Actor Evan Ellingson, 35, famous for his role on CSI: Miami, has died. The report that he had been found dead in his home was confirmed by his father, Michael Ellingson.
After years of struggling with drug abuse, Ellingson appeared to be making progress. On Sunday, November 5th, Ellingson was found dead in a bedroom at a property in Fontana, California, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department’s coroners division. An autopsy has been planned for Monday to determine the cause of death.
For 18 episodes, Ellingson played Kyle Harmon, the son of David Caruso’s Detective Horatio Caine. His last episode was in 2010. During his time as a child actor, he participated in a number of other notable productions. He appeared in Letters from Iwo Jima (2009), directed by Clint Eastwood.
He began acting as a child in the early 2000s and first came to prominence for his role as Jesse Fitzgerald in the 2009 film adaptation of the Jodi Picoult novel My Sister’s Keeper, co-starring actors Cameron Diaz and Alec Baldwin.
Although Ellingson had a history of drug problems, he had been doing well as of late. The family was taken aback by his sudden passing.
On 24’s sixth season, he played Jack Bauer’s nephew alongside Kiefer Sutherland.
Born in L.A., Ellingson spent his childhood in La Verne with his three brothers. He was discovered in a skate park thanks to his passion for sports. He was asked to be in a commercial for Vans and join their PeeWee team. After making his acting debut in the TV movie Living in Fear, he went on to appear in Titus, Mad TV, and the Mel Gibson and Keith Carradine–starring series Complete Savages.
Ellingson appeared in 18 episodes over the course of three years as Kyle Harmon on CSI: Miami. In 2009, the year before he retired from acting, Ellingson reminisced on his youth spent in front of the camera. He claimed he never shared a common youth with his peers, but that this was okay because he found his calling in acting at a young age.
