'General Hospital' Actor Doug Sheehan Dead At 75

Veteran soap opera actor Doug Sheehan, known for his roles on General Hospital and Knots Landing, died at the age of 75, according to an announcement from Kane Funeral Home.

Sheehan reportedly "passed away peacefully at his home" in Big Horn, Wyoming, on June 29 "with his loving wife at his side." The actor's cause of death has not yet been publicly announced.

Sheehan, a native of Santa Monica, California, made an appearance on a 1978 episode of Charlie's Angels early in his acting career before appearing as Joe Kelly on General Hospital for 205 episodes between 1979 and 1982, which earned him a Daytime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Actor in a Supporting Role in a Daytime Drama Series. Sheehan later joined the cast of Knots Landing a CBS spinoff of Dallas, playing reporter Ben Gibson for more than 100 episodes between 1983 and 1988.

Sheehan was written off Knots Landing in Season 8 when his character went to South America and never returned.

“Hollywood, as we all know, is not run by the producers, it’s run by casting directors," Sheehan said during an appearance on the Arsenio Hall Show in 1989. "Casting directors never watch what you’re on…so I’ve spent my whole time sort of breaking down the walls, with the daytime, the night time, and half hour comedy. They don’t know if I can do full-hour comedy yet, so I have to break through.”