‘General Hospital’ actor Doug Sheehan dead at 75
Veteran soap actor Doug Sheehan has died at 75.
Sheehan “passed away peacefully” June 29 at his home in Big Horn, Wyoming, “with his loving wife at his side,” according to an announcement from Kane Funeral Home. The cause of death was not announced.
Sheehan was known for his roles on “General Hospital” and “Knots Landing,” appearing in over 100 episodes of each show.
Born in Santa Monica, Calif., in 1949, Sheehan got his start appearing in a 1978 episode of “Charlie’s Angels.”
After that, he was a series regular playing lawyer Joe Kelly on “General Hospital,” appearing in a whopping 205 episodes from 1979-82.
The role earned him a Daytime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Actor in a Supporting Role in a Daytime Drama Series.
He then joined the cast of CBS’s “Dallas” spinoff “Knots Landing.” He was in over 100 episodes of that series, from 1983-88, playing reporter Ben Gibson. Sheehan departed the show in Season 8, when Ben went to South America and didn’t return.
On a 1989 episode of “The Arsenio Hall Show,” Sheehan said, “Hollywood, as we all know, is not run by the producers, it’s run by casting directors. 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.”
Sheehan’s career was primarily on the small screen, but he also appeared on the big screen in three movies: “10” in 1979, “Victor/Victoria” in 1982 and “Cops n Roberts” in 1995.
In the 1990s, he played Cher’s father in the “Clueless” television series based on the movie.
He also starred on the comedy “Day by Day,” created by Andy Borowitz and Gary David Goldberg, which aired for two seasons on NBC from 1988-89, and he was in episodes of “Cheers,” “Columbo,” “MacGyver,” “Diagnosis Murder” and others.
His final screen roles were in 2003, in “What I Like About You” and in “Sabrina The Teenage Witch,” playing as Sabrina’s (Melissa Joan Hart) father Edward Gibson.
Sheehan was married to Cate Abert from 1981 until his death.
