Cameron Boyce and Karan Brar, both 20, played on-screen brothers on the Disney show Jessie between 2011 and 2015, but off-screen, they were practically brothers as well. So when Cameron sadly and unexpectedly passed away from a seizure in his sleep on July 6, Karan grieved over his best friend and roommate in an Instagram post three days later. “You were the greatest thing to have ever happened to me. i love you so much cam. wish i had more to say right now but i don’t think words will come for a while,” Karan wrote, adding, “thank you to everyone who sent such kind words my way. know i haven’t been responding but it truly means a lot.”
It appears that Cameron and Karan recently became roommates, along with fellow best friend and actress Sophie Reynolds, 20. On May 14 — just about two months before Cameron passed away — Karan posted a photo of the trio and wrote, “oh and btw we’re roommates now.” Cameron often made cameos on Karan’s Instagram page, and the actor even gave a sweet birthday shout-out to Cameron on May 28: “I love you. You’re the greatest brother I could’ve ever asked for, and I will forever feel lucky to have you in my life. Happy birthday. That’s all. (Think you can tell Cam’s better at sappy posts than I am).”
Cameron and Karan’s Jessie family has also mourned online in the wake of this tragic news. Debby Ryan, 26, honored Cameron’s philanthropic legacy with a video of his speech at the Thirst Gala, where the rising star was honored with The Pioneering Spirit Award for raising more than $30,000 for the construction of two wells in Swaziland. Cameron’s on-screen sisters, Peyton List, 21, and Skai Jackson, 17, both revealed how this loss has devastated them — Peyton wrote there is a “hole in my heart,” while Skai sadly posted that her heart will “be forever broken.”
Cameron’s seizure “was a result of an ongoing medical condition for which he was being treated,” a spokesperson from the Boyce family wrote in a statement, obtained by HollywoodLife. He “was pronounced dead at the scene at 2:35 p.m.” on July 6, and after an autopsy was performed, the “cause of death was deferred pending further investigation,” the The Los Angeles County Coroner announced in a statement.