Alex Duong, a stand-up comedian and actor best known for playing gang leader Sonny Le on the CBS drama Blue Bloods, has died. He was 42.
Duong’s passing was announced by his friend, Hilarie Steele, who shared an update on a GoFundMe page set up for the actor and his family. Duong had been battling alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare type of cancer known as soft tissue sarcoma, which affected his eyesight.
Steele shared on Friday (March 27) that Duong had gone into “septic shock” and his situation was “critical.” The next day, she revealed that Duong had “passed away peacefully this morning, surrounded by love and dear friends” at the Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, California.
“He was comfortable and thankfully out of pain. [His wife] Christina and [daughter] Everest were able to see him last night, and he was alert enough to say goodbye to his little girl, whom he has treasured every moment since the day she was born,” Steele continued.
She added, “We are devastated, but so grateful for the support, prayers, and generosity you have all shown during this unimaginable time. Your continued support now means everything as Christina and Everest navigate the days ahead and to arrange a beautiful celebration of his life.”
In Duong’s last Instagram post, shared on January 28, a friend shared a photo of the comedian in a hospital bed and revealed he’d had a seizure and fallen and hit his head. In the comments, Duong wrote, “
I will walk out of here.”
Born on March 20, 1984, in Dallas, Texas, Duong began his stand-up comedy career in 2006. He also had several TV credits, including Everybody Hates Chris, The Young and the Restless, 90210, Mad TV, Death Valley, and Dexter. More recently, he played Sonny Le across three episodes of Blue Bloods.
Last April, Duong spoke to the Los Angeles Times about his cancer battle and having the support of his fellow comedians. The comedy community held the Alex Duong Has Cancer In His Eye Comedy Benefit Show at the Largo in Los Angeles in August 2025.
“Comedians always have each other’s backs when times are s***,” Duong told the outlet. “We know how hard it is to pine and struggle and scrape by in this lifestyle, just so we can do these jokes and keep improving… It’s a beautiful thing to see in this world; it really is.”
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