The Running on Empty singer Jackson Browne announced the sudden passing of his son, Ethan, 52.
According to Browne, Ethan was found unresponsive in his home and passed shortly after.
Taking to Facebook, the singer wrote, “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.”
The post continued: “We ask for privacy and respect for the family during this difficult time.
“No further details are available at this moment.”
Browne and Phyllis Major welcomed Ethan in 1973. Sadly, Major died by suicide in 1976, leaving her husband to raise their son on his own. She was 30 years old.
Speaking of parenthood and his relationship with Ethan, Browne said in 2021 in an interview with Route Magazine that it shaped him as a person and as a father.
“Well, it was my main focus,” he said. “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. But life’s not like that, and you don’t get a notice in the mail saying you’re blowing it as a parent… The mistakes I’ve made as a parent are still with me. I think about them fairly often.”
He continued: “It’s not that you’re not trying the whole time. It’s not that I wasn’t trying then. You’re just distracted by other things, and some things don’t occur to you. Or maybe you ignore advice that you should have taken, because you’re overconfident.”
Ethan Browne was famous in his own right. He was a musician, a model, and an actor who appeared in the films Raising Helen, Hackers, and the television series Birds of Prey.
He performed as part of the duo Alain Zane with Cat Colbert, releasing their album Right Before Your Eyes in 2022. Ethan also went on to start Spinside Records, an offshoot of Jackson’s independent label Inside Recordings.
At six-months-old, he appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine along with his father.
Speaking about his son’s music in 2022, Browne said: “He’s a very talented bass player…I enjoy watching him and listening to his music. Does he remind me of myself at that age? Nah, not really. He’s a better musician than I am.”
Rest in Peace, Ethan Browne.
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