The soap opera world is mourning the loss of a beloved star.
Robert Kelker-Kelly, best known for his role as Bo Brady on Days of Our Lives, has died at the age of 62.
Was broke before ‘Days’
According to TMZ and the St. Peters Police Department, officers were called to Kelker-Kelly’s home in Missouri after he complained of chest pain.
They found him unconscious and not breathing and tried to save his life, but sadly, their efforts were unsuccessful. His cause of death has not yet been made public.
Born April 18, 1964, in Wichita, Kansas, Kelker-Kelly began acting in 1987 when he landed the role of Sam Fowler on Another World. He became a familiar face to soap fans, eventually appearing in more than 400 episodes.
In 1992, he joined Days of Our Lives as Bo Brady, the former bad boy who became a police hero. Kelker-Kelly played Bo Brady opposite Kristian Alfonso’s Hope Brady and Lisa Rinna’s Billie Reed.
“I auditioned for the role because I was broke,” he later admitted.
Pulled it off in grand style
Kelker-Kelly took over the role from Peter Reckell, who had originally played Bo, facing the unenviable task of replacing an extremely popular actor in such a pivotal role. But the Kansas-born actor pulled it off in grand style, making the character his own and winning over fans who could easily have missed his predecessor.
”I just came in and did the best job I could and did what I could, within certain parameters, to make the role my own,” he told Evansville Courier and Press in 1993.
A few years later, Kelker-Kelly moved over to Port Charles and General Hospital, where he took on the role of the villainous Stavros Cassadine.
He quickly made the character his own, delivering a chilling performance as one of the soap’s most memorable villains.
He returned to General Hospital in 2013 and made his final onscreen appearance the following year.
Starring with Lisa Rinna
His work on Days of Our Lives also earned him an Outstanding Lead Actor award at the Soap Opera Digest Awards in 1994. A year later, he and Lisa Rinna were named Hottest Soap Couple.
In newspaper interviews, Kelker-Kelly spoke highly of his co-star.
“She’s a wonderful actress, very relaxed,” he said.
But acting wasn’t his only passion. Kelker-Kelly was also a professional pilot, something that gave him a life outside the soap opera world.Over the years, he appeared in several other TV shows, including Jack’s Place, Touched by an Angel, Maybe This Time and Rescue 77.
He was married twice, first to Linda Rattner and later to Miriam Parrish. Both marriages ended in divorce.
For the many viewers who watched him over the years, Kelker-Kelly will always be remembered as one of those familiar soap stars who became part of their daily lives.
