14 DAY TRIAL // Sawyer Sweeten, who played Geoffrey Barone on the hit sitcom “Everybody Loves Raymond” with Ray Romano, has died in apparent suicide. He was 19 years old, just weeks shy of his 20th birthday.
The family confirms Sawyer’s passing in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter through manager Dino May. “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,” the statement says.
Madylin Sweeten, who played Geoffrey’s sister Ally on the show, has updated her Facebook page with a heartbreaking message to the fans: reach out today to those you love and let them know how much they mean to you.
Responses to this post, from the fans, show that, while the Sweetens may have retired from the spotlight, they were still very much in the fans’ thoughts and hearts.
Further details on the tragedy are not available at this time. Sawyer didn’t do much work in showbiz after “Everybody Loves Raymond,” which managed to stay on the air between September 1996 and May 2005.
Sullivan Sweeten, Sawyer’s real life twin, starred opposite him on the show, as Michael.