Soap Opera Actors Who Died in 2023, Photos

Publish date: 2024-08-15

Credit: John Paschal/JPI (3), ABC, ABC/Getty Images

Last year we paid tribute to soap stars who died in 2022 and as a way to honor those the industry said goodbye to in 2023, we invite fans to remember some of those beloved members of the daytime community in our photo gallery below.

Michael Levin
Michael Levin passed away on January 6, 2023 at the age of 90. Though his daytime career started out on As the World Turns, he spent 14 years playing Jack Fenelli on Ryan’s Hope.
Ben Masters
Actor Ben Masters passed away on January 11, 2023. A man of many talents, on and off stage, he will always be remembered for playing the rich and powerful Julian Crane on NBC’s Passions.
Carole Cook
Actress Carole Cook passed away on January 11, 2023 at the age of 98. Though she appeared in daytime as Sugar Laine on Capitol in the early 80s, she was also a protégé of Lucille Ball and played grandma Helen on the 1984 film Sixteen Candles, just to name a few.
Charles Kimbrough
Charles Kimbrough passed away on January 11, 2023 at the age of 86. He was best known for playing Jim Dial on Murphy Brown and had a couple stints in daytime on All My Children as Ned Rogers and Another World as Dr. Abbott.
Lisa Loring
Lisa Loring passed away on January 28, 2023 at the age of 64. CBS soap fans may remember her from playing the role of Cricket Montgomery on As the World Turns.
Annie Wersching
Primetime actress Annie Wersching passed away on January 29, 2023 at 45 years old. Not only did she turn up in numerous late-night series, she played Amelia Joffe on General Hospital.
Cody Longo
Cody Longo passed away on February 8, 2023 at the age of 34. In 2011, the actor played Nicholas Alamain on Days of Our Lives and appeared in numerous primetime hit shows.
Raquel Welch
Actress, model and ’60s sex symbol Raquel Welch passed away on February 15, 2023, at 82 following a brief illness. With over 70 credits on her resume, she appeared on the primetime soap C.P.W. as Dianna Brock, as pictured above alongside former Loving star Noelle Beck, and turned up in numerous films and series throughout her career.
Sharon Acker
Canadian actress Sharon Acker passed away on March 16, 2023, at the age of 87 in a Toronto retirement home. In the 1980s, she appeared on Texas as Judith Wheeler, as well as on Days of Our Lives as Pamela Fouchier, then turned up on The Young and the Restless as Dr. Grace Sundell in 1992.
N’Neka Garland
On March 27, 2023, the General Hospital family mourned the loss of N’Neka Garland, who passed away at just 49. The Emmy Award-winning producer was loved by many, especially the cast and crew of the ABC soap.
Elizabeth Hubbard
On April 10, 2023, the son of Elizabeth Hubbard announced that she had taken her final bow. The soap vet, who won the first ever Daytime Emmy for her work as Althea Davis on The Doctors, is perhaps best remembered for her long run as powerhouse Lucinda Walsh on As the World Turns.
Jerry Springer
TV personality and talk show host Jerry Springer passed away at 79 on April 27, 2023. Daytime fans may not know this but he appeared on Days of Our Lives in 2007 as Pete, a gambler during a scene surrounding Chelsea and Nick’s trip to Vegas. He also tuned up in three episodes of Sunset Beach in 1999 and was a close friend with Young & Restless vet David Hasselhoff (Snapper).
Jacklyn Zeman
Beloved General Hospital vet Jacklyn Zeman (Bobbie) passed away on May 10, 2023. News of her death rocked daytime, having played the Port Charles role since 1977. Prior to that, the actress appeared as another Bobbi on The Edge of Night and Lana on One Life to Live.
George Maharis
Though the heartthrob was best known for his star-making turn as Buz Murdock on primetime’s Route 66, daytime discovered him first and, in 1960, tapped him to join Search for Tomorrow as ill-fated Bud Gardner, heroine Jo Tourneur’s nephew. He passed away at age 94 on May 24.
Brett Hadley
The Young & Restless vet — who’d played Williams family patriarch Carl for more than a decade — was reported to have passed away at age 92 in June. “Brett was the sweetest guy,” Lauralee Bell (Christine) told Soap Opera Digest. “Biggest smile, and the believability of he and Doug Davidson (ex-Paul) being father and son was like no other!”
Nicolas Coster
When the Emmy-winning veteran actor died on June 26 at the age of 89, he left us with a treasure trove of memories — of his star turns on everything from Another World to All My Children to his work in the long-running role with which we’ll always associate him: Santa Barbara pot stirrer Lionel Lockridge.
Jeffrey Carlson
Just 48 years old when his death was reported in July, the Broadway vet broke ground in daytime as Zarf, the glam-rock star who confided in All My Children heroine Bianca that he was actually a she who’d been born in the wrong body. (Read Eden Riegel’s tribute here.)
Andrea Evans
Boy, do we wish she’d had more than One Life to Live. On July 9, the soap legend who played Tina Lord on the soap lost her battle with cancer at age 66. Her other daytime roles were Patty Williams on Young & Restless, Tawny Moore on Bold & Beautiful and Rebecca Hotchkiss on Passions.
Bronwen Booth
The One Life to Live alum, who was Jake and Max’s half sister Andy Harrison from 1989-91, succumbed to ampullary cancer on April 24 at the age of 59. “Her husband was with her,” wrote a friend, “holding her hand, talking to her and supporting her through her transition.”
Nick Benedict
On July 14 — his 76th birthday, no less — the soap-hopper died of complications from spinal surgery. His memorable daytime roles include Erica Kane’s plaything Phil Brent on All My Children, photographer Michael Scott on Young & Restless and the Kate Robert’s nefarious ex Curtis Reed on Days of Our Lives.
Pamela Blair
She may have been best known for singing “T&A” in the original Broadway cast of A Chorus Line. But to daytime fans, she would always be Rita Mae Bristow, the bored professor’s wife who was forever after some of the Loving that gave her soap its title. She died on July 23 following a long illness.
Inga Swenson
A Soap star rather than a soap star, the actress gave such a memorable performance on the serialized 1970s sitcom as blackmailer Ingrid Svenson that its creators wrote her a series-regular role when they spun off Robert Guillaume’s Benson to… well, Benson. Swenson died of natural causes on July 23 at the age of 90.
Mark Margolis
The veteran actor was 83 when he died following a short illness on August 3. Daytime viewers will remember him from Guiding Light (where he played Harry Jones in 1994) or Santa Barbara (Helmut Dieter in 1991). But he was known far better and wider for his portrayal of Hector Salamanca on Breaking Bad.
Sharon Farrell
The scream queen who is so vividly remembered as the monster’s mother in It’s Alive! died in May, her sister disclosed in August. To soap fans, she is infamous, owing to her 1991-96 stint on The Young and the Restless as Nina Webster’s trashtastic mom, Flo.
Nancy Frangione
At age 70, the actress passed away on August 18. She made her daytime debut as good girl Tara Martin on All My Children but really made her mark upon going bad as Cecile DePoulignac on Another World. (Read our tribute to the scene stealer here.)
David Jacobs
In August, the sad news broke that the creator of primetime’s Dallas and Knots Landing had died at 84. He had battled Alzheimer’s over the years and ultimately succumbed to complications from a series of infections.
Bob Barker
The daytime icon, who hosted The Price Is Right for 35 years, died at age 99 on August 26. In 2014, the animal-rights activist guest-starred on The Bold and the Beautiful in a knockout of a scene that recalled his punchy role in Adam Sandler’s Happy Gilmore.
Charles “Chip” Dox
The Emmy winner, a former production designer and art director for General Hospital and Days of Our Lives, died on August 15 at age 80. In Port Charles, he was best known for setting the stage for the Nurses Ball and styling the Quartermaine mansion.
Arleen Sorkin
One of Days of Our Lives’ breakout stars in the 1980s, the funny lady who brought to life Calliope Jones died in August at age 67. “I never had more fun acting than with Arleen,” leading man John de Lancie told our sister site TVLine. “We were a team, and we laughed a lot. I will miss her always.”
Billy Miller
Three-time Emmy winner Billy Miller, known for his roles on All My Children, Young & Restless and General Hospital, passed away at the age of 43 on September 15. Fans will always remember him as Pine Valley’s Richie Novak, Genoa City’s Billy Abbott and Port Charles’ Jason Morgan/Drew Cain.
Craig Sjodin
An ABC MVP for almost 40 years, the photographer shot just about everybody who was anybody on General Hospital. (That’s all his work above — for starters.) Also, “he was the youngest 67-year-old we have ever known,” said his loved ones following his death on September 15 from injuries sustained in a bicycle accident.
Mark Goddard
On October 10, the world mourned the Lost in Space star, who died at age 87. In the down-to-earth part of his career, he passed through The Doctors and One Life to Live on his way to General Hospital and the role of Derek Barrington, socialite Amanda’s son and (surprise) the father of Ginny Webber’s little boy, Mikey.
Piper Laurie
On October 14, the Emmy winner who played Catherine Martell on David Lynch’s bonkers early-1990s primetime soap Twin Peaks died at the age of 91. The erstwhile Rosetta Jacobs is also well known for her roles on the big screen, in such movies as The Hustler, Children of a Lesser God and the original Carrie.
Lara Parker
Parker, best known for her role as Angelique on Dark Shadows, passed away at 84 on Thursday, October 12, 2023, as reported by her friend and former castmate Kathryn L. Scott. She also had daytime roles on Capitol (Linda) and One Life to Live (Carol).
Richard Roundtree
Veteran actor Richard Roundtree passed away on October 24, 2023, at the age of 81, due to pancreatic cancer. He will be remembered by daytime fans for roles on As the World Turns as Oliver and Generations as Dr. Daniel Reubens, as well as numerous primetime and film credits.
Richard Moll
Back in the day, Moll, lost to us at age 80 on October 26, was hired by Santa Barbara to play Morgan Malone, a guy who was set to testify against C.C. Capwell in a lawsuit involving the explosion of an oil rig. Even then, it was a bit of stunt casting, given that Moll had already begun grabbing attention as Bull, the hulking bailiff on Night Court, which also aired on NBC.
Tyler Christopher
Daytime was rocked once again when Tyler Christopher passed away on October 31, 2023 at the age of 50. His memory will live on through the characters he played on General Hospital (ex-Nikolas) and Days of Our Lives (ex-Stefan).
Evan Ellingson
On November 5, the veteran of CSI: Miami and 24 (with General Hospital star Rena Sofer) died at just 35 years old. In daytime, he guested as a young Luke Spencer on General Hospital.
Peter White
The veteran actor, best known to soap audiences for his late-1970s run as ill-fated Kitty Shea’s adoring husband Linc Tyler on All My Children, died of melanoma at age 86, The Hollywood Reporter revealed in early November. White also appeared in many primetime series, including Dynasty and its spinoff The Colbys, and starred in the both the stage and screen versions of the groundbreaking LGBTQ+ drama The Boys in the Band.
Frances Sternhagen
The Tony Award-winning actress passed away on November 27, 2023 of natural causes. Though she was known for playing Millicent Carter on ER, as well as Esther Clavin on Cheers, her soapy credits include roles on Love of Life as Toni Prentiss Davis, The Secert Storm as Jessie Reddin, The Doctors and the Nurses as Mrs. Harris, Another World as Jane Overstreet and The Doctors as Phyllis Corrigan.
Norman Lear
The prolific primetime producer, who passed away at age 101 on December 5, is a TV legend owing to his immeasurable contributions to All in the Family, Maude, Sanford and Sons, One Day at a Time and The Jeffersions. But in addition to his legacy of groundbreaking comedy series, he also developed the late-1970s soap spoof Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, which shone a spotlight on, among others, the estimable Mary Kay Place.
Ellen Holly
Arguably soaps’ first Black superstar, the trail-blazer passed away on December 6 at the age of 92. She rose to fame after writing to the New York Times about the obstacles that she faced as a light-skinned Black performer. One Life to Live creator Agnes Nixon read Holly’s letter and immediately signed her to a one-year contract to play Carla Benari. The rest is, suffice it to say, history.
Ryan O’Neal
The movie star who rose to fame as half of primetime soap Peyton Place’s breakout supercouple, Rodney Harrington and Allison McKenzie (Mia Farrow), passed away on December 8 at age 82. His film credits include Paper Moon (with daughter Tatum), The Main Event (with Barbra Streisand) and Love Story (with Ali MacGraw).
Bob Miller
On December 9, General Hospital star Jon Lindstrom broke the news of the show’s longtime costume designer’s passing. “He and his partner Steve Howard worked very closely together,” he Kevin’s portrayer said, “so much so that we named the fictitious designer who dressed Lucy Coe so beautifully for the Nurses’ Ball ‘Bob Steve.’”
Shirley Anne Field
The English actress, best remembered for her roles in such films as The Entertainer (with Laurence Olivier) and Alfie (with Michael Caine), died on December 10 at the age of 87. Daytime fans will recall her brief run on Santa Barbara as the original Pamela Capwell, C.C.’s batty first wife and Mason’s mother.
James McCaffrey
Actor James McCaffrey passed away on December 17, 2023 at the age of 65. While he’s known for many primetime roles, including a seven-year run on Rescue Me as Jimmy, daytime fans may recall him playing Charley Spangler on As the World Turns. Not only did Charley kidnap Lily, thinking she was Rose, he then kidnapped Rose, too.
Jack Axelrod
Jack Axelrod, known to daytime fans for playing General Hospital’s Victor Jerome, passed away on November 28, 2023, at the age of 93. He also appeared on primetime soaps Knots Landing, Dynasty and Dallas. Here’s a photo of Axelrod from General Hospital’s 2014 Fan Club Weekend.
Kamar de los Reyes
One Life to Live vet Kamar de los Reyes, who played Antonio Vega from 1995-2009, died at age 56 on Christmas Eve, December 24, 2023, after a brief battle with cancer. He and his wife, former leading lady Sherri Saum (Keri), have twin boys.