'Days of Our Lives' actor Robert Kelker-Kelly dies at 62 - USA Today
Soap opera star Robert Kelker-Kelly has died at the age of 62.
The actor, known for his roles on TV shows including "Days of Our Lives" and "General Hospital," died Saturday, Oct. 3, in St. Peters, Missouri, a spokesperson for the St. Peters Police Department confirmed to USA TODAY on Oct. 5. His cause of death has not been shared publicly.
Officers responded to Kelker-Kelly's home around 8:16 p.m. local time following a report of an unconscious man who was not breathing. CPR was in progress when officers arrived, and additional lifesaving measures were unsuccessful.
Police said Kelker-Kelly had complained of chest pain shortly before becoming unresponsive. Authorities said nothing suspicious was found at the scene and the circumstances appeared consistent with a medical event. His body was released by the medical examiner to a local funeral home.
Born April 18, 1964, in Wichita, Kansas, Kelker-Kelly first appeared on screen in 1987, playing Sam Fowler on "Another World." In 1992, he joined the cast of "Days of Our Lives" as Bo Brady after Peter Reckell's departure and remained in the role for nearly 600 episodes until 1995.
Kelker-Kelly went on to portray Stavros Cassadine on "General Hospital" in 2001 and later returned for several brief appearances, with his last being in September 2014. He also returned to "Another World" from 1996 until 1998 in a new role as Bobby Reno.
He stayed out of the spotlight in recent years, focusing on his career as a professional pilot in Missouri.
In February, Kelker-Kelly made headlines when his former "Days of Our Lives" costar Lisa Rinna revealed their tense real-life relationship in her memoir "You Better Believe I'm Gonna Talk About It."
"Behind the scenes, we hated each other," the "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" alum wrote, calling Kelker-Kelly one of Hollywood's "bullies."
"He made my life a living hell on the set of 'Days.' He was horrible to me," she added. "I'd go so far as to say verbally abusive. He was passive-aggressive, manipulative and played weird mind games."
Rinna played Billie Reed, the love interest of Kelker-Kelly's Bo Brady, on the daytime series in the early '90s. Their characters became fan-favorites, even winning a Soap Opera Digest Award for hottest soap couple in 1995.
"If I didn't do what he wanted, he'd give me the silent treatment," Rinna said in her book. "He was a ticking time bomb. I never knew when I arrived on set each morning if I'd get nice Robert Kelker-Kelly or dark Robert Kelker-Kelly. He was unpredictable and it was exhausting."
Kelker-Kelly never publicly addressed Rinna's allegations.
