Born into a theatrical family, he made a much-acclaimed Broadway debut at the age of nine in "The Member of the Wedding". He was the first child actor to win the Donaldson Award and went on to repeat his role in the film version directed by Fred Zinnemann in 1952. As the blonde, blue eyed "Joey" who idolizes the strange gunman (Alan Ladd) in Shane, he stole the picture and was rewarded with an Oscar nomination the following year. He starred in his own television series, Jamie, during 1953-54 and made his mark as a screen adolescent during the sixties playing younger brothers in All Fall Down and Hud starring Paul Newman. However, he managed to keep his career building up to his adult status. While on route to appear in a play "Butterflies Are Free", he was tragically killed in a car accident. He was only thirty years-old.


Although he was the only one of the four principal players not nominated for an Oscar for the 1963 film Hud (1963), Brandon got to share Oscar night glory nevertheless when he went on stage to accept the Best Supporting Actor trophy for co-star Melvyn Douglas, who was in Israel at the time. Patricia Neal won for "best actress," but Paul Newman lost "best actor" to Sidney Poitier for Lilies of the Field (1963). The son of a stage-manager father and actress mother. Made his stage debut at age seven in 492 performances of the Broadway hit, "The Member of the Wedding." He also became the first juvenile to win the Donaldson Award. Close friend (and sometimes singing partner) country-western legend Gram Parsons immortalized De Wilde's tragic death in Parsons' and Emmylou Harris's song "In My Hour of Darkness"; Once I knew a young man went driving through the night. Miles and miles without a word, with just his high-beam lights. Who'd have ever thought they'd build such a deadly Denver bend. To be so strong, to take as long as it would till the end. He was killed as the result of a traffic accident that occurred in the Denver suburb of Lakewood on the evening of July 6, 1972 at about 3:25 PM. He had been en route to visit his wife at a Denver hospital. He was driving a camper van, lost control and crashed into a parked construction truck on the side of the road, causing his camper to roll onto its side, pinning him in the wreckage of his vehicle for a while before being taken to St. Anthony Hospital where he died at 7:20 PM of multiple injuries including a broken back, neck, and leg. He was not wearing a seat belt. De Wilde had been in the Denver area to co-star in the Elitch Theatre production of Butterflies Are Free, which ended July 1. De Wilde had hoped to embark on a music career. He watched as Paul McCartney wrote the song Wait during the filming of the Beatles movie Help! (1965).