You might not know the name Sawyer Sweeten, but if you watched TV’s most popular sitcom in the late 1990s and early 2000s, then you’ve seen his work.
Sweeten played Geoffrey Barone on all nine seasons of Everybody Loves Raymond.
Sadly, he died under tragic circumstances at a very young age.
Sweeten died via self-inflicted gunshot wound in 2015, just weeks shy of his twentieth birthday.
The cast of Raymond was quite literally family to the young star, as his real-life sister and identical twin brother portrayed his onscreen siblings.
On Monday, the show’s star and co-creator Ray Romano paid tribute to Sawyer during the cast’s highly anticipated 30th anniversary special.
“So Sawyer, of course, is no longer with us, and we miss him,” Romano told the audience.
He then turned his attention to the surviving Sweeten siblings and added, “And he, just like you are, was this bright energy.”
“We’re very passionate in our family about suicide prevention. It is the second leading cause of death between ages 18 to 25. But 90 percent of people who seek treatment are cured,” said Madilyn Sweeten, who played Ally Baronw.
“None of us really expected what happened. But I try to think about the good moments. And oftentimes, that’s here on the set,” Sullivan Sweeten added.
It’s not the first time that Sweeten’s onscreen and real-life families have paid tribute to the late star.
“I’m shocked and terribly saddened by the news about Sawyer,” Romano said, in a 2015 statement to People magazine.
“He was a wonderful and sweet kid to be around. Just a great energy whenever he was there. My heart breaks for him, his family and his friends during this very difficult time.” Sweeten’s onscreen mother, Patricia Heaton echoed.
“Sawyer was a funny and exceptionally bright young man. He is gone from us far too soon. The loss the Sweeten family is experiencing is unimaginable,” Sweeten’s onscreen mother, Patricia Heaton echoed.
“Tonight, hug your children a little tighter and please keep Sawyer and his family in your thoughts and prayers.”
“At this time I would like to encourage everyone to reach out to the ones you love,” Madylin Sweeten wrote on Facebook at the time. “Let them have no doubt of what they mean to you.”
Sweeten took his own life while traveling with his family in Texas. His reasons remain unclear.
Our thoughts go out to his loved ones as they continue to process this horrific tragedy.