The news of Sage Stallone’s death took me by surprise this week.

It’s not that I was personally touched by the death.

It’s not even like I often thought of Stallone.

It’s just that he’s another “crush” from my younger days that died way too soon.

The only thing I ever saw Stallone in was ‘Rocky V’ with his father. And, to be fair, this was really the worst of all the ‘Rocky’ movies.

Still, Stallone was ridiculously cute with his father onscreen.

When I first heard about his death I jumped right to the drugs conclusion. How sad is that?

That’s what Hollywood does to young people though. It builds them up and then it abandons them.

Stallone was no different. I even read earlier today that police believe he was dead for 3-4 days before his body was found – maybe even a week.That's profoundly sad.

Then it got me to thinking about other young stars that died before their prime.

I think the one that most people jump to is River Phoenix.

Phoenix was a terrific talent – and I often wonder where his career would have taken him. It seems to me that he and Leonardo DiCaprio would probably be competing for the same roles.

Instead, Phoenix overdosed on the street in 1993 with his young brother Joaquin (then known as Leaf) at his side.

We’ll never know what Phoenix could have been – we’ll just know the potential we saw in his early work.

The cautionary Hollywood tale that I’m most moved by, though, is that of Jonathan Brandis.

Brandis made a name for himself in ‘The Neverending Story 2’ and ‘Ladybugs’ before shooting to the stratosphere on NBC’s three-year underwater odyssey ‘Seaquest.’

In the years following ‘Seaquest,’ Brandis went from being on the cover of every teen magazine in the world to struggling to find work.

Then, in 2003, he hung himself.

So why does Brandis’ story resonate with me? Probably because I was a huge ‘Seaquest’ fan. I’m also a huge ‘It’ fan. I watch both several times a year – and each time I’m reminded of all the potential Brandis had.

In a striking turn of events, Brandis’ co-star on an episode of ‘Seaquest’ Christopher Pettiet is also a cautionary Hollywood tale that I often think about.

Pettiet gained fame as a young Jesse James on the third season of ‘The Young Riders.’ He did the guest spot on 'Seaquest' a year after ‘The Young Riders’ was cancelled – where he was reunited with former co-star Don Franklin.

After that, though, Pettiet virtually disappeared. In 2000 he died of an accidental drug overdose at the age of 24.

These stories are hardly news when it comes to Hollywood.

They shouldn’t be forgotten either.

Sage Stallone’s death did that – at least for me. It reminded me.

I think I’ll watch some ‘Seaquest’ this week.

What do you think? What Hollywood star died way before their time?