series that premiered on CBS on September 21, 1994 and ran for 211 episodes and nine seasons until its conclusion on April 27, 2003. Created by John Masius and produced by Martha Williamson, the series stars Roma Downey, as an angel named Monica, and Della...	Luke Brewer	Episode: "Crisis of Faith"
1998	Chicago Hope Chicago Hope Chicago Hope is an American medical drama series created by David E. Kelley that ran from September 18, 1994, to May 5, 2000. It takes place in a fictional private charity hospital.-Premise:The show stars Mandy Patinkin as Dr...	Kevin Dicker	Episode: "Viagra-Vated Assault"
1999	Undressed Undressed (TV series) Undressed is an American anthology series that aired on MTV from July 26, 1999 to September 5, 2002. The series was created and executive produced by British director Roland Joffé.-Synopsis:...	Dean	6 episodes
1999	Judging Amy Judging Amy Judging Amy is an American television drama that was telecast from September 19, 1999, through May 3, 2005, on CBS-TV. This TV series starred Amy Brenneman and Tyne Daly...	Paul Dexter	Episode: "An Impartial Bias"

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Title of work	Result
1991	Young Artist Awards	Best Young Actor Guest Starring in a Television Series	Doogie Howser, M.D	Winner
1992	Young Artist Awards	Outstanding Young Ensemble Cast in a Motion Picture	Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead (Shared with cast)	Nominated
1992	Young Artist Awards	Best Young Actor Co-starring in a Television Series	The Young Riders	Nominated

External links