'Uncle George' Clooney's heartbreaking notes to Presley Gerber before death at 27: Actor's utter agony over 'gut punch' loss of 'second son'... after his desperate attempts to help him ended in disaster

From the outside, Presley Gerber looked like the boy with everything.  

The only son of a supermodel and multi-millionaire businessman, he grew up in sprawling houses surrounded by money, fame and Hollywood's most beautiful faces.

But from a very young age, the wheels started to come off. Presley began having panic attacks so severe he needed prescription medication to manage.

His teenage years were troubled: spending time in rehab, arrested and charged with a DUI, and constantly battling to stay sober. 

On Sunday, he was found dead of a suspected overdose at a rehab facility in Los Angeles at the age of 27.

A publicist for his mother, 1990s covergirl Cindy Crawford, confirmed the news in a statement: 'The family is asking for privacy during this very difficult and painful time.'

Crawford, 60, her husband Rande Gerber, 64, and their actress daughter Kaia Gerber, 25, had feared an untimely death for Presley was tragically 'inevitable,' an insider claimed Monday.

'He just couldn't seem to handle the pressure of being born into a famous family,' the source told the Daily Mail.

Now, we can exclusively reveal that the family will be seeking the support of another A-lister in the wake of their loss.

Actor George Clooney, known affectionately as 'Uncle George' to Presley and Kaia, is a longtime friend of Rande, with whom he co-founded tequila company Casamigos in 2013, and has long been present in the Gerber children's lives.

'George would spend hours talking to Presley. George is the nicest guy in the world and would do anything to help Rande's family,' said a source close to Clooney.

'Especially after Presley got a DUI (in 2018), George would advise, "Don't do that, it's not smart. Be careful." More recently, George shared loving notes like, "I am here for you," that kind of stuff.'

'They were close. Presley was more than just a friend's kid; they had a bond,' said another source close to the actor's wife, Amal Clooney. 

Clooney's words of encouragement for Presley no doubt came from his own experience with substance abuse. 

In October last year, he told Esquire magazine that he had experimented with cocaine in the early 1980s as a young actor, though he insisted the usage was never a serious problem.

'I did blow and stuff,' he said. 'I used to make jokes about how I did too many drugs, but the truth is, it was never a big issue for me at all.'

'George had his own experiences with substances,' said our insider close to Clooney. 'He was never addicted, but he tried it, and he knows about the attraction to drugs, so he could talk openly with Presley about this and Presley could relate. His message was always, stay clean.'

Presley never admitted to taking cocaine but did reveal in various confessional social media posts that he struggled with a cocktail of other drugs: powerful opiates, Xanax and Valium for anxiety, Buprenorphine (used to treat opioid addiction), Mirtazapine and Prazosin for night terrors, ketamine and Adderall among others. 

In 2024, he revealed that he had survived a fentanyl overdose that left him in a coma for several days. He had also completed several stints in rehab, most recently checking in to Resolutions Living in Santa Monica, California, mere hours before his suspected overdose on Sunday.

His death has come as 'a major shock' to Clooney.

'George is sick over this because Rande is his best friend and everyone felt for Presley,' said our insider. 'There is no anger or shame, just deep sadness. Presley had a real problem with depression and anxiety. No one can fault him for that. Presley was living a nightmare.'

According to the source close to Amal, the death has devastated everyone in their close-knit Hollywood circle, which includes the likes of Julia Roberts and Brad Pitt.

'It's just awful. I know that George is so sad about it. This is devastating for everyone in that circle,' the source close to Amal said.

Presley's death has been a 'tremendous gut punch' for Clooney, added an industry insider.

'George wears his heart on his sleeve, and he really, really loved Presley. He knew Presley had his struggles, so while you can't say something like this was completely unimaginable, that doesn't make it any less shocking or devastating,' they said.

'It was an incredibly painful and unwanted surprise, and honestly, a tremendous gut punch for George.'

Rande and Clooney first met in the mid-1990s at The Whiskey, a bar businessman Rande owned at the Paramount Hotel in New York City. At the time, Clooney was filming a movie in New York. They have been best friends ever since.

In 1998, Rande married supermodel Crawford, and they all became close. 

Clooney, who didn't have his own children until 2017, when he and Amal welcomed twins Alexander and Ella, grew close to the Gerber kids. Presley was born first in 1999, and then Kaia came along in 2001.

'George was around Presley a lot when he was growing up, he was Uncle George and they were all pals, really like family,' the first source shared.

'Often Cindy and Rande would take the kids to George's old house in Studio City (LA) for dinner, to swim, and to hang out, or George would come to their house in Malibu. They had a lot of dinners together, a lot of downtime. The Gerbers also visited George in Italy quite often.

'They used to hang out in Mexico together a lot too, they had side-by-side homes and the kids were always around having fun. More recently, they would hang out in New York City, they always caught up over dinner.'

Clooney and Rande co-founded the Casamigos Tequila brand together in 2013, and later launched the non-alcoholic beer Crazy Mountain in March this year.

According to a statement released by the Santa Monica Police Department on Monday, officers 'responded to a report of a possible overdose' at approximately 9.35am on Sunday. They added: 'At this time, there is no indication of foul play.' 

Moving forward, the industry insider said Clooney will be focused on how he can best support the family: 'He feels absolutely awful for Rande and the entire family, and he wants them to know that he is there for them in any way, shape or form. 

'George has always been the person people turn to when they're going through something, and with something of this magnitude, that isn't going to change. It doesn't matter how busy he is or what he has going on in his own life - if Rande or anyone in the family needs him, everything else stops. It's really that simple.'

In a way, Presley felt like a son to Clooney, the source added: 'Presley was part of George's family. This isn't George's tragedy alone, and he would never make it about himself, but he is feeling this loss deeply. 

'Right now, the only thing he really wants to do is be there for Presley's family, help them in any way he can and get through this together. That's what family does.'

The Daily Mail has contacted representatives for Clooney, Crawford and Rande for comment.