Sawyer Storm Sweeten (May 12, 1995 – April 23, 2015) was an American

child actor The term child actor or child actress is generally applied to a child acting on stage, television, or in film, movies. An adult who began their acting career as a child may also be called a child actor, or a "former child actor". Closely associa ...

. He is known for having played Geoffrey Barone on the sitcom ''

Everybody Loves Raymond ''Everybody Loves Raymond'' is an American television sitcom created by Philip Rosenthal that aired on CBS from September 13, 1996, to May 16, 2005, with a total of 210 episodes spanning nine seasons. It was produced by Where's Lunch and Wor ...

''.

Early life

Sweeten was born in Brownwood, Texas, to parents Timothy Sweeten and Elizabeth Millsap. He had two sisters Madylin, Maysa, and an identical twin brother, Sullivan. Madylin, Sawyer and Sullivan starred on the CBS sitcom ''

'' for nine seasons. The Sweeten family moved to California when the twins were six months old; the siblings were cast less than a year later. Later, Sawyer and Sullivan owned a house together in

Riverside, California Riverside is a city in and the county seat of Riverside County, California, United States. It is named for its location beside the Santa Ana River. As of the 2020 census, the city has a population of 314,998. It is the most populous city in th ...

Death

On April 23, 2015, Sweeten died due to a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, 19 days before his 20th birthday, and making his twin brother Sullivan a

twinless twin A twinless twin, or lone twin, is a person whose twin has died. Twinless twins around the world unite through organizations and online groups to share support and the status as a twinless twin. Triplets, quadruplets and higher order multiples ca ...

. His death prompted public tributes by his ''Everybody Loves Raymond'' co-stars. His on-screen father Ray Romano was shocked by the news and said he was a "wonderful and sweet kid to be around." Sweeten's on-screen mother Patricia Heaton said that he was "a funny and exceptionally bright young man. He is gone from us far too soon."

Brad Garrett Brad H. Gerstenfeld (born April 14, 1960), known professionally as Brad Garrett, is an American actor and stand-up comedian. Garrett was initially successful as a stand-up comedian in the early 1980s. Taking advantage of that success in the la ...

, who portrayed Sweeten's on-screen Uncle Robert, released a statement: "The Sweeten family was our family for those nine years on Raymond. My deepest condolences and love go out to them during this unimaginable time." Sweeten's on-screen grandmother

Doris Roberts Doris May Roberts ( Green; November 4, 1925 – April 17, 2016) was an American actress whose career spanned seven decades of television and film. She received five Emmy Awards and a Screen Actors Guild award during her acting career, which bega ...

remembered Sawyer as "a very sweet young man" and reminded fans to "make sure your loved ones know how much you care about them. It's very important to keep in touch."

Phil Rosenthal Philip Rosenthal (born January 27, 1960) is an American television writer and producer who is the creator, writer, and executive producer of the CBS sitcom ''Everybody Loves Raymond'' (1996–2005). In recent years, he has presented food and t ...

, creator of ''Everybody Loves Raymond'' and husband of co-star Monica Horan, remembered Sawyer, his twin brother Sullivan, and their older sister Madylin as "children that never failed to make us laugh, or remind us of how we feel about our own children." His on-screen/real-life sister Madylin released a statement regarding her brother's death and pleaded for everyone "to reach out to the ones you love."

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sweeten, Sawyer 1995 births 2015 deaths 2015 suicides 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors American identical twin child actors American male child actors American male film actors American male television actors Male actors from Texas People from Brownwood, Texas Suicides by firearm in Texas Youth suicides