VETERAN soap actor Chris Robinson has died aged 86 at his home in Arizona.
He is best remembered as Dr Rick Webber in General Hospital and and Jack Hamilton in The Bold and the Beautiful.
Chris Robinson has died at 86[/caption]
Robinson pictured in 1980 when he was a staple on General Hospital[/caption]
Robinson was the face of Vicks cough syrup for a short time, before a tax evasion scandal scuppered the partnership[/caption]
Fellow actor and co-star MJ Allen wrote: “He peacefully passed in his sleep at his ranch near Sedona, Arizona.
“He had been in heart failure for some time and is his official cause of death.”
Robinson was born in West Palm Beach on November 5, 1938.
His long career began in 1957 with an uncredited role in the crime drama The Midnight Story.
Following three other low-budget films, he broke into TV in 1960 with episodes of the western Colt 45 and the drama anthology Zane Grey Theatre.
Guest appearances flooded in for him until he was eventually cast in the war drama 12 O’Clock High.
Robinson debuted on General Hospital in 1978, where he was planted as a staple for eight seasons.
He also enjoyed a short stint at the spokesperson for Vicks Formula 44 cough syrup in 1984, playing on his fame as a fictional doctor.
In his rep role, he delivered the line: “I’m not a doctor, but I do play one on TV,” which became a famous catchphrase and popular punchline.
However, a tax evasion scandal brought his commercial foray to an abrupt halt.
After General Hospital, Robinson hopped over to daytime soap Another World – playing Jason Frame for 20 episodes.
Then, in 1992, he began a 13-season recurring stint on The Bold and the Beautiful.
After a 16-year Hiatus, the actor returned to General Hospital in 2002, but his character was brutally murdered.
His character made another return from beyond the grave in 2013, when Robinson appeared in the show’s 50th-anniversary celebration as the doctor’s spirit.
His most recent credit was is the the 2022 independent film Just For a Week, when he shared the screen with MJ Allen who shared the news of his death.
Allen wrote: “Jacquie [Chris’s wife] just called me a bit ago and informed me that my good friend and collaborator Hollywood legend Chris Robinson has passed away.
“We knew this was coming, but it always sucks. We just had lunch a few weeks ago, but he was in bad shape.”
Robinson leaves behind his wife of fourteen years, artist-actor Jacquie Shane-Robinson, sons Shane, Coby, Christian, Taylor, Christopher Robinson, Christopher Lance and adopted son Robb Walker.
He also had five grandchildren.
Robinson was a veteran of daytime TV dramas[/caption]
