Sad news, General Hospital fans. Randolph Mantooth, the primetime heartthrob who spent two years in Port Charles as sneaky Richard Halifax, passed away at age 80 on July 9.
The Long and Winding Road to Daytime
The actor was already a hit on the guest-star circuit, having appeared on everything from Ironside to Marcus Welby, M.D., when he nabbed his breakout role of paramedic John Gage on Emergency! in 1972. (Of note, Mantooth as well as co-star Kevin Tighe performed most of their own stunts.)
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How iconic was John Gage? Mantooth played the EMT on other shows, too, voiced the character in a Saturday-morning cartoon version of the show and inspired his depiction in comic books.
Man in Motion
Needless to say, following his six-year stint on Emergency! Mantooth continued to work steadily, guest-starring here, there and everywhere in primetime. But in 1987, he took a shot at daytime, joining Loving as moneybags Clay Alden… who turned out to be Alex Masters.
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Mantooth left Corinth in 1990 to check into General Hospital. But apparently, it wasn’t a great experience. “I hated that show,” he disclosed in a Television Academy Q&A. By 1993, he was back on Loving and remained with the show as it was remixed into The City. (Alex’s pairing with future General Hospital star Lisa LoCicero’s Jocelyn remains a fond favorite.)
As opposed to General Hospital, Mantooth loved working on Loving. “They let me ad-lib,” he marveled. “I’ve never had more fun going to a set.”
Unforgettable
The TV vet returned to soapdom twice more, first stepping in as Hal Munson on As the World Turns following Benjamin Hendrickson’s death by suicide, then passing through One Life to Live as baseball MVP Tate Harmon’s dad, Kirk. He is survived by Kristen Connors, his wife of nearly a quarter of a century.
Pay your respects to all the stars we’ve lost this year in the below in-memoriam photo gallery.