Former Child Actor Phil McKeon Dies at 55

He played Tommy on Alice
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Dec 11, 2019 2:33 AM CST
Former Child Actor Phil McKeon Dies at 55
Phil McKeon is seen in a scene from Season 3 of Alice.   (YouTube)

Philip McKeon, who as a child actor was featured as the son of Linda Lavin's Alice Hyatt in the 1980s CBS sitcom Alice, has died in Texas at age 55, a family spokesman said. Spokesman Jeff Ballard said McKeon died Tuesday after a long illness. He said further details on where and how McKeon died were being withheld at his family's request. McKeon acted in the role of Tommy Hyatt in Alice from 1976 to 1985. His most recent acting role was in the video Ghoulies IV, which was released in 1994. "We are all beyond heartbroken and devastated over Phil’s passing," Ballard tells People. "His wonderful sense of humor, kindness, and loyalty will be remembered by all who crossed his path in life."

Ballard says McKeon had worked for 10 years in the news department of a Los Angeles radio station before moving to Texas about five years ago to be better able to care for his family, the AP reports. He settled in the Central Texas Hill Country town of Wimberley, about 30 miles southwest of Austin, where he hosted a local radio show. Survivors include his mother and Nancy McKeon, his sister best known for playing Jo Polniaczek in the 1980s NBC sitcom The Facts of Life. "Over the past few decades, he was always a perfect gentleman and an ebullient spirit," tweeted Charlie Sheen. "r .i.p. young man. much much too soon, you cut out."

(More obituary stories.)

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