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Melissa Gilbert called out careless parents of child stars in an emotional tribute post to Daveigh Chase, the “Lilo & Stitch” and “The Ring” actor who died of AIDS on June 16 at 35 years old.
In an Instagram post, Gilbert
revealed that she and Chase starred in a pilot together more than 20 years ago, and she could see a concerning parenting dynamic.
“I only worked with Daveigh a couple of days, but I could see she was bright both in countenance and in mind. She was bubbly, sweet and professional. But there was something else there, a push or need to perform…for her parents,” Gilbert wrote in her caption, which was accompanied by a picture of a young Chase smiling.
Gilbert was also a child actor, having famously starred in “Little House on the Prairie,” which she wrote led to her being frequently exposed to stage parents.
“Child stardom, in itself, is not a guarantee of dysfunction. However, when a parent or parents lose sight of who THEY are, of what their true responsibility is, and their lives revolve solely around their little star child, well, that’s where the trouble begins,” Gilbert continued. “It takes strong parenting to handle all that comes with it. The terrible part is that so few child actors continue on to have careers as actors. For most, it goes away, and when that happens it not only devastates the child, but it turns the whole family upside down.”
She adds, “Today, reading the circumstances of Daveigh’s death, I’m truly heartbroken. I certainly understand substance addiction disorder, but this sweet girl’s death is so much more. If I had the chance to speak to any parents who were thinking about getting their children in the industry, I would tell them to please, please make sure that they are doing it for the right reasons. That they will take the child to an accountant regularly so that he or she knows exactly what he or she is making, and where it is going. To be sure it’s something the child really wants. To be sure that that child has a life outside of the industry that is thriving and full of friends and responsibilities and ‘normal’ things. I would also ask that these parents memorize this sweet girl’s face and her story so that it never happens again.”
The Los Angeles Coroner’s Office revealed Chase died of AIDS, with “chronic polysubstance use” as a secondary cause.
Chase’s boyfriend Roy Hernandez initially told TMZ she had contract meningitis and sepsis. The former actress also had a long struggle with homelessness and substance abuse.
Chase had her breakthrough as the voice of Lilo in “Lilo & Stitch,” which she went on to voice in “Stitch! The Movie,” “Leroy & Stitch” and “Lilo & Stitch: The Series.” She also starred as Samara Morgan in the horror film “The Ring” and as Samantha Darko, the younger sister of Jake Gyllenhaal’s character in both “Donnie Darko” and “S. Darko.”
