John Reilly, General Hospital and Passions star, dies at 84
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ABC/Everett Collection
Soap opera veteran John Reilly has died at the age of 84.
His daughter Caitlin Reilly shared news of her the actor's passing of yet unknown causes on Instagram on Sunday.
"John Henry Matthew Reilly AKA Jack. The brightest light in the world has gone out," she writes. "Imagine the best person in the world. Now imagine that person being your dad. I'm so grateful he was mine. I'm so grateful I got to love him. I'm so grateful I made it in time to hold him and say goodbye. I honestly don't know what I'm going to do, but I know he'll be with me. I love you forever Daddy."
Finola Hughes, who worked opposite Reilly on General Hospital, also shared a tribute to the Chicago native who portrayed Sean Donely on the long-running soap from 1984 to 1995.
"Darling John Reilly," Hughes wrote via Instagram while lamenting the loss. "One of the first days I walked on the GH set this tall, handsome man in a leather jacket sauntered towards me. In his deep, all American growl he welcomed me to the show and told me he would be there for me should I ever need anything. Boy was he true to his word. A consummate professional, I would run lines with him each day we worked (we worked a ton). His dressing room was two doors from mine. Many the day I would lounge on the floor in the hallway (don't ask me why) and we would break down scenes."
She added, "John's sensitivity and kindness was most apparent with his family and friends. His love of his wife Liz and their gorgeous daughters was legion. I am so happy I got to experience and see that love firsthand. One of a kind. Fellow Irishman, God speed. Love you."
For more than five decades, Reilly appeared in many of the biggest shows on television, including regular roles on As the World Turns and Passions, and made guest appearances in The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Wonder Woman, The Love Boat, Dallas, Cagney & Lacey, and Melrose Place.
He was introduced to a new generation in the 1990s by way of Beverly Hills, 90210 in the recurring role of Kelly Taylor's (Jennie Garth) disappointing dad Bill Taylor.
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