Sawyer Sweeten, who played Geoffrey Barone, one of the twin sons on “Everybody Loves Raymond,” is dead after committing suicide, his family confirmed to TheWrap. He was 19.
Sweeten was visiting relatives in Texas when he shot himself in the head on Thursday.
Sweeten (pictured above left with his siblings) starred on the CBS series with his brother, Sullivan, who played Michael Barone, and sister, Madylin Sweeten, who played older sister Ally.
In a statement, Madylin said the family is devastated. “This morning a terrible family tragedy has occurred. We are devastated to report that our beloved brother, son, and friend, Sawyer Sweeten, took his own life. He was weeks away from his 20th birthday. At this sensitive time, our family requests privacy and we beg of you to reach out to the ones you love.”
“Everybody Loves Raymond,” starred Ray Romano, Patricia Heaton, Brad Garrett, Doris Roberts and Peter Boyle, and ran on CBS from 1996 to 2005.
Sweeten’s acting credits outside of “Raymond” were scant, but included appearances in “Frank McKlusky, C.I.” and an episode of the series “Even Stevens.”
Sweeten was born in Brownwood, Texas, on May 12, 1995.
“Everybody Loves Raymond” centered around sportswriter Ray Barone (Romano) and his wife Debra (Heaton), who live in Long Island next door to Barone’s parents, meddling mother Marie (Roberts) and crass, cantankerous family patriarch Frank (Boyle). The series often revolved around the tensions between Debra’s efforts to put distance between her family and the overbearing, manipulative Marie.
The series, still popular in syndication, received a total of 69 Emmy nominations and 15 wins.