Actor Logan Williams who portrayed the younger version of Barry Allen in the popular American superhero television series “The Flash,” died from a fentanyl overdose, his mother said in an exclusive interview with the New York Post.
Williams suddenly died last month at the age of 16, his agent Michelle Gauvin announced in a statement on April 2, but at the time there wasn’t a cause of death given. Gauvin said his sudden death came as a “shock.”
Marlyse Williams, the mother of the Canadian-born actor recently opened up about her son’s death during an exclusive interview with the Post and said the preliminary toxicology results from his autopsy showed that Williams died from a fentanyl overdose.
“I did everything humanly possible—everything a mother could do,” she told the outlet. “I did everything but handcuff him to me to try to keep him safe.”
In the report, she said Williams had been fighting the addiction for three years. She added that her son’s death will not be in vain and she is going to step forward and share Williams’s story to bring awareness to people in a similar situation in a hope to bring an end to the opioid epidemic.
“His death is not going to be in vain,” she told the Post. “He’s going to help a lot of people down the road.”
Marlyse told British Colombia-based news outlet Tri-Cty News at the time that everyone in the family was “absolutely devastated” following Williams’s death. She told the outlet that due to the social distancing restrictions from the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus pandemic, the family had been unable to come together and grieve.
“I am not able to hug my parents who lost their only grandchild,” she told the outlet. “It’s hard.”
Grant Gustin, who starred alongside Williams in the CW series, posted a picture on Instagram of him together with Williams and actor Jessie L. Martin taken during the filming of a series pilot in 2014.
“Just hearing the devastating news that Logan Williams has passed away suddenly. This picture was early in the filming of The Flash pilot episode back in 2014. I was so impressed by not only Logan’s talent but his professionalism on set,” Gustin wrote.
“My thoughts and prayers will be with him and his family during what is I’m sure an unimaginably difficult time for them. Please keep Logan and his family in your thoughts and prayers during what has been a strange and trying time for us all. Sending love to everyone.”
Williams has won and been nominated for several acting awards, including multiple Joeys.
In 2015 he won the Joey Award “Best Actor in a TV Drama Recurring Role 8 – 12 Years” for his role as the younger Barry Allen in “The Flash” series.
In addition to “The Flash,” Williams also appeared in other television shows, including “When Calls the Heart” and “The Whispers.”
Erin Krakow, an actress, and co-star of Williams on “When Calls the Heart,” tweeted her condolences.
“Logan was a beautiful, warm, silly, and talented young man. He could always make us laugh,” Krakow wrote on Twitter, adding a picture from the young Williams. “He was just shy of 17 and had what I’m sure would have been a very bright future ahead of him.”
Williams is survived by his mother Marlyse, father, grandparents, aunts, and uncles.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
