Former Child Actor Dies In L.A. Fires After Mom Tried to Save Him

A former child star from Australia has died in the Los Angeles fires after his mother was unable to get through to 911 dispatchers, his family has revealed. Rory Callum Sykes, who starred on the British TV show Kiddy Kapers, died Wednesday at his family’s home in Malibu, his mother, Shelley Sykes, said in a post on X. "I’m totally heart broken," she wrote. His mother said that as the fires ripped through the family’s property, she tried to call 911 for help but was unable to connect to dispatchers. “He died needlessly,” she told Australian outlet 10 News First. “He said ‘Mom, leave me,’ and no mom can leave their kid.” Born blind and with cerebral palsy, Sykes was a “sought-after inspirational speaker” at 8 years old, according to his mother. “He overcame so much with surgeries & therapies to regain his sight & to be able to learn to walk,” she wrote.