Entertainment
Brownsville plans a public celebration of life for Breaking Bad actor RJ Mitte
Brownsville will remember RJ Mitte on Friday at The Mitte arts center he helped build. The Breaking Bad actor died Monday at 34.
The South Texas city that RJ Mitte poured years of work into is opening its doors so the public can say goodbye.
Friday morning gathering
City officials in Brownsville say the public memorial begins at 10 a.m. Friday inside the arts center that bears his family's name. The actor spent years there pushing for local arts programs and education.
The setting carries special weight. Mitte was president of his family's foundation and was central to remaking the city's former fine art museum into a lively arts space.
A recent milestone
Only a month ago he cheered as Texas formally recognized the district. He told the crowd that day, "This is not the finish line, this is the starting line."
Mayor John Cowen Jr. called him a "force for good." Daniella Lopez Valdez, who runs the district, put it in four words: "RJ believed in Brownsville."
Remembering his advocacy
Officials say his death on Monday in Texas was a suicide. He was 34. His former Breaking Bad castmates have shared heartfelt tributes, among them Bryan Cranston, who played his father on the show and said he was in "deep despair."
Mitte lived with cerebral palsy and used his fame to fight for people with disabilities, pressing the entertainment industry for more inclusion and representation. His family asks that people give to cerebral palsy research instead of sending flowers.
Help is available around the clock. Anyone in crisis can call or text 988 or visit 988lifeline.org.
