Best known for his work in capturing the biggest and brightest moments for the stars of tomorrow, including several young and familiar faces across daytime soaps, renowned photographer Brad Everett Young has died.
Young, 46, had just come from seeing a movie and was driving alone on the 134 Freeway in Los Angeles County on the night of Sunday, September 14, when he was killed after his car was struck by another vehicle that was heading in the wrong direction, according to The Hollywood Reporter, which first reported Young’s passing, citing Young’s publicist, Paul Christensen. The beloved photographer died on the scene, while the other driver survived and was later hospitalized.
Born July 24, 1979, in Danville, Virginia, Young graduated from Chatham High School and Averett University, where he served as editor in chief of the high school newspaper and his college’s newsmagazine. After receiving his Bachelor of Science degree, which included minors in Journalism and Psychology, Young had every intention of attending medical school in Los Angeles until his passion for photography and acting overtook him.
As an actor, Young had several bit parts in such shows as “Boy Meets World,” “Felicity,” “The Practice,” “Charmed,” “Beverly Hills, 90210,” and spinoff “90210,” “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Numb3rs,” among others. He also appeared in the films “I Love You, Man,” “Rumor Has It…” “Charlie’s Angels,” “Jurassic Park III” and “Austin Powers in Goldmember,” just to name a few.
His skill as a photographer brought Young much acclaim, with a portfolio that included projects or shoots for several major publications, such as The Hollywood Reporter, Vanity Fair, Vogue, Elle, Harper’s Bazaar, PEOPLE and Variety, among others.
Brad Everett Young
On top of the work he’s done for the likes of David Harbour (Stranger Things”), Seth Green (“Family Guy”) and Sarah Michelle Gellar (“Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “All My Children”), among others, several past and present daytime soap stars had their shots taken by Young over the years, including cast members from “General Hospital” (Rory Gibson, Tabyana Ali, Eden McCoy, Evan Hofer, Nicholas Alexander Chavez, Chad Duell, Ryan Paevey, Kristen Alderson, etc.), “Days of our Lives” (Martha Madison, Zach Tinker, Casey Deidrick, Christopher Sean, Eric Martsolf, Jen Lilley, etc.), “Beyond the Gates” (Mike Manning), “The Young and the Restless” (Billy Flynn, Lucas Adams, Courtney Hope, Camryn Grimes, David Lago, Lachlan Buchanan, Brian Gaskill, etc.) and “The Bold and the Beautiful” (Felisha Cooper, Kim Matula).
Young founded Dream Loud Official, a non-profit organization formed to help save art and music programs in schools by raising awareness and encouraging school systems to retain the art and music programs instead of letting them go.
“Brad’s passion for both the arts and the people behind them was unmatched,” Christensen said in a statement released to THR. “He lived his mission of keeping creativity alive, and his legacy will continue through Dream Loud Official.”
Young is survived by his brother, Chris.
The family plans to hold a Memorial service for Young with arrangements to be announced.
Watch clips from behind the scenes of Young’s work for the Dream Loud campaign below.