Plagued by health problems throughout his 20 years, the 3-foot-2-inch actor had been admitted to a San Diego hospital for treatment of a congenital heart condition. Doctors were weighing whether to perform heart surgery on the actor when he died Monday night, an NBC spokesperson confirmed.
Aside from his heart trouble, Evans suffered from achondroplasia, a genetic condition that restricts cartilage growth and physical development and was responsible for his diminished stature.
But Evans parlayed his tiny size into Tinseltown fame. "I love my life," he told E! Online two years ago. "Acting is not only what I do, it's what I am. I can't imagine spending my life doing anything else."
He'll be best remembered as Timmy on Passions. Evans joined the soap in 1999, playing the creation of resident witch Tabitha. As dolls go, Timmy was sort of an anti-Chucky, acting as Tabitha's conscience and spending most of his time pining for Charity and downing Martimmys--a nonalcoholic martini-like concoction. (Evans included a Martimmy recipe on his Website, joshryanevans.org.)
"We are deeply saddened by the sudden and tragic loss of Josh Ryan Evans," reads a statement from NBC. "He was a truly unique talent with a remarkable spirit. He will be sorely missed by his Passions family and by all of us at NBC."
Timmy was arguably Passion's most popular character, and Evans earned a Soap Opera Digest Award as Favorite Scene Stealer and a Daytime Emmy nomination for the part.
Ironically, Evans' death came on the same day his ailing character Timmy bid adieu to his Passions pals.
NBC says Evans had taped the show weeks ago and was scheduled to have a temporary hiatus lasting several weeks. However, this being a soap opera--and even loopier than most other daytime dramas--Timmy was supposed to be resurrected and Evans to return to the series at the end of the summer.
Those plans have been scrapped, say the Passions publicist, and the show will leave the Timmy story line as it ended yesterday, with the character dying. Producers are recutting future episodes to remove scenes involving Timmy.
Born January 10, 1982, in Hayward, California, Evans launched his show-biz career in commercials, playing a dancing baby in an ice-cream spot. He subsequently scored guest gigs on TV shows like Family Matters, 7th Heaven and Poltergeist: The Legacy.
His first notable part, however, was as child-prodigy lawyer Oren Koolie on Fox's Ally McBeal. He also appeared as the young Grinch in Ron Howard's big-screen Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas, played Tom Thumb in the A&E miniseries P.T. Barnum, did the dancing for the baby in the 1999 film Baby Geniuses and contributed voices to Nickelodeon's Hey Arnold! and Rugrats.
Evans is survived by his parents, Cheryl and Chuck Evans, and his older brother, James. A memorial service is being planned for later this week.