Justin Pierce(1975-2000)
- Actor
Born in London, England to a Welsh mother and an Australian father,
Justin Charles Pierce was raised in the Marble Hill section of
Manhattan, New York City. He attended P.S. 7 in the Bronx for
Elementary School and J.H.S. 141 in the Riverdale section of the Bronx
for Junior High School. Pierce's parents divorced when he was 15
years old.
After his parents' divorce, he began acting out and skipping school in
favor of skateboarding. Pierce soon dropped out of school and moved
out, staying in a basement of a building with fellow skaters. Pierce
was later found under arrest for the possession of marijuana and heroin
substances found under his pants in a police road search. The results
in the court hearing were found inconclusive which resulted in the
releasing of Pierce. Pierce went back to live with his parents at the
age of 19.
One day, while skateboarding in Washington Square Park, Pierce was
discovered by film director
Larry Clark. Clark then cast him in
his controversial 1995 independent film
Kids (1995). After the film's success,
Pierce won an Independent Spirit Award for his portrayal of Casper, the
foul-mouthed skater punk friend of Telly
(Leo Fitzpatrick), and relocated
to Los Angeles.
Pierce would go on to appear in the 1997 film
A Brother's Kiss (1997) as the
young Nick Chinlund. Pierce also appeared
in two made-for-TV movies,
First Time Felon (1997)
and
This Is How the World Ends (2000),
as well as the Fox sitcom,
Malcolm in the Middle (2000).
He also starred alongside Ice Cube and
Mike Epps in the motion picture
Next Friday (2000).
On July 10, 2000, Pierce was found hanging in his room at the Bellagio
hotel by hotel security.
A Catholic service for Pierce took place on July 15, 2000 at St.
Patrick's Old Cathedral in Manhattan's Little Italy, which was attended
by Kids (1995) co-star
Chloë Sevigny. But it was the memorial his
friends held at the Public Theater that revealed the most about the
actor. On a hot, sticky July afternoon, dozens of Pierce's tight family
of skaters converged a few blocks uptown from the skateboard store
Supreme, where Pierce was a fixture. As "Knocking on Heaven's Door"
played over the sound system, the crowd wept openly while friends rose
to memorialize Pierce.
Justin Charles Pierce was raised in the Marble Hill section of
Manhattan, New York City. He attended P.S. 7 in the Bronx for
Elementary School and J.H.S. 141 in the Riverdale section of the Bronx
for Junior High School. Pierce's parents divorced when he was 15
years old.
After his parents' divorce, he began acting out and skipping school in
favor of skateboarding. Pierce soon dropped out of school and moved
out, staying in a basement of a building with fellow skaters. Pierce
was later found under arrest for the possession of marijuana and heroin
substances found under his pants in a police road search. The results
in the court hearing were found inconclusive which resulted in the
releasing of Pierce. Pierce went back to live with his parents at the
age of 19.
One day, while skateboarding in Washington Square Park, Pierce was
discovered by film director
Larry Clark. Clark then cast him in
his controversial 1995 independent film
Kids (1995). After the film's success,
Pierce won an Independent Spirit Award for his portrayal of Casper, the
foul-mouthed skater punk friend of Telly
(Leo Fitzpatrick), and relocated
to Los Angeles.
Pierce would go on to appear in the 1997 film
A Brother's Kiss (1997) as the
young Nick Chinlund. Pierce also appeared
in two made-for-TV movies,
First Time Felon (1997)
and
This Is How the World Ends (2000),
as well as the Fox sitcom,
Malcolm in the Middle (2000).
He also starred alongside Ice Cube and
Mike Epps in the motion picture
Next Friday (2000).
On July 10, 2000, Pierce was found hanging in his room at the Bellagio
hotel by hotel security.
A Catholic service for Pierce took place on July 15, 2000 at St.
Patrick's Old Cathedral in Manhattan's Little Italy, which was attended
by Kids (1995) co-star
Chloë Sevigny. But it was the memorial his
friends held at the Public Theater that revealed the most about the
actor. On a hot, sticky July afternoon, dozens of Pierce's tight family
of skaters converged a few blocks uptown from the skateboard store
Supreme, where Pierce was a fixture. As "Knocking on Heaven's Door"
played over the sound system, the crowd wept openly while friends rose
to memorialize Pierce.