Jackson Odell’s Family Releases Statement on His Death

Jackson Odell’s family addressed his passing on Sunday in a statement posted to the late actor’s Twitter account.

“The Odell family has lost our beloved son and brother, Jackson Odell, on Friday,” the statement read. “He will always be a shining light and a brilliant, loving and talented soul. 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 so as well,” the statement continued. “We are now going to try to make sense of our immeasurable loss privately. We will not be making any more statements.”

Odell was found unresponsive in his home in the San Fernando Valley on Friday morning. A report by TMZ states that the 20-year-old was in a sober living home. Police said that there are “no signs of foul play” in his passing.

The young actor was best known for his role on The Goldbergs. He played Ari Caldwell, the popular older brother of Dana Caldwell. He appeared in a total of eight episodes from 2013 to 2015.

Before that, Odell had been acting for many years. His career began at the age of 12, when he broke into the business with an appearance on ABC’s Private Practice. He worked his way up to a role in the teen movie Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer, which aired on the Disney Channel.

Odell made his way through some of the biggest shows on TV in the last decade, with many one-off appearances and short-lived roles. He was featured in an episode of iCarly, an episode of Arrested Development and an episode of The Fosters. Odell was featured in two episodes of Modern Family, where he played a bully trying to humiliate Manny.

Odell was also a committed singer-songwriter. He had a growing following on YouTube, where he uploaded videos of himself singing covers and originals, typically with a guitar in hand. More recently, he was beginning to pick up work writing soundtrack songs for movies. This year, six of his songs were featured in the movie Forever My Girl, and another one will be used in the upcoming film Redemption.

Odell was mourned on social media, where fans have already had to cope with several untimely celebrity deaths this week.

On Tuesday, fashion designer Kate Spade was found dead in her New York City apartment after an apparent suicide, and on Friday, TV host Anthony Bourdain was found in a similar state in France. The string of tragedies have led to a broader discussion of mental health and suicide prevention in the media.