Stuart Damon, ‘General Hospital’ star, dead at 84
Stuart Damon, best known for his role as Dr. Alan Quartermaine in the longtime soap opera “General Hospital,” has died at age 84.
Damon’s son, Christopher, broke the news to Los Angeles station ABC7, saying that his father’s “favorite place to be” was the soap opera. “He loved playing Alan and was always so appreciative of that role and that job. It was his passion.”
Damon had suffered from renal failure for several years.
Born in Brooklyn in 1937, Damon began his acting career on and off-Broadway with appearances throughout the 1960s, including in “The Boys From Syracuse,” “Irma La Douce” and “Do I Hear a Waltz?” Damon really hit the spotlight once he was cast as the prince in the 1965 TV production of the musical “Cinderella,” which also starred Ginger Rogers, Walter Pidgeon, Celeste Holm and then-newcomer Lesley Ann Warren in the title role.
In 1968, after moving to the United Kingdom, Damon starred in the BBC TV adaptation of Mark Twain’s “The £1,000,000 Bank Note.” He continued to work in British television, starring in “Thriller,” “The New Avengers,” “Space: 1999” and “The Adventures of Black Beauty,” among other shows and TV films.
In 1977, Damon landed his well-known role as Dr. Alan Quartermaine — a physician with a painkiller addiction — on “General Hospital.” Twenty-two years and nine Daytime Emmy Award nominations later, Damon won a Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series in 1999. He also brought the character to the spinoff series “Port Charles.”
Damon’s Quartermaine remained a prominent figure on “General Hospital” for nearly 30 years. Despite Damon’s character’s death in 2007, Quartermaine retained a ghostly presence on the show until December of 2008. Damon would later return between 2011 and 2013 to sporadically reprise the Quartermaine role.
After three decades on “General Hospital,” Damon went on to guest star in additional soap operas, including “Days of Our Lives” and “As the World Turns.” Damon also appeared in the Bob Fosse film “Star 80,” and landed guest roles on American TV series such as “Fantasy Island,” “Hotel,” “The New Mike Hammer” and “Diagnosis Murder” in the 1980s and 1990s.
