Melissa Joan Hart has paid tribute after the death of Sabrina the Teenage Witch star Doug Sheehan aged 75, who played her on-screen dad.
The actor was also widely known for his roles in shows including General Hospital and the 90s TV sitcom Clueless.
The news was confirmed in a death notice posted by the Kane Funeral Home, which revealed he had ‘passed away peacefully at his home on Saturday June 29 with his loving wife at his side’. A cause of death was not listed.
In a tribute posted on Instagram, Hart – who starred as the titular character in Sabrina the Teenage Witch – shared a picture of her with Sheehan from a scene in the 1990s series.
The 48-year-old wrote in her caption: ‘Remembering #DougSheehan tonight after hearing about his passing!
‘The episodes of #SabrinaTheTeenageWitch I get asked about most are the one with @britneyspears and the finale and Doug was a big part of both of those as he played my Dad. Sending love to his family and friends in this sad time!’
In a comment underneath the post, Caroline Rhea, who played Hart’s on-screen aunt Hilda, wrote: ‘Noooo I loved him.’
Born in California in 1949, Sheehan began his acting career on a 1978 episode of Charlie’s Angels, before landing his breakout role as Joe Kelly on General Hospital.
He went on to appear on the soap over 205 episodes between 1979 and 1982, with the role also earning him a Daytime Emmy nomination.
After working on that series, Sheehan moved to another soap, Knots Landing, a spin-off of Dallas.
He played reporter Ben Gibson, the second husband of Valene Ewing (Joan Van Ark) from 1983 to 1988 before his character left on a trip to South America and never returned.
The actor then went on to play Cher Horowitz’s father on the TV adaptation of Clueless, taking over the role of Mel Horowitz from Michael Lerner after the first season in 1997.
He stayed on the show until it eventually ended in 1999.
The actor also briefly played Edward Spellman, the magical father of Hart’s Sabrina, on Sabrina the Teenage Witch.
He appeared in the first episode of season four, in which Edward invites Sabrina to come and live in Paris when she turns 18 years old
He later returned for the show’s season finale in 2003, ready to walk Sabrina down the aisle before she cancels her wedding.
Although he was primarily a TV actor, Sheehan also appeared in films including 10, Victor Victoria and Cops n Roberts.
Other TV credits included Cheers, Alice, MacGyver, Columbo, and What I Like About You.
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Sheehan is survived by his wife, Cate, whom he married in 1981.
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