Evan Ellingson, who was a child star on film and television, was found dead Sunday, Breitbart reported. No cause of death has been released for the 35-year-old, but officials claim there was no foul play involved.
Ellingson was best known for his recurring role on television's "CSI: Miami" and as Cameron Diaz's son in the film "My Sister's Keeper" in 2009. However, he hasn't been active since his television gig ended in 2010.
Michael, Ellingson's father, said his son passed away at a San Bernadino County sober living facility. He was on the upswing after struggling with addiction and was in recovery.
The actor began working at age 13 with roles in "General Hospital" and a television movie. He also appeared in shows like "Mad TV," "Titus," "Bones," and others.
Movie credits include "Time Changer," "The Bondage," and "Confession." His most notable role was alongside Diaz and fellow child actress Abigail Breslin, who played his sister in the 2009 drama film.
"Evan Ellingson was a kind, funny and extremely talented human being. He played my big brother in a film I did called My Sisters Keeper," Breslin posted to Instagram Monday.
"Evan was a genuinely thoughtful person who cared so much about turning in the best performance, which he accomplished. Some of his scenes in MSK still give me chills," she added.
"He was also silly, funny, a prankster, a lover of Red Bull (I hated the smell of Red Bull 😂) and he was energetic and the life of the party. I didn’t keep in touch a lot with him after the film, but he always stayed in my mind as a wonderful and sweet soul, one I am grateful to have crossed paths with," Breslin continued.
"My prayers and condolences are with his family at this difficult time," she concluded. The post included a photo of her with Ellington and their other co-star, Sofia Vassilieva.
This tragic death comes on the heels of the recent death of "Friends" actor Matthew Perry. Like Ellington, Perry, 54, had struggled with addiction for many years but was reportedly sober when he passed away suddenly on Oct. 28, the New York Post reported.
The woman he was last seen with, 25-year-old Athenna Crosby, confirmed that Perry had not relapsed before being found dead at his home. "I am so devastated from his death but felt it was in poor taste to talk about it publicly as the attention should not be on me but rather on him and his legacy and he was an extremely private person and I always respected that in our friendship," Crosby posted to social media.
She insisted the two were not romantically linked but had been close with him during his final days. "In the interaction that I had with him, he was extremely positive, sober, acting normal, spoke very well, did not give me any impression that he was under [the influence of] drugs or alcohol of any kind," she told the media.
"So, I think people are speculating that this was a relapse situation. I just want to defend him and say that it was not," Crosby said.
Unfortunately, both actors struggled with addictions and ended up dying suddenly. It's always tragic, but especially at a time when sobriety was finally just in reach.
