All My Children Star Mark LaMura Dead at 68

Emmy-nominated actor Mark LaMura passed away on Sept. 11 at the age of 68 following a battle with lung cancer. LaMura is best known for playing Mark Dalton on ALL MY CHILDREN, the brother of Susan Lucci’s Erica Kane. He appeared on the soap from 1977 until 1989 and made occasional guest appearances through the ‘90s.

“How can this be?” Lucci exclaimed on Instagram. “I just received the shocking and deeply saddening news that the wonderful Mark LaMura has passed away! Mark played my brother Mark on AMC. He was such a talented and accomplished actor. A bright and charming presence in all our AMC lives and a really great guy. Mark was loved and he will be missed! RIP, my friend.”

Originally, Erica was smitten with Mark but her mother stopped them before they consummated their relationship to reveal that they were actually siblings! Mark had a fling with Brooke English but eventually married Ellen Shepherd. Unfortunately, her refusal to have another baby led Mark to fall into the arms of college student Pamela Kingsley. Later, under pressure as a songwriter, Mark developed a cocaine addiction, and Erica held an intervention with Ellen and Brooke to help him. Although he later remarried Ellen and move to Asia, Mark returned in 2004 to visit Erica to help her with her own alcohol addiction. Take a look back at some classic moments with Mark on AMC in this special video.

LaMura had previously played Vic Robinson on AS THE WORLD TURNS in 1997 and later went on to play Douglas Kline on ONE LIFE TO LIVE in 2007. The actor also made numerous guest appearances all over primetime with notable roles in STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION, L.A. LAW, DAMAGES, and LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT. He could also be seen in the films City By the Sea and The Russia House. LaMura also appeared on stage in Shakespeare plays, and played Oscar Madison in a 2013 revival of The Odd Couple.

Our thoughts are with LaMura’s family and loved ones during this difficult time.

For more on your favorite AMC stars, keep reading the ABC edition of Soaps In Depth magazine.