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Last Saturday, Disney star Cameron Boyce passed away in his sleep at the age of 20 after experiencing an epileptic seizure. Cameron was known for his role as Carlos, Cruella De Vil’s son, on Descendants, a show about the children of some of the Disney villains. Cameron had also started on the show Jessie, and was one of Adam Sander’s children in the Grown Ups franchise.
Cameron’s parents exclusively spoke to People about Cameron’s sudden passing and about his legacy:
Cameron Boyce‘s parents are remembering the life and legacy of their son after his sudden and tragic death.
In an exclusive statement to PEOPLE, Libby and Victor Boyce express their appreciation for the “outpouring of love” they’ve received from their son’s fans.
“There are no words to describe how moved we are by the tremendous outpouring of love and support from our family, friends, and the world. Thank you, everyone, for encircling us with your love and respect of Cameron and concern for our family,” they said. “He was the very definition of human kindness, and a light that will forever shine as his spirit lives on in all who knew and loved him. He was the rock of our family and he always had a positive, heartwarming, insightful and caring outlook on everything and everyone.”
While Libby and Victor call the pain of losing their son “indescribable,” they vow to continue his legacy.
“The pain we have endured and are continuing to endure is indescribable, but we are making every effort to move forward and ensure that Cameron’s legacy and all that he stood for is honored,” they continued. “He was and is, so cherished and we will hold him in our hearts forever. He is our shooting star.”
The article notes that the family has requested privacy as they mourn and make funeral preparations. My heart fell into my feet on Saturday when a friend shared a story about Cameron’s passing. I know several people who have lost children and know that their grief is a kind that people who haven’t experienced that particular type of loss can’t fully comprehend. If anyone reading this has had that experience, I’m sending you peaceful thoughts and a big virtual hug.
I thought I had read something about work that Cameron was doing outside of his TV/movie roles, and found another People article with more information; he had been planning a social media campaign, “Wielding Peace,” according to his rep, Kasey Kitchen. His loved ones are going to go ahead with it in his honor:
In Cameron’s own words, the campaign would help fight against gun violence by showing celebrities and survivors “wielding” a new kind of weapon — one of unity.
“I’ve named the concept Wielding Peace. It will be a collection of images that feature people from all walks of life (celebrities, victims of gun violence, common supporters) wielding ‘guns.’ The catch is, the ‘guns’ that we’re using as props will be items that signify unity and peace,” Cameron wrote in a letter to those he asked to be involved, according to his rep. “Household items such as musical instruments, cameras, food, sporting equipment, beauty products, articles of clothing… anything that might inspire someone creatively as well as make a strong statement with the sentiment that we need to choose a different weapon.”
I’m glad that Cameron’s campaign will go ahead; I’m getting despondent about the lack of action on gun control at the federal level (though I’m glad that NRATV is no more). I hope that the campaign and any other work done to celebrate Cameron’s legacy bring his parents, sister, and loved ones peace and comfort.
This is so, so sad.
I keep seeing the pic of him with his dad. They both look so happy and vibrant and have matching, amazing, toothy smiles. I know his parents must be devastated.
My son is also biracial, so he loved Cameron and how proud he was of his heritage and all the wonderful causes he was involved in. I have literally been having quasi panic attacks since I heard of his death, as I think of my son (who is 15) and how something like this would be devastating. I give his parents all the props for continuing his work. So very sad.
He seemed like the kind of guy who really could light up a room. This is so sad.
My children have watched a fair amount of Disney shows in which he starred or co-starred, and he truly did stand out. Particularly in Descendants, I remember watching a huge dance number and noticing that he was so joyful. Now he’s the only one I watch in the dance numbers. My heart goes out to the cast of the third Descendants installment which is scheduled to premiere in a few weeks. Promotion will be tough.
My kids also come from a mixed ethnic background and love Disney and he was universally loved in my house. My oldest 2 found out first and my daughter was in tears. Just the thought of something happening to mine is paralyzing so I can’t even imagine what his parents are going through but my husband and I have been sending all of our love, condolences and prayers to this young man’s family
You are right. It is impossible to comprehend the loss of a child. It’s beyond horrible. I hope they, as well as anyone living with that immense pain, eventually find strength to live with that burden.
Friends lost their 22 year old son similarly earlier this year. Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy or SUDEP strikes most often between the ages of 16-25. In the US, research and awareness of SUDEP lags behind all other neurological disorders. Europe has better awareness of it but even still there is little known about the causes of SUDEP. It is tragic that Cameron was taken this way but hopefully, from this sadness, more awareness, research, and help will come.
We lost our beloved grandson to Sudden Unexpected Death in Childhood, or SUDC several years ago. Research is being done at NYU of the possible connection between SUDC and SUDEP. SUDC strikes when a child is too old for it to be considered Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. The death of our grandson brought a pain unlike any other. Our grief at his loss was magnified by seeing the grief of our son and daughter-in-law. Our grandson was a delightful child and the first grandchild in both families. My advice to anyone experiencing a death is to attend a grief support group. My advice to anyone wanting to help a friend is to take your cues from them. We sat and talked and cried with our son and daughter-in-law endless times. We also left them alone when they wanted it. The other grandmother and I kept their refrigerator stocked and we both cooked and baked comfort foods for them for over a year. Trying to comfort them comforted us. For anyone going through the loss of a child, I know it seems unbearable, but the grace of healing does finally come.
Sending good thought your way. Hoping your family heals. sounds like you are a gift to your son and his wife, serving as their guardian now.
Yes more research on SUDEP and epileptic in general. So much of it is still such a mystery. My oldest daughter who is seven has epilepsy, she had her first seizure at five weeks old. She has them daily now and the fear of SUDEP is always there.
Sudden death due to epilepsy happens all too frequently.
We almost lost both of our sons when they were little to seizures in their sleep. One, I resuscitated; the other we found him before he stopped breathing completely, and he ended up in a coma and on life support. One grew out of having seizures, the other still has them and lives at home with us. We check on him often while he is asleep, but have still missed him having tonic clonic (grand mal) seizures, which we discover when he wakes up and has trouble walking or other coordination issues.
While there are epilepsy monitors on the market, it’s only recently that they’ve been found to be more accurate in catching a seizure when it’s happening.
And I thought my life is difficult. Dear God, I hope both your children live long, happy lives and you have some piece and rest at nighs
Thank you.
Our oldest “J” (the one I had to resuscitate) grew out of having the seizures and is fine. He had seizures from age 2 -12.
Our youngest “Z” has a genetic syndrome (I’ve written about that before, I think) and he had only had petit mal absence seizures up until that fateful night of his first grand mal.
Z was 7 at the time. My husband just happened to wake up and walked past his room and found our little boy half off his bed, having a grand mal seizure.
At the hospital, we learned that Z had been seizing for over 2 hours, and was minutes from death (he was only breathing 5 breaths per minute.) After a week in a coma and on life support, Z came to consciousness with temporary paralysis and a large memory loss.
Z is now 26 and lives a different, but still wonderful life. He takes very strong seizure medicine and we also keep emergency meds on hand that we can administer to help end a grand mal seizure before an ambulance arrives.
His absence seizures have mostly gone away as he has gotten older, and his memory has gotten much better. Z still has the occasional grand mal in his sleep that we miss, and that haunts me because I know that he could die from it.
When I kiss Z good night, I always pray that he will be alive in the morning.
I know this is TMI, but I think it’s important to share with people how the sudden death in Epilepsy can happen.
This story is so heartbreaking to me. I will admit, I have some survivor’s guilt when I hear about someone so young passing from epilepsy/seizures. I had a grand mal seizure in my late 20s and narrowly survived. It makes me feel like I have to bring extra light into this world when I see someone so young and so lovely being taken so early.
His family, and every family that has suffered a loss like this, have been in my heart so much this week. If you’ve ever been through a neurological trauma or lost someone to one, my heart goes out to you.
He sounded like a remarkable young man, what a tragedy. My heart goes out to his loved ones. Both my sons have medical conditions where complications can be fatal…all I can do is hope they stay healthy and that their pre-existing conditions are covered when they’re on their own. I cannot imagine those who die needlessly because they can’t afford their lifesaving meds.
I also love the Wielding Peace campaign. Such great visual impact….I’d gravitate to a trumpet wielding person over a gun wielding one every. single. time. To those people who argue shooting is their hobby, I say find another one, ffs.
Such a sad death. May he RIP!
My daughter loved Descendants and he was her favorite. She was hit hard by his death. This is so sad. I feel so terrible for his family.
He was roommates with a Jessie costar, and I think one report I read said he was discovered dead by his roommate? That just compounds the awful.
He really was a shooting star. I’m not very familiar with his work, but I know he was on a rise. His parents will mourn him forever, as should the rest of us, because it’s clear that he was a person of genuine goodness and goodwill and he was just on the cusp of using his popularity for good. Its an awful thought knowing what he could have been :_( Rest in peace young man and PPT to your family and fans.
My daughter went out jogging one morning and I just happened to drive her route just to way by to her on my way to work and I found her on the side of the road with two ladies around her. I thought she had been hit by a car but it was a seizure. Scariest day of my life. It was not a grand mal and she has not had one like that since but she was having small seizures in her sleep so now she is on medication for it. It’s really scary.
And on losing a child, our 21 year old niece was hit by someone driving under the influence of drugs. She had broken limbs, a major skull fracture, she lost an eye and brain matter. She was placed on life support until it was determined that nothing could be done. Her parents along with all of us are still in such a state of shock and disbelief. Life is so precious and hers was taken away entirely too soon. #LiveLikeLondon
That’s awful Michelle! What an amazing young women. PPT to you and yours. #LiveLikeLondon
This hit me hard. My youngest is 11 and my oldest is 16 so I basically watched Cameron grow up, and my youngest is a HUGE fan of the Descendants movies. He was so upset when I told him the news, it broke my heart.
..and I’m just so heartbroken for his parents and what they are going through I just couldn’t imagine.. My youngest has several anaphylactic allergies and we’ve been so lucky I’m terrified of the idea that one day someone is going to F-up and he be exposed to one of his allergens and we will lose him. I will be devastated he’s my everything. I’m so emotional right now and my heart just breaks for his loved ones.