Daytime lost a true great in January of 2024 when the co-creator of Santa Barbara passed away at age 85. The trailblazing Emmy winner also served as headwriter of Guiding Light, As the World Turns and General Hospital, the soap created by her parents, Frank and Doris Hursley.
Legendary Days of Our Lives vet Bill Hayes passed away on January 12, 2024 at the age of 98. Married to his co-star Susan Seaforth Hayes (Julie) for nearly 50 years, he will always be remembered for playing one of Salem’s longest-running characters, Doug Williams. Read the tributes as daytime remembers the beloved actor.
On January 12, the I Wanna Be a Soap Star winner who played Dixie Cooney’s half brother Del Henry on All My Children from 2005-07 died by suicide at age 50. “I loved this guy. Cannot believe he is gone,” Instagrammed Adam Sandler, who cast the hunk in his 2010 movie Grown Ups. “Such a wonderful, funny, good man.”
On January 21, the sad news went out that the alum of General Hospital spinoff Port Charles — he replaced Michael Dietz as Joe Scanlon — had passed away at just 58 years old. The actor had also starred on the primetime soap Savannah and played out a memorable arc on the original Beverly Hills, 90210.
In late January, One Life to Live leading lady Erika Slezak’s website broke the news that the Emmy winner and husband Michael Davies’ beloved daughter had suddenly passed away at age 42. Fans of the soap will recognize Amanda from her 2003 stint as a teenage Viki in flashbacks.
An original cast member of Knots Landing, Murray played Abby’s brother and Karen’s ill-fated first husband, Sid Fairgate. The Oscar-nominated actor, who boasted a mile-long list of film credits, died on February 2 at age 94.
Veteran actor Malachy McCourt passed away on March 11, 2024, at the age of 92. Though he had numerous credits throughout his career, he will always be remembered by daytime fans as beloved bartender Kevin McGuinness on Ryan’s Hope, as well as Father Clarence on All My Children. He also turned up on One Life to Live as Mr. Kenneally and played a landlord on Guiding Light, a priest on Another World and Big Begelowe on Search for Tomorrow.
In March, we learned that the General Hospital alumna who’d played Bobbie’s stepdaughter Terry (via first husband D.L.) in the 1980s had passed away at age 64 on March 12, 2024. Bernard, whose sister Crystal was a regular on Wings, also appeared on The Facts of Life and Simon & Simon.
Beth Peters, who played Agnes Whitaker on General Hospital, passed away at the age of 92 on March 14, 2024. For those who don’t recall, Agnes lived on a farm in Beechers Corners, where Luke and Laura took refuge while on the run in 1980.
March 21 took from us Ron Harper, who was best known for Land of the Lost and Planet of the Apes. But the actor, 91 years old when he passed, also had a long and storied career in daytime, appearing on Where the Heart Is, Love of Life, Capitol and Generations (with, as you can see, Joan Pringle and Dorothy Lyman).
After suffering from progressive supranuclear palsy for seven years, the soap-hopper — who made her biggest impact as Young & Restless hooker-turned-nun Gwen Sherman in the 1970s — died on March 18 at age 76.
Barbara Rush passed away on Sunday, March 31, 2024, at the age of 97. The actress, who had numerous credits on her resume, may be remembered by soap fans for her roles as Marsha Russell on Peyton Place and Nola Orsini on All My Children.
An Emmy winner for her work as a writer on General Hospital, Bennett also starred on Young & Restless in the early 1980s as Victor Newman’s first wife, Julia. Over the years, she also appeared on Search for Tomorrow and Santa Barbara and, in the late 1990s, was co-headwriter of Aaron Spelling’s Sunset Beach.
The veteran actress, who had played the Abbott family’s gadabout matriarch Dina on and off for nearly 40 years on The Young and the Restless, died at age 85 on April 25. The Emmy winner is also fondly remembered for her work as Eric’s first love Beth on The Bold and the Beautiful.
Advertisement
