Lee Thompson Young’s memorial service will be held at Paramount Pictures Friday afternoon.
Young was found dead from an apparent suicide in his Los Angeles apartment Monday after he failed to show up on the set of Rizzoli & Isles , which films on the Paramount lot. The 29-year-old played homicide detective Barry Frost. The series dedicated its Tuesday episode to Young’s memory.
Production on Rizzoli & Isles was halted in the wake of Young’s death, but it is unclear how long the hiatus will last.
“Everyone at Rizzoli & Isles is devastated by the news of the passing of Lee Thompson Young. We are beyond heartbroken at the loss of this sweet, gentle, good-hearted, intelligent man. He was truly a member of our family,” executive producer Janet Tamaro said in a statement.
“Lee will be cherished and remembered by all who knew and loved him, both on and offscreen, for his positive energy, infectious smile and soulful grace. We send our deepest condolences and thoughts to his family, to his friends and, most especially, to his beloved mother.”
Lee Thompson Young was best known for his role as Jett Jackson in the Disney Channel series The Famous Jett Jackson . Young’s character played a secret agent on the fictional show-within-a-show, Silverstone .
Ryan Sommers Baum, who played Jett’s best friend J.B. Halliburton, said he was “shocked and heartbroken” to hear about Young’s death . The two kept in touch after the show wrapped in 2001.
“Lee Thompson Young was, as many have already noted, loved and respected by all who knew and worked with him, a wise, gentle, thoughtful, tremendously funny and fun-loving young man, and a good and constant friend to me during some very formative years in my life,” Baum said.
“My deepest sympathies go out to all his family and friends, especially his amazing mom, a radiant and deeply spiritual soul,” he added.
In lieu of flowers, Lee Thompson Young’s family is asking that donations be made to the Young Storytellers Foundation , an organization that exposes underprivileged children to the arts.
[Photo credit: Featureflash / Shutterstock.com ]
