On Friday, Oct. 16, Brownsville gathered to remember actor and disability advocate RJ Mitte, whose career brought him national attention and whose family ties connected him to the South Texas city. The City of Brownsville posted an official recording titled “Celebrating the Life of RJ Mitte.” PEOPLE reported from the ceremony that his younger sister, Lacianne Carriere, spoke about the person behind the familiar television role.
Carriere recalled that after their mother was paralyzed in an accident when Carriere was an infant, Mitte took on a father-like role in her life. Her remarks described care within a family, as well as the bond between siblings who shared music, games and daily habits. The memorial made room for that personal history alongside the public work for which Mitte was known, PEOPLE reported.
Carriere also spoke about Mitte’s connection to Brownsville. He was born and raised in Jackson, Mississippi, but his family ties to the Texas city ran through his grandfather, Roy F. Mitte, whom PEOPLE reported was born there. At the ceremony, his sister described Brownsville as home and community. That belonging helps explain why a celebration of his life became a gathering around local institutions and relationships, too.
Millions of viewers knew Mitte as Walter White Jr. on “Breaking Bad.” The Associated Press reported that he played Bryan Cranston’s character’s son in nearly every episode of the five-season series, which aired from 2008 to 2013. Mitte drew on his experience living with cerebral palsy for the role, AP reported, bringing a perspective that was part of his own life into a character seen by a broad audience.
His work extended beyond acting. AP reported that Mitte served as an ambassador for United Cerebral Palsy and Shriners Children’s, produced independent films and led the Mitte Foundation, which supported philanthropic and community initiatives related to disabilities. In a statement after his death, his representatives said he used his platform to challenge stereotypes and support greater representation.
Local reporting showed how those efforts met people in the Rio Grande Valley. KRGV reported that CineSol Film Festival director Henry Serrato first invited Mitte to the festival in 2019 and that Mitte returned three years later. Serrato remembered the ease of their friendship, which grew from meeting the actor he had first admired on television.
In 2023, the Disability Chamber of Commerce of the Rio Grande Valley invited Mitte to speak with families. After his remarks, he stayed to talk with families, caregivers and teachers, KRGV reported. The chamber’s co-founder, Evelyn Cano, recalled that Mitte encouraged her to keep bringing people to him because he wanted to continue speaking with the community. The account offers a concrete picture of advocacy as time spent listening.
Through his Mitte in Motion workshops, Mitte brought actors, agents and writers to Brownsville to share their experience with young people, KRGV reported. He championed the Mitte Cultural District, which later received state recognition. The projects linked his experience in entertainment and advocacy with opportunities for local students and a wider place for arts and culture in the city.
PEOPLE reported that Mitte led the Roy F. and Joann Cole Mitte Foundation and that its work supported arts, education and cultural initiatives, including the Mitte Cultural District and the conversion of the former Brownsville Museum of Fine Art into The Mitte: Arts and Cultural Center. At the remembrance, Carriere said her brother’s legacy in Brownsville would continue. The institutions and workshops he helped support give that hope a practical setting.
The Associated Press reported that Mitte’s representatives said he died by suicide. AP also reported that the justice of the peace could not provide a cause when she declared him dead on Oct. 12; PEOPLE noted on Oct. 16 that the medical examiner had not yet determined an official manner of death. This account keeps the cause brief and attributed, without speculating about circumstances or motive. If these details affect you or someone you know, the U.S. 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is available by [call or text at 988](tel:988?oai_link_source=model_response_hotline), with online chat.
A memorial cannot sum up a person’s life. In Brownsville, the family and local accounts point to a legacy held in more than one place: in the performances that introduced Mitte to viewers, in disability advocacy that widened representation, and in the local arts and learning work he helped advance. His sister’s remarks brought those threads back to the relationships and community that shaped them.
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