Former Child Actor Austin Majors Dies In LA Shelter At 27: Report

LOS ANGELES, CA — Austin Majors, an actor with roles in hit shows such as "NYPD Blue" and "Desperate Housewives," died over the weekend in a Los Angeles temporary housing facility in what is being investigated as a possible drug overdose, TMZ reported.

An investigation into Majors' death is ongoing, the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office confirmed. Majors, whose real name was Austin Setmajer, died Saturday at 27 years old. The coroner's office listed his cause of death as "pending additional investigation."

The actor's family issued a statement to NBC commemorating his life.

“Austin Majors (Setmajer-Raglin) was an artistic, brilliant, and kind human being,” the statement said. “Austin took great joy and pride in his acting career.

“From the time he was little, he never knew a stranger and his goal in life was to make people happy.”

According to his family, Majors' life was full of promise. He had been an active Eagle Scout and graduated Salutatorian in high school before earning a degree from USC's School of Cinematic Arts.

In addition to his seven seasons on "NYPD Blue" as the son of Dennis Franz's character, Majors appeared in episodes of shows including "NCIS," "Desperate Housewives," "ER," “American Dad!" and "How I Met Your Mother."

During his career, he won the Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a Television Series for "NYPD Blue" and was nominated for Best Performance in a Voice Over Role for his work on "Treasure Planet," TMZ reported.

"Austin's younger sister, Kali, says her fondest memories with Austin were growing up on set with him, volunteering at events with `Kids With a Cause,' and backpacking together," the family wrote in a statement to TMZ. "Austin was the kind of son, brother, grandson, and nephew that made us proud and we will miss him deeply forever."