'Shiloh' star Blake Heron dies at 35

Blake Heron, who gained fame as a teen actor during the 1990s, has died at his home in La Crescenta, Calif. He was 35.

The Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner and his former manager confirmed his death. Heron was found unresponsive at his residence on Friday morning. Paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene. His cause of death has not been determined yet.

Heron was discovered by a friend who told authorities that he had been sick with the flu for the last few days.

Heron, a native of Sherman Oaks, Calif., made his film debut in the 1995 Disney movie Tom and Huck, playing Ben Rodgers, and in the TV series Reality Check as Bud McNeight. In 1996, he starred in the Warner Bros. family drama Shiloh, portraying an adolescent who rescues an abused hunting dog in a small town. Michael Moriarty, Ann Dowd, and Scott Wilson co-starred in the pic. The film was based on Phyllis Reynolds Naylor's book by the same name.

Heron starred in several mid-1990s television movies, including Trilogy of Terror II and Nick Freno: Licensed Teacher. He appeared in the HBO movie Cheaters in 2000, and had credits on the TV series Boston Public, Family Law, and The Guardian.

He appeared as Specialist Galen Bungum in Mel Gibson's We Were Soldiers in 2002 and also had a role in Dandelion. Funeral services are pending.

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