Philip McKeon, former child actor from '70s US comedy sitcom Alice, dies at 55 after long illness

Philip McKeon, who as a child actor was featured as the son of Linda Lavin's Alice Hyatt in the 1980s CBS situation comedy 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.

Philip McKeon. Image from Twitter

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.

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. He settled in the Central Texas Hill Country town of Wimberley, about 30 miles (48.28 kilometers) southwest of Austin, where he hosted a local radio show.

Actor Charlie Sheen mourned McKeon's passing. He shared a black-and-white photograph of the two from the show Amazing Stories and wrote, "Over the past few decades, he was always a perfect gentleman and an ebullient spirit."

Here is Sheen's post

Survivors include his mother and Nancy McKeon, his sister best known for playing Jo Polniaczek in the 1980s NBC situation comedy The Facts of Life.

(With inputs from The Associated Press)