Austin Majors, a former child actor best known for his role in “NYPD Blue,” died Saturday in Los Angeles. Major’s death was confirmed by LA country Medical Examiner-Coroner. He was 27.
He had been living at a downtown Los Angeles facility for homeless individuals, and appeared in the Los Angeles Daily News last week when L.A. mayor Karen Bass toured the facility.
His sister Kali remembered him, writing on Facebook, “My big brother, Austin, is gone. He died last night. It’s so surreal to me still. He was only 27 with so much life left to live.”
Major’s family also issued a statement to TMZ, saying “[Austin] was a loving, artistic, brilliant, and kind human being. Austin took great joy and pride in his acting career. He was an active Eagle Scout and graduated Salutatorian in High School. He went on to graduate from USC’s School of Cinematic Arts with a passion of directing and music producing.”
“Austin’s younger sister, Kali, says her fondest memories with Austin were growing up on set with him, volunteering at events with ‘Kids With a Cause,’ and backpacking together. Austin was the kind of son, brother, grandson, and nephew that made us proud and we will miss him deeply forever,” the family concluded.
Born in 1995, Major’s first big screen credit came in 1999, when the toddler starred on “NYPD Blue,” as Theo Sipowicz, the son of Detective Andy Sipowicz (Dennis Franz). Following his role on “NYPD Blue” Majors would appear in several television series — including “How I Met Your Mother,” “Desperate Housewives,” “American Dad!,” “Threshold,” “NCIS” and “According to Jim.”
Dennis Franz, left, and Austin Majors, in “NYPD Blue.”
©20thCentFox/Courtesy Everett Collection
In addition to starring on TV, the actor worked in film, starring “An Accidental Christmas,” “Christmas in Tinseltown,” “Treasure Planet,” “The Price of Air” and “The Legend of John Henry.”
Following his childhood acting days, Majors, who also went by Austin Majors-Setmajer, would go on to study at University of Southern California, with a major in film and television production and a minor in music industry. He created music under the name “Pope” and aspired to work as a director or cinematographer in film production, according to his LinkedIn.