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Vale: Sawyer Sweeten

Teen actor Sawyer Sweeten, best known for Everybody Loves Raymond, has died, aged 19.

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2015-04-24_1413

Teen actor Sawyer Sweeten, best known for Everybody Loves Raymond, has died, aged 19.

Sweeten (pictured, right) played Geoffrey Baron on the US sitcom, which ran from 1996-2005. He acted alongside his twin brother, Sullivan, first cast when they were only 16 months, plus sister Madylin.

“This morning a terrible family tragedy has occurred,” Madylin, said in a statement. “We are devastated to report that our beloved brother, son, and friend, Sawyer Sweeten, took his own life. He was weeks away from his 20th birthday. At this sensitive time, our family requests privacy and we beg of you to reach out to the ones you love.”

Sawyer and Sullivan Sweeten also shared roles in the 2002 film Frank McKlusky, C.I. and a 2000 episode of Disney’s Even Stevens.

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Source: Variety

13 Responses

  1. Sadly some people will look at the way the media is reporting this and use it as an excuse to follow suit.

    He has departed at such a young age and the thousands of young people who are probably feeling the same and desperate for love, compassion, attention, support may think copying Sawyer is the only way to get it.

    All I can hope is that anyone feeling the same has someone to reach out to. Whether it be a professional, a family member …anyone.

  4. Very sad. It was only the other week I was re-watching the first episode of Everybody Loves Raymond and marvelling at how young those kids were at the start (just babies).

  5. “Died of suicide”? Please, no, and definitely not in the top line. “Died by suicide”, “taken his own life” or similar further down the story, but just “died” in the intro. Don’t give undue prominence to the act please.

      1. I recommend looking at the Mindframe website on how to report mental health and suicide appropriately: mindframe-media.info/. They’re an amazing resource.

        One of the reasons reporting of method is discouraged is because it does encourage copycats and it can also cause survivors of suicide to relieve distressing periods in their own lives.

        1. Thank you for the reply. I’ll take a look at the site however I tend to think that speaking about such things actually helps people to seek assistance. For example, if I fell off a ladder and had a bone sticking out of my arm, I wouldn’t hesitate to call for an ambulance. If I felt severely depressed I would hesitate – not wanting to “bother” them etc etc. I was born in the era when such things were hidden so I now tend to prefer seeing the reality and hope it brings about a better understanding of mental health and knowledge that so many others can and do feel the same.

          1. You can talk about these issues openly without mentioning the method of suicide. Reporting the method of suicide adds nothing to the conversation except promote sheer morbid curiosity.
            Mindframe encourages media to speak about these issues, but in a way that is respectful and isn’t likely to harm others through their reporting or further stigmatise the issues around mental illness.

  6. Any life lost to suicide is extremely sad and certainly for those left behind who wonder “what if I had….” This particularly life has gone way way too early. Please seek help if you have suicidal thoughts.

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