John Conboy, Producer of ‘The Young and the Restless,’ ‘Guiding Light,’ Dies at 83

John Conboy, an executive producer known for his work on soap operas “The Young and the Restless,” “Santa Barbara,” “Guiding Light” and “Capitol,” died Friday in Palm Desert, Calif. He was 83.

Conboy won four Daytime Emmy Awards for his work on the soap operas: his first for “The ABC Afternoon Playbreak,” two for ABC’s “The Young and the Restless” and one for “Santa Barbara.”

After beginning his television career as an actor, he made the switch to producing in 1973 on “The Young and the Restless,” then one of TV’s top-rated daytime programs, for which he won Emmys in 1975 and 1983 for outstanding daytime drama. In 1982, he left the show to create and executive produce soap opera “Capitol” for CBS, which ran for five years.

Conboy went on to executive produce NBC’s “Santa Barbara,” winning his fourth Emmy in 1990 for daytime drama. He returned to CBS to produce “Guiding Light,” then the longest-running daytime drama in TV history. He also worked on a number of TV movies, including “Kiss of a Killer,” “The Solitary Man,” “After Hours: Singin’, Swingin’ and All That Jazz” and “After Hours: From Janice, John, Mary and Michael, with Love.”

Growing up in Binghamton, New York, Conboy graduated from Carnegie Mellon University’s College of Fine Arts.

“The Young and the Restless” star Judith Chapman tweeted on Friday, “It is with heavy hart and a grateful smile that I called him my friend.”

A private memorial service is being planned.

(pictured: John Conboy with actress Donna Mills)

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