Soap vet Stuart Damon, best known as General Hospital‘s Alan Quartermaine, has died. He was 84.
ABC7 Eyewitness News reporter George Pennacchio broke the news Tuesday in a tweet, noting that the legendary actor had been struggling with renal failure.
Damon first appeared as General Hospital‘s steadfast Chief of Staff Alan Quartermaine on May 13, 1977, and remained in the role as a series regular until his character’s death in February 2007. Damon continued to appear sporadically as Alan’s ghost until December 23, 2008.
He returned for a dream sequence in 2011 and made his final appearance for the series in 2013 to commemorate the show’s 50th anniversary. Highly regarded as the Quartermaine family patriarch, he won the Emmy for Best Supporting Actor in 1999 for his portrayal.
Damon’s 50-year career, which spans television, film and Broadway, includes a starring role opposite Lesley Anne Warren in the 1965 television production of Rogers’ and Hammerstein’s Cinderella as the Prince. He also played Eddie Yaeger in the original Broadway production of the Richard Rodgers and Stephen Sondheim’s musical Do I Hear a Waltz.
In addition to General Hospital, Damon appeared on As the World Turns in 2009 as Janet and Terri Ciccone’s shady businessman “uncle” Ralph Manzo. He also portrayed Governor Jim Ford in Days of Our Lives in 2010. Additional TV credits include Fantasy Island, The New Avengers and the sci-fi thriller The Champions.