Remembering the Daytime Stars We Lost in 2021

John Reilly passed away on Jan. 9 from a heart attack. The 84-year-old actor made his daytime debut on AS THE WORLD TURNS as a recast of Dan Stewart in 1974 but was best known to daytime fans for his portrayal of WSB agent Sean Donely on GH, a role he played on and off from 1984 until 1995. “The brightest light in the world has gone out,” wrote his daughter, social media personality Caitlin Reilly. “Imagine the best person in the world. Now imagine that person being your dad. I’m so grateful he was mine.” Caitlin later appeared on GH’s tribute episode to Reilly and his beloved alter ego, playing Sean’s daughter, Annie, who followed her father’s footsteps as a WSB special agent.

Peter Mark Richman, whose career as a playwright, actor, author, and artist spanned a whopping eight decades in the entertainment industry, died of natural causes at the age of 93 on Jan. 14. The prolific actor had appeared on more than 500 television shows, but soap fans most remember Richman for originating the role of Capwell family patriarch C.C. on SANTA BARBARA. He also had recurring roles on DYNASTY, THREE’S COMPANY, BEVERLY HILLS, 90210, and the 1971 police procedural LONGSTREET.

The grammy-winning composer who created Y&R’s iconic theme music died on Jan. 18 at the age of 87. Along with Barry De Vorzon, Perry Botkin, Jr. composed “Cotton’s Theme,” which has been used since the soap premiered in 1973. The musical piece became even more popular during the 1976 Summer Olympics when ABC’s Wide World of Sports used it as the background music for a montage of routines by medal-winning gymnast Nadia Comaneci. Then renamed “Nadia’s Theme,” the song won a Grammy for Best Instrumental Arrangement.

Christopher Pennock — who had multiple roles across multiple timelines on DARK SHADOWS and played Tracy’s husband, D.A. Mitch Williams, on GH — died on Feb. 12 at the age of 76. His soap credits also include DAYS’ Joe Taylor, Y&R’s Steven Petrie, and GL’s Justin Marler.

Just after midnight the day following his 79th birthday, Geoffrey Scott passed away from Parkinson’s disease at the age of 79 on Feb. 23. In addition to his role as Mark Jennings on primetime soap DYNASTY (Alexis brought him to Denver to cause trouble when she learned that his divorce from Krystal wasn’t legal), Scott appeared in daytime as Sky Rumson on DARK SHADOWS, on GH as David McAllister in 1989, and on GL as Billy Lewis on in 1994.

Daytime vet Gil Rogers died in his sleep on March 2 at the age of 87. The spokesman for Grape-Nuts cereal had a lengthy career that spanned stage, television, film, and commercials, but daytime fans will forever remember him as GL good guy Hawk Shayne and AMC villain Ray Gardner. His soap career began in 1964 with a small role on ANOTHER WORLD before he landed a three-year stint as Dr. Martin Brandt on THE DOCTORS. He moved to AMC in 1977, playing Tad and Jenny’s diabolical father on and off until 1999. (As the legend goes, Rogers was so convincing at playing the villainous Ray that he needed to have extra security at his family’s Manhattan apartment.) Rogers moved to GL in 1986, recurring as Reva’s dad until the soap’s last days in 2009.

A veteran of film and television, Emmy winner Henry Darrow passed away on March 14 at the age of 87 from natural causes. In addition to the actor’s lengthy resume of television guest appearances, Darrow was on GH twice — as both Ambassador Tabris and a villainous DVX colonel — and as Danto Medina on ONE LIFE TO LIVE in the 1980s. He won a Daytime Emmy in 1990 for his portrayal of Cruz’ father, Rafael, on SANTA BARBARA, and had a recurring role as THE BOLD & THE BEAUTIFUL physician Dr. Carlos Nunez.

James Hampton passed away of complications from Parkinson’s disease at his home on April 7 at the age of 84. His resume included roles on many films and television shows, but soap fans best remembered Hampton for his time playing villainous Reverend Saul Taylor, the leader of a revival camp, on DAYS back in 1989.

Billie Hayes — who had a recurring role on GH in the early ’80s as international spy Brighton O’Reilly, a WSB agent who was shot and killed by Victor Cassadine — passed away from natural causes on April 29 at the age of 96. Of course, she's probably best known for playing Witchiepoo on the cult-classic children's TV series H.R. PUFNSTUF.

Robert Hogan died at the age of 87 on May 27 at his home in Maine due to complications from pneumonia. The actor appeared in over 100 different television series, including multiple daytime roles. He played the second Phil Brewer on GH in 1966, returning to the soap in 1973 to play Burt Marshall. On DAYS, he played both Will Austin in 1969 and Scott Banning, Sr., from 1970-71. He went on to appear as ANOTHER WORLD’s Vince McKinnon, ATWT’s L.J. McDermott, AMC’s Dr. Bell, and OLTL’s Charles Briggs.

Ray MacDonnell, who played beloved AMC patriarch Joe Martin for four decades, passed away on June 10. The 93-year-old actor died of natural causes at his home in Chappaqua, New York. He played Philip Capice on THE EDGE OF NIGHT for eight years before AMC tapped him in 1970 to play the central role of Dr. Joe Martin. The original AMC cast member retired when the soap’s production moved to Los Angeles in 2009, but continued to return to Pine Valley for guest appearances and even reprised his role for Prospect Park’s online reboot in 2013.

Just a week after being critically injured in a hit-and-run accident in New York City, Lisa Banes died from a traumatic brain injury at the age of 65 on June 14. The Broadway star had regular roles on television and film and joined the cast of OLTL for a 2004 story arc as John and Michael McBain’s mother, Eve.

John Gabriel, a beloved daytime vet best known for playing Seneca Beaulac for nearly the entire run of RYAN’S HOPE, passed away at the age of 90 in June. In addition to his role on RYAN’S HOPE, Gabriel appeared on GH as Teddy Holmes, on LOVING as Zack Conway, on GENERATIONS as Vic Reynolds, on B&B as Lloyd Bennett, and on DAYS as Pete LeGrand.

The GH family suffered a great loss when Stuart Damon — who played beloved Quartermaine patriarch Alan — passed away on June 29. The legendary actor, who had been struggling with renal failure, was 84. Damon was hired to play Dr. Alan Quartermaine in 1977, staying with GH until the character was killed off in 2007 and making several ghostly visits in the years that followed. Damon took home two Daytime Emmy Awards for his work on GH and received another five nominations. Elsewhere in daytime, he played mobster Ralph Manzo on ATWT and Governor Jim Ford in a handful of DAYS episodes.

Philece Sampler, a veteran of show biz whose long list of performing credits included roles on television and voicing characters in anime and video games, died on July 1 after suffering a heart attack. The 67-year-old actress was best known to daytime fans for her roles as ANOTHER WORLD’s Donna Love and as Stefano’s long-lost daughter, Renee DuMond, on DAYS.

Bergen Williams — the lovable actress who played the Quartermaines housekeeper, Big Alice, on GH from 2011-’14 —, died on July 20 at the age of 62. According to the Twitter account for the actress, Williams “succumbed to the ravages of Wilson’s Disease surrounded by loving family.”

Jay Pickett — who played PORT CHARLES’ Frank Scanlon for nearly the entire run of the GH spin-off — passed away on July 30 on the set of his upcoming film, Treasure Valley. “Jay died sitting on a horse ready to rope a steer in the movie Treasure Valley in Idaho. The way of a true cowboy,” shared Jim Heffel, the 60-year-old actor’s friend and fellow producer on the movie. In addition to his run on PORT CHARLES, Pickett temporarily filled in for Ted King as GH’s Lorenzo Alcazar, and returned to GH in 2006 in the recurring role of Det. David Harper. He also played Dr. Chip Lakin on DAYS.

Daytime icon Michael Nader died on Sept. 23 at the age of 76 at his home in Northern California after a battle with an untreatable form of cancer. While Nader was well known to fans of the primetime sudser DYNASTY for his turn as Dex Dexter, the legendary actor will forever be known among daytime viewers for his AMC run in the early 1990s as Dimitri Marick, a love interest of Susan Lucci’s iconic Erica Kane. Nader also had a three-year run as ATWT’s Kevin Thompson in the late 1970s.

Soap hopper Michael Tylo passed away on Sept. 28 at the age of 73 after a sickness. At the time of his death, Tylo was a film professor at the College of Fine Arts at the University of Nevada Las Vegas, but he had a prolific soap career before becoming an academic. Tylo made his daytime debut in 1980 as ANOTHER WORLD’s Peter Belton and joined the cast of GL as Quint McCord a year later, rising to supercouple status with Lisa Brown (Nola). He stayed in Springfield for four years before moving over to AMC as Matt Connolly. He also played GH’s Charlie Prince, Y&R’s good and evil twins Blade and Rick Bladeson, and B&B’s sleazy lawyer, Sherman Gale.

British actor Patrick Horgan passed away on Oct. 6 at the age of 92. His soap career began in the 1970s, when he played Dr. John Morrison on THE DOCTORS and Thatcher Ross on RYAN’S HOPE. He went on to play GL’s Neil Blake, ATWT’s Anton Cunningham, and OLTL’s Andrew Berryman in the 1980s, returning to OLTL as Arthur Vandenburg for his final daytime role in 1995.

Y&R icon Jerry Douglas died on Nov. 9 following a brief illness. A favorite among the soap’s viewers and cast members, the actor who played John Abbott was days shy of his 89th birthday. In his early career, Douglas appeared on numerous primetime series, before joining the Y&R cast in 1982. He played the Abbott patriarch for 25 years before John was sadly killed off in 2006. He continued to occasionally appear as John’s ghost and returned as lookalike Alistair Wallingford for a gaslighting storyline. Douglas made his final appearance on the soap in 2016 when John paid a ghostly visit to his family.

Following a brief illness, Lisa Brown died at the age of 67 on Nov. 24. Brown made her daytime debut as GL dreamer Nola Reardon in 1980 and later found soap supercouple fame opposite Michael Tylo’s Quint. After leaving GL, she created the role of Iva Snyder on sister soap ATWT, staying in Oakdale for 11 years. She reprised the role of Nola from 1995-’98 and continued to occasionally appear as Iva in the years after that.

Film and television veteran Arlene Dahl — the mother of B&B vet Lorenzo Lamas (ex-Hector) — died at her Manhattan home on Nov. 29 at the age of 96. Dahl joined OLTL in 1981 as Lucinda Schenck Wilson for a short-term guest star role. She was later offered a one-year contract with the soap and appeared as Mimi King’s manipulative mom until 1984.

Veteran TV actress Rhonda Stubbins White died on Dec. 8 from cancer at her home in Los Angeles. The 60-year-old actress had most recently recurred as cult elder Mother Agnes on the BET drama RUTHLESS, but soap viewers may remember her from her recurring stint on DAYS back in 2000 as Violet, the owner of Lady Vi’s Soul Food.

Television icon Betty White passed on Dec. 31 at the age of 99, just two weeks before her 100th birthday. Although best known for sitcoms like THE MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW, THE GOLDEN GIRLS, and HOT IN CLEVELAND (among countless other television roles), soap fans will remember White best for her memorable run as Stephanie's mother, Ann Douglas, on B&B, making appearances from 2004-06.