Nick Benedict, the soap opera star best known for “All My Children,” “The Young and the Restless” and “Days of Our Lives,” died July 14 following two weeks of complications from an emergency spine surgery that left him paralyzed from the neck down. He was 77 years old.
An obit for the soap star confirmed that he died on his birthday. A Facebook post from Jake’s Steakhouse, where his wife Ginger works as a bartender, promoted a GoFundMe link from organizer Harmony Nessa on behalf of Ginger to raise money after she took a leave of absence to aid her husband.
“Nick Benedict’s birthday was July 14. He went to be with the Lord this day,” the post read. “Please pray for Ginger.”
According to the week-old post, Benedict had emergency spinal cord surgery July 2, and he was admitted to hospice July 4 with paralysis from the neck down. He died in Arizona 10 days later.
To date, the fundraiser has raised over $4,000.
Prior to acting, Benedict served in the Navy. He also had talent and interest in music and painting.
Benedict’s breakout soap role was Erica Kane’s (Susan Lucci) husband Phil Brent in “All My Children” from 1977–1978 over five episodes, taking over the role from Richard Hatch.
After exiting the show, he earned a Daytime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Actor in a Daytime Drama Series in 1979 for his performance. He went on to play Michael Schott for two episodes in “The Young and the Restless” in 1980 followed by Curtis Reed in “Days of Our Lives.” He played Reed for 93 episodes from 1993-2001.
Benedict also appeared in the original “Mission Impossible” series and the original “Hawaii Five-O” series. Other credits include “Knots Landing,” “Medical Center,” “The Dukes of Hazzard, “Tales from the Darkside,” 30 episodes of “Tribes” and seven of “Santa Barbara.”
The actor is survived by his wife of 22 years.
