A former child star from Australia died when the Los Angeles wildfires ripped through his family\u2019s Malibu estate in California earlier this week, according to his mother. <\/p>\n
Rory Callum Sykes was at the family\u2019s 17-acre Mount Malibu TV Studios estate, where he had his own cottage, when it burned down on January 8, his mother Shelley Sykes wrote on X Thursday. <\/p>\n
Shelley Sykes described her son, who appeared on the 1998 British TV series \u201cKiddy Kapers,\u201d as \u201cbeautiful\u201d and \u201cwonderful\u201d and said she was \u201ctotally heart broken\u201d by his death. <\/p>\n
She said she had tried to put out the wildfire cinders on her property\u2019s roof using a hose but couldn\u2019t because the water wasn\u2019t working. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe said, \u2018mom leave me\u2019 and no mom can leave their kid. And I\u2019ve got a broken arm, I couldn\u2019t lift him, I couldn\u2019t move him,\u201d Sykes told Australia\u2019s 10 News First. <\/p>\n
Her son, 32, was born blind with cerebral palsy on July 29, 1992, and had become famous for his speeches on overcoming disability. He was the co-founder of Happy Charity, which according to its site offers, \u201cHope, Happiness & Health to those that are Hurting.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cHe overcame so much with surgeries and therapies to regain his sight and to be able to learn to walk. Despite the pain, he still enthused about traveling the world with me from Africa to Antarctica,\u201d Shelley Sykes wrote on X. <\/p>\n
She said her son was born in Britain but lived in Australia, then America. He was \u201ca gift born on mine and his grandma\u2019s birthday,\u201d she wrote. <\/p>\n
On his website, Sykes describes himself as a professional speaker and consultant for many companies including the Tony Robbins Foundation, and the Cerebral Palsy Alliance. <\/p>\n
In an appearance with his mother on Australian television show \u201cMornings with Kerri-Anne\u201d in 2003, he discussed going on a trip to the United States to speak at a Tony Robbins motivational conference. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter what happens to you in life, it\u2019s what you do about it that counts,\u201d he told viewers. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is providing consular assistance to his family. Our thoughts are with them,\u201d DFAT told 9News. \u201cOwing to our privacy obligations we are unable to provide further comment.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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