Jackson Odell’s family is mourning the loss of its “beloved son and brother” after the young actor was confirmed dead over the weekend.
“He will always be a shining light and a brilliant, loving and talented soul,” the Goldbergs actor’s family said on Sunday in a statement posted on the actor’s website.
“He had so much more to share. Our family will always carry that truth forward. Our wish is that the rest of the world who knew and loved him does as well,” the statement continued.
The family said that it will now “try to make sense of our immeasurable loss privately” and would not make any further statements.
The 20-year-old was found unresponsive at a sober-living facility in Tarzana on Friday, said Ed Winter, assistant chief of investigations for the Los Angeles County coroner’s Office, on Monday.
An autopsy is pending and results would likely be deferred because additional tests such as toxicology have been ordered, Winter said. Results can take up to six weeks.
“We have to check to see” what was in his system, Winter said, noting Odell had a history with heroin.
Odell played Ari Caldwall on the ABC sitcom The Goldbergs from 2013 to 2015. He also appeared in the 2011 film Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer and in episodes of Modern Family and Arrested Development.
As a singer-songwriter, his credits include songs for the soundtrack of the film Forever My Girl, released earlier this year. Odell wrote five songs, which can be heard on his website.
“I’m so happy that I got to know you,” tweeted The Goldbergs actor Charlie DePew. “You were a true talent and an even truer person.”
Modern Family star Ariel Winter, who knew Odell since they were 12, tweeted that she was “devastated” to hear about his death.
“We didn’t talk much as we entered into our high school years, but I’m glad I got to spend time with him before his end,” she wrote. “Very hard for me to hear about anyone passing away, but someone so young really saddens me.”
