Daveigh Chase co-star drags ‘stage parents’ after AIDS-related cause of death is revealed

Actress Melissa Gilbert has spoken out about the issue of “stage parents” after the tragic news of Daveigh Chase’s death.

Daveigh, best known for voicing Lilo in Lilo & Stitch and playing Samara in The Ring, died on June 16th aged 35 after being rushed to hospital. 

Reports emerged that the star had been living homeless on LA’s Skid Row, having struggled with addiction after being prescribed oxycodone for a motorcycle accident in 2016, according to her mum Cathy Chase. 

This week, the LA County Medical Examiner confirmed the cause of death was AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome), the most advanced and final stage of an HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) infection.

“Chronic polysubstance use” – the use of multiple drugs – was also listed under “other significant conditions” that contributed to her death, which the medical examiner ruled as “natural”. 

Daveigh’s estranged father, John Schwallier, spoke out following the news, saying he was “not surprised” and claiming he had been trying to find his daughter for years. 

Now, Little House on the Prairie actress Melissa Gilbert – a former child star who worked with Daveigh 20 years ago – has spoken out.

Melissa Gilbert reveals call to action after Daveigh Chase death

Taking to Instagram, Melissa spoke about the issue of stage parents from the context of her own experience, having first been cast as Little House on the Prairie’s Laura Ingalls Wilder when she was just nine years old. 

She explained that she shot a pilot for a series with Daveigh over 20 years ago. “I only worked with Daveigh a couple of days but I could see she was bright both in countenance and in mind,” Melissa wrote. 

 

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A post shared by Melissa E. Gilbert (@melissagilbertofficial) 

“She was bubbly, sweet and professional. But there was something else there, a push or need to perform… for her parents.

“I have been around a lot of child actors, myself included, which makes us all a part of a big multigenerational tribe. As a consequence, I’ve also been around a lot of stage parents.”

The star said that whether they stay in the business or not, many child actors grow up just fine when they have “really solid, wise parenting.”

“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,” she 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.”

Melissa feels “heartbroken” after reading the circumstances of Daveigh’s death. “I certainly understand substance addiction disorder but this sweet girl’s death is so much more,” she added.  

Her post includes a call to action to any parents who are thinking about getting their children into the industry: Make sure it’s for the right reasons, take the child to an accountant regularly, ensure they really want it, and establish a life for them outside of acting. 

She finished by writing, “I would also ask that these parents memorise this sweet girl’s face and her story so that it never happens again.”

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