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\n\t\tPaul Avery and his wife Sheila have died in a fire (Picture: Facebook)<\/p>\n
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\n\t\tPaul Avery and his wife Sheila have died in a fire (Picture: Facebook)<\/p>\n
All My Children star Paul Avery and his wife Sheila have died at their home in Blairstown, New Jersey, after a fire broke out. <\/p>\n
The couple were found unconscious and removed from the building by firefighters on Tuesday shortly after midnight but died from their injuries not long after.<\/p>\n
Avery was 81 and best known for his role in the American soap All My Children, starring as Hughie the bartender for 12 years.<\/p>\n
The couple\u2019s daughter, Kyle Avery, said in a Facebook<\/a> post: \u2018I\u2019m devastated to share that our parents, Paul and Sheila Garry Avery, passed away early this morning.<\/p>\n \u2018We loved them so much, and they loved us so much, and nobody ever had to wonder if that was so. We\u2019re grateful to the Blairstown Fire Department for their efforts. Service plans to follow.\u2019<\/p>\n Authorities are investigating the cause of the fire, which was brought under control by 1am, according to local paper, Ridge View Echo.<\/p>\n \t\t As well as All My Children, Hughie appeared in shows such as Superman<\/a>, Three\u2019s Company and Tales from the Darkside over his 20-year acting career.<\/p>\n He moved to work as a journalist and editor in later life, writing film reviews and working across several papers before founding the Ridge View Echo.<\/p>\n In 2018, Sheila suffered a stroke, with her husband stepping down from some public responsibilities to become her full-time carer.<\/p>\n Avery, an active member of the Blairstown community, once wrote in his paper: \u2018The great thing about living in a small town is that you can actively participate in it.\u2019<\/p>\n Ridge View Echo employee Joe Phalon paid tribute to the late star, telling WFMZ: \u2018I got a call saying what happened, and I just couldn\u2019t believe it. I always like to call Paul the most interesting man in the world, because he was when you consider everything he\u2019s done in his life. Acting, skydiving, Vietnam veteran, started a newspaper.\u2019<\/p>\n He continued: \u2018His death is going to leave a real void in this community. Not just Blairstown, but the towns around as well. I think we\u2019ll really miss him, and I think it\u2019s going to become more apparent over time.\u2019<\/p>\n \t\t\t\tDon’t miss a Soaps scoop! Add us as a Preferred Source\t\t\t<\/p>\n As a loyal Metro Soaps reader, we want to make sure you never miss our articles when searching for stories. We have all the latest soaps news, spoilers, videos, and interviews, with a vibrant community of highly engaged readers.<\/p>\n Click the button below and tick\u00a0Metro.co.uk\u00a0to ensure you see stories from us first in Google Search.<\/p>\n \nAdd us as a Preferred Source<\/a>\n<\/p>\n \t\t Arrow Arrow Arrow![\"Unspecified](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/SEI_301985369-9643.jpg\")
\n\t\tAvery was best known as Hughie in All My Children (Picture: Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images)<\/p>\n![\"Soaps](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1781855240_406_SEI_278522320-46a3.jpg\")
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