television

‘NYPD Blue' Child Star Austin Majors Dead at 27

Born Austin Setmajer, the actor played Theo Sipowicz on 48 episodes of "NYPD Blue"

Actor Austin Majors arrives at the 30th Annual Young Artist Awards at the Globe Theatre on March 29, 2009 in Los Angeles, California.
Angela Weiss/WireImage

Hollywood has lost a young talent.

Austin Majors, who played the son of Dennis Franz's Andy Sipowicz character on "NYPD Blue," died on Feb. 11 at the age of 27, according to records from the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner.

In a statement to TMZ, his family described the former child star as a "loving, artistic, brilliant, and kind human being."

"Austin took great joy and pride in his acting career," they continued. "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."

His family added, "Austin was the kind of son, brother, grandson, and nephew that made us proud and we will miss him deeply forever."

A cause of death has not been revealed. Coroner records show that his case has been deferred pending additional investigation.

Born Austin Setmajer, the actor played Theo Sipowicz on 48 episodes of NYPD Blue, a role that earned him a Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a Drama Series, according to his official website. In addition, he made appearances on shows such as "How I Met Your Mother," "Desperate Housewives," "NCIS" and "According to Jim."

Majors also lent his voice to the 2002 Disney flick "Treasure Planet," playing a young version of Joseph Gordon-Levitt's Jim Hawkins.

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Shortly before his death, Majors was identified as a resident of a temporary housing community in a Los Angeles Daily News article. As seen in a photo published by the outlet on Feb. 7, Majors met with Jeff Olivet, the executive director of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness, during L.A. Mayor Karen Bass' visit to the facility.

Per Majors' website, he was also an accomplished equestrian with a passion for riding motorcycles, camping and hiking.

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