25-year-old actor Brad Renfro’s funeral and memorial service were held yesterday in his hometown of Knoxville, Tennessee. Renfro was found dead last Tuesday morning by friends. He’d had a long history of drug and alcohol problems, and had been arrested several times, once in a highly publicized sting by the L.A.P.D. Though he’d been on probation, he was found to be in violation of it this past summer for failing to enroll in a long-term drug treatment program. Renfro first found fame when he was 12 after starring in “The Client” with Susan Sarandon. Unfortunately he went the way of many former child actors, and struggled with his addictions. Renfro’s great-uncle Michael Earl officiated at the service. An arrangement of red, white and yellow flowers adorned the closed casket, along with a photograph of a young, smiling Renfro. Approximately 600 well-wishers, including Renfro’s father and stepmother, Mark and Kim Renfro, and his mother, Angel Olsen, paid their respects. The actor’s maternal grandmother, Judy Hurt, half-sister Haley Olsen and stepbrother Dane Hoffmeister, also attended. His paternal grandmother, Joanne Renfro, who raised Renfro from the age of 5, was too ill to make it, but sent her regards. During his sermon, he [great-uncle Michael Earl] hinted at the actor’s past problems with drug addiction saying at the service, “Brad had problems just like I have problems, just like every once of us has problems, we all have trials and tribulations that we go through,” Earl said. “Was Brad perfect? Well, I can tell you, I’m not. Are you? He lived life, and he enjoyed it,” Earl later said of the actor. “Whatever he did, he did it hard as he could. … If he messed up, he’d go after it 100 percent. Yeah, I know him. And yes, I loved him.” Sir Ian McKellen, who worked with Renfro on “Apt Pupil” wrote a nice tribute to Brad on his website. It says in part, I first caught sight of Brad Renfro when he was kicking a football around with Bryan Singer on the half-built set of Apt Pupil in Hollywood. He was a kid having fun and that’s how I shall always remember him. But he was more than that. He was a proper actor and when we worked together he was determined to be accepted as such. In Hollywood he was a teenage charmer, chaperoned by his beloved grandmother and by his admirers who protected him as best they could from the dangers of being a child in a careless adult’s world. On set, he was blusteringly confident although it was obvious he would have benefited from training as an actor. Yet, as Todd, the disturbed teenager in Apt Pupil, he tapped into an inner demonic world and carried the film on his young shoulders. It’s very tragic that he passed away at such a young age with his whole life ahead of him but hopefully now he’s at peace in a better place. RIP

Hollywood bad boy, Brad Renfro 25 died last week of a drug overdose. He was found on the floor inside his apartment with a giant “FUCK YA’LL” tattoo on his back. It was a brand new tattoo and he just got it 24 - 48 hours before his death. He must have been a huge Britney fan, because she’s the one who put the U in FUCK YA’LL! It was a tragic story and Brad Renfro’s life is truly a cautionary tale about the dangers of fame and addiction. It seems so rare that you hear a story about a child actor whose life isn’t in some way all fucked up by their early success. Look at Lindsey Lohan who had her run ins with trouble more then once, but she cleaned her ass up and she’s now clean and sober, on her way to becoming the next Drew Barrymore. Drew’s one of the most influential actresses in Hollywood, she’s been through so much and she got through it and is now one of the most influential people in Hollywood. Most child actors don’t quite get so lucky and we watch them fall through the cracks and manage to battle with drugs and bite the dust at a young age. It’s hard to know if it was the fame itself, or the lack of a traditional childhood. Some have claimed it’s due in part to the unusual role reversal where they become the breadwinner for the rest of their family and the family just relies on the child to support them. It was terrible to learn that Brad was no longer alive. The Child star happened to fall into the dark and seedy underbelly of Hollywood and hopefully he has some sort of peace now. It’s a sad story and hopefully the child actors of today can learn a little something from Brads story. Gone but not forgotten, our regards go out to Brads famly. RIP Brand Renfro