Melissa Gilbert on Monday slammed Davey Chase’s “stage parents” following his tragic death.
Gilbert posted a touching tribute on Instagram, recalling Chase as “bubbly, kind and professional” when they worked together on an unaired TV pilot more than 20 years ago.
“But there was something else there. There was a need to push and perform for her parents,” Gilbert, 62, added.
The Little House on the Prairie alum said that while some former child actors like himself “grow up just fine” thanks to “really solid, smart parenting,” others’ lives fall apart because their parents “lost sight of what their true responsibilities were.”
“Today, I am truly heartbroken to read about the circumstances of Davey’s death,” Gilbert wrote. “While we certainly understand drug addiction disorders, the death of this sweet little girl is so much more than that.”
In a desperate plea, Ms Gilbert told parents to only allow their children to work in the entertainment industry if there is a “good reason”.
“To see if that’s what the child really wants,” she continued. “So that the child can have a rich life outside of the industry, full of friends, responsibilities, and ‘normal’ things.”
Gilbert’s post, which also included a photo of Chase, concluded with a message to stage parents: “Remember this sweet girl’s face and her story so that something like this never happens again.”
Chase died on June 16 at age 35 after being diagnosed with meningitis and multiple “serious” blood infections that led to sepsis, her boyfriend Roy Hernandez said.
Her cause of death was determined to be AIDS, with chronic polysubstance use (described as the use of multiple drugs over a short period of time) cited as a contributing factor.
Chase reportedly lived near Los Angeles’ infamous Skid Row before his death.
In the days leading up to her death, Hernandez launched a GoFundMe fundraiser to help the late actress “find solace and peace.”
At the time the campaign was launched, Chase was in “critical condition” and doctors had told Hernandez “he may not have much time left.”
Chase’s mother, Kathy Chase, was left stunned and “devastated” by her daughter’s tragic death.
“I was just running, screaming like a guttural scream,” she told the Daily Mail earlier this month. “And these strange sounds came out of me, like these, primitive sounds.”
Chase is best known for starring in the Disney film Lilo & Stitch and the horror film The Ring, for which he won an MTV Movie Award for Best Villain.
If you or a loved one is affected by any of the issues raised in this article, please call SAMHSA’s national helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
