Lee Thompson Young, a 29-year-old former Disney star and an actor on “Rizzoli & Isles,” is dead from an apparent
self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to TMZ.
Young, who played detective Barry Frost on the hit TV show, didn’t show up for work this morning and police officers found him at his home, TMZ said. His death was confirmed by his manager, Jonathan Baruch.
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“Lee was more than just a brilliant young actor, he was a wonderful and gentle soul who will be truly missed,”
Baruch said, according to the Chicago Tribune.
The Tribune reported that Young began acting at age 10 and starred in “The Famous Jett Jackson” Disney show for three years. After college, he played various roles, including that of Frost on the popular TNT drama and also on “Friday Night Lights.”
The executive producer on “Rizzoli & Isles,” Janet Tamaro, said the cast and crew were “heartbroken” at the news.
“Lee will be cherished and remembered by all who knew and loved him, both on- and off-screen, for his
positive energy, infectious smile and soulful grace,” she told CNN.
Twitter immediately lit up with fans grieving the young star’s death.
Many of the posts wondered at what was going on in Young’s life to cause him to choose suicide, while comments on some of the news articles pointed out that it seemed as if there had been numerous suicides lately:
"Storage Wars" star Mark Balelo died of carbon monoxide poisoning earlier this year, while and
Gia Allemand, who appeared on "The Bachelor" and "Bachelor Pad" hanged herself last week.
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