Ethan Browne, the late son of rock legend Jackson Browne, succumbed to the effects of fentanyl and meth, it has been revealed.
His death was announced the day before this past Thanksgiving with a heartbroken statement posted to his 77-year-old father’s social media accounts.
The message did not state how Ethan died, but said he was ‘found unresponsive’ at his home on November 25 and ‘passed away.’
At that time, the cause of death was listed as ‘deferred’ by the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner, which is to say an additional investigation was pending.
Now the medical examiner has declared Ethan died accidentally from the toxic effects of fentanyl, methamphetamine, and lidocaine, according to TMZ.
Lidocaine is a local anesthetic widely used by dentists and sold under a variety of brand names, the most famous of which is Xylocaine.
Ethan Browne, the late son of rock legend Jackson Browne, succumbed to the effects of fentanyl and meth, it has been revealed; father and son are pictured in 2004
Ethan is pictured at the 2009 grand opening of a Fatburger in Brentwood, California
In their November statement announcing Ethan’s death, his loved ones said: ‘It is with deep sorrow that we share that on the morning of November 25, 2025, Ethan Browne, the son of Jackson Browne and Phyllis Major, was found unresponsive in his home and has passed away.’
Ethan was a model and actor whose acting credits include roles in the Angelina Jolie-starring film Hackers, the Kate Hudson-led film Raising Helen, and a part in an episode of the series Birds of Prey.
Ethan was born in 1973 and was just six-months-old when he appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone.
The adorable cover showed Jackson doting on his baby boy.
‘I wanted a baby ’cause I wanted to be a baby,’ Jackson told the music publication at the time. ‘I play with [Ethan] all the time; there’s something pure about it. Look at all those expressions he’s got. He’s a real kick in the ass.’
His parents wed in 1975, but Phyllis tragically committed suicide less than a year later, making Jackson a single father.
‘Well, it was my main focus,’ Jackson told Route Magazine in 2021 when asked what it was like raising Ethan on top of his music career. ‘I only had two things that I hoped I could fit together: being a songwriter and a father. And I looked at it like this, if I have to only be a father, I hope I’ll know it, and just do that.’
Jackson went on to re-marry in 1981, tying the knot with model Lynne Sweeney. They welcomed son Ryan Browne but split up in 1983.
Ethan would also become a father to a daughter – a sight Jackson loved to see.
Ethan was born in 1973 and was just six-months-old when he appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone
Ethan was born two years before his parents wed in 1976.
The heartbreaking loss was announced in a statement posted to Jackson’s social media accounts the day before Thanksgiving
‘Ethan is a great father,’ Jackson told Tru Rock Revival in 2022. ‘He’s a great son, a great man. I love seeing him with his kids. When I see him in his movies, modeling, with his daughter, and being such a great dad, it makes me very proud. It makes me feel I’ve done something really right in my life.’
During his life, Ethan befriended DJ Mark Ronson, who discussed his friendship with him in his memoir Night People.
Ronson said Ethan modelled for Isaac Mizrahi and described him as the ‘real deal — with an angular face and soulful gaze that seemed to reveal his deepest truths, even from a glossy page,’ according to People.
According to Ronson, Ethan had his mother’s ‘sharp cheekbones’ and his father’s ‘soulful eyes.’
Ethan also took after his father’s passion for music and founded Spinside Records.
The venture was an imprint of Inside Recordings, the independent record label belonging to his father, according to People.
Ethan and his famous father at the premiere of Batman Returns in 1992
Ethan’s father rose to fame as a solo artist in the 1970s with his hit album Running on Empty.
But he was originally known as a hitmaker for other performers, with The Eagles song Take It Easy being among his classic tunes.
Jackson, who was inducted into the American Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in in 2004, wrote the classic ballad Late for the Sky.
The song was later featured in the 1976 Robert de Niro film, Taxi Driver, directed by Martin Scorsese.
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