Robert Kelker-Kelly dead at 62: Days of Our Lives actor best known for on-screen romance with Lisa Rinna
Days of Our Lives actor Robert Kelker-Kelly has died at 62.
The soap opera star’s – who is best known for his on-screen romance with Lisa Rinna – cause of death is unknown according to the Missouri medical examiner via TMZ on Monday.
The publication reports Kelker-Kelly died at home after complaining of chest pain and becoming unresponsive.
The St. Peters Police department told TMZ officers responded to the actor’s home on October 3 around 8.16pm for ‘a report of an unconscious man who was not breathing.’
CPR was in progress while police and EMS were en-route, but life-saving measures were unsuccessful. The circumstances appeared consistent with a medical event, law enforcement confirmed to the publication.
The 911 call made before his death revealed he had gone into cardiac arrest and was found in bed.
Kelker-Kelly is best known for starring as Bo Brady on NBC soap opera Days of Our Lives as he temporarily took over the role originated by Peter Reckell from 1992 to 1995.
Days of Our Lives actor Robert Kelker-Kelly (Above, in 1993) has died at 62
The soap opera star’s – who is best known for his on-screen romance with Lisa Rinna (Above in 1994) – cause of death is unknown according to the Missouri medical examiner via TMZ on Monday
Emergency dispatch audio captured the desperate efforts to save the soap opera star’s life before his death on Saturday.
‘Caller is unable to remove patient from bed,’ one responding officer was heard saying, in the audio obtained by Page Six.
The dispatcher said ‘units’ were responding to the incident and that ‘CPR is in progress.’ Another responder said that a ’62-year-old male’ was ‘not breathing’ and ‘not conscious.’
An automated voice also reported a ‘cardiac arrest’ at Kelker-Kelly’s address.
The Division Chief and Public Information Officer for the St. Charles County Ambulance District (SCCAD) Kyle Gaines told the Daily Mail that first responders were dispatched to a call for an ‘adult male patient in cardiac arrest.’
Kelker-Kelly was ‘pronounced deceased on scene by paramedics.’ Police also noted that there was nothing suspicious at the scene.
During that span his character was romancing Billie Reed who was portrayed by the aforementioned Rinna in her breakout daytime television role.
However, the on-screen chemistry was not exactly organic as earlier this year Rinna blasted Kelker-Kelly as she said he made her life ‘a living hell’ on the set of the iconic soap.
‘Behind the scenes we hated each other,’ she wrote in her memoir You Better Believe I’m Gonna Talk About it released in February.
‘Remember when Kathy Hilton said I was the biggest bully in Hollywood? Not true. Not even close! I have legit stories about the real bullies in this town. Robert Kelker-Kelly is one of those bullies,’ she continued.
‘He made my life a living hell on the set of Days. He was horrible to me. I’d go so far as to say verbally abusive. He was passive aggressive, manipulative, and played weird mind games.’
She added, ‘I had to work with him every day, often half naked to do love scenes. If I didn’t do what he wanted, he’d give me the silent treatment.
‘He was a ticking time bomb. I never knew when I arrived on set each morning if I’d get nice Robert Kelker-Kelly or dark Robert Kelker-Kelly. He was unpredictable and it was exhausting.’
Rinna was relieved when he abruptly left the show and was replaced by the aforementioned Reckell, who had originally played Bo Brady from 1983 to 1992.
However, the on-screen chemistry was not exactly organic as earlier this year Rinna blasted Kelker-Kelly as she said he made her life ‘a living hell’ on the set of iconic soap (Above, in 1994)
. ‘Behind the scenes we hated each other,’ she wrote in her memoir You Better Believe I’m Gonna Talk About it released in February (Above in 1993)
She added, ‘I had to work with him every day, often half naked to do love scenes. If I didn’t do what he wanted, he’d give me the silent treatment’
He also starred in NBC soap opera Another World over 431 episodes from 1987 to 1998; Above, seen with Victoria Hudson in 2005
She then claimed that after his exit, both she and her co-star Kristian Alfonso, who played Kelker-Kelly’s other love interest Hope Brady, were provided with a security team from NBC, although she did not think he was a threat and implied that the security was unnecessary.
‘Suddenly, one day, he disappeared from the Days set. Next thing I knew Kristian and I had our own full-time security detail,’ she alleged.
‘I wasn’t worried about physical harm, but NBC had to cover their ass. We had rent-a-cops parked outside our houses and trailers for three weeks and were driven to and from work.’
Kelker-Kelly continued his soap opera starring as Stavros Cassidine in General Hospital spin-off series Port Charles in 1997.
Years later he joined the flagship soap opera cast as the same character over 42 episodes of General Hospital from 2001 to 2014.
He also starred in NBC soap opera Another World over 431 episodes from 1987 to 1998.
Kelker-Kelly had multiple roles on the show including as Sam Fowler, Bobby Reno, and Dr. Shane Roberts.
Other television roles he is known for included Jack’s Place (1992), Touched by an Angel (1995), and Rescue 77 (1999).
Kelker-Kelly did not just have acting skills but was also a professional aircraft pilot.
He worked in that field from 2003 to 2015 and type rated in the GIV, LR60, LR45, CE560 and CE500.
The actor married Linda Rattner in 1988 as they divorced in 1992 then he married actress Miriam Parrish in 1997 before ultimately divorcing in 2011.
