I know many were shocked by the ending of last week’s episode, when producer Brandon Schantz unexpectedly passed away.  Here’s what we saw from behind the cameras.

We were very fortunate to be able to give Sarah, Nick, and Kimberly an opportunity to test their hosting skills with a brief internship with Movies.com.  Producer Brandon Schantz was more than willing to give his time and expertise to our trio of wannabe reporters.  He’s a great guy, a patient and easygoing teacher with valuable experience.  He was open to the process of letting our cameras videotape his production company, and learn his secrets of being a television host.  It was an ideal match for us!  But the outcome of the internship taught us a much bigger lesson. 

On November 24, 2007, Saturday night, our three roommates got the chance to be a reporter for their own movie review segment in front of Mann’s Chinese Theatre.  It was the perfect night, and a festive Thanksgiving weekend as the street was closed in preparation for the annual Hollywood Christmas Parade the following evening.

Sarah struggled a bit with her review, but Nick and Kim had a lot of fun with it and brought their own unique style to their segments.  All the time Brandon encouraged them, and praised each of them through the long evening.  Brandon appeared tired, and mentioned that he wasn’t feeling well.  He told the roommates that he was a cancer survivor and had been in remission for some time.  

On Monday he was in the hospital.  Unaware, I called him on his cell phone to ask when we could get dubs of the roommate’s tapes.  Only at the very end of the conversation did he even mention he was in a hospital bed.  He laughed and said he was getting a checkup.  Brandon’s cancer had returned, and on Dec. 6, less than two weeks later, he died.  

This news hit all three roommates very hard, but since Brandon was also a close friend and co-worker of several of our crew members we felt the shock and the sadness of his passing behind-the-scenes too.  Brandon will be remembered as an inspiration, someone who loved the world of television journalism, and a talent who passed away much too young.  Our condolences go out to his family, and those who worked closely with him.

Life is precious -- a wonderful gift.  Never take it for granted, never regret it and never waste a single moment of it. 

A memorial scholarship fund at the University of Texas has been set up in Brandon’s name.  You can honor him by making a contribution to the Brandon Schantz Memorial Endowment Fund Drive.  The Endowment will fund aspiring broadcast journalists.