Joseph David Wolfgang Pichler (born February 14, 1987) is an American former child actor. He is best known for his roles in Varsity Blues (1999), Beethoven's 3rd (2000) and Beethoven's 4th (2001).
Pichler's last film credit was in the independent drama Children on Their Birthdays (2002). He went missing at age 18 under mysterious circumstances on January 5, 2006, near his hometown of Bremerton, Washington. His whereabouts remain unknown.
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Life and career
The fourth of five children, Pichler relocated to Los Angeles as a child to pursue his acting career. He had some success, most notably appearing in several movies and television shows. He is known for his recurring role as Brennan Newton in the third and fourth (direct-to-video) installments of the Beethoven movies—family-oriented comedies about the antics of a mischievous St. Bernard.
In 2003, at the insistence of his family, he returned to his hometown of Bremerton, Washington, about 16 miles (26 km) west of Seattle, and graduated from high school there in 2005. According to family, Pichler had planned to return to Los Angeles the following year, after his braces were removed, to resume his acting career. After turning 18, Pichler moved out of the family home and into his own apartment in Bremerton; however, he maintained a close relationship with his family.
Disappearance
Pichler was last seen on January 5, 2006. According to the Charley Project, the friends who last saw him stated he was in good spirits while he was with them.
Pichler's silver 2005 Toyota Corolla was found on January 9, 2006, at an intersection near his home.
According to his family's statements to the media at the time, the last outgoing call on Pichler's cell phone was placed at 4:08 a.m., on January 5, to a friend who said he had been visiting with Pichler earlier in the day.
According to the Associated Press, Pichler's family stated that a note found in the car expressed a wish to be a "stronger brother" and asked that personal effects of Pichler's be given to a younger brother. The lead investigator on the case, Detective Robbie Davis, stated, "There’s a good indication that it might have been a suicide, but we don’t know that," adding that he did not see any evidence of foul play. However, Pichler's relatives disagreed with this view. His mother criticized investigators for giving the impression that they thought Pichler was dead, saying, "He could be in someone’s basement. He could be wandering the streets hurt."
In 2011, with Pichler still missing, his mother wrote that the case was handled "poorly by police," and added that, "Joseph is not a runaway; that's the only thing I know for sure about his disappearance. After nearly six years, we still have no resolution." As of 2026, Pichler remains classified as a missing person.
