Days of Our Lives and General Hospital actor Robert Kelker-Kelly’s cause of death has been revealed.
The Office of the Regional Medical Examiner in St. Charles, Missouri shared that Kelker-Kelly died of arteriosclerotic heart disease, Us can confirm. His manner of death was ruled to be natural.
Us confirmed on Monday, October 5, that Kelker-Kelly died at age 62. Two days prior, the St. Peters Police Department in Missouri responded at approximately 8:16 p.m. to a report of an unconscious male — who was later identified as Kelker-Kelly — who was not breathing.
CPR was in progress on the soap star while police and EMS were en route. Additional life-saving measures were administered when officers arrived on the scene, but they were ultimately unsuccessful.
Us also confirmed that St. Charles County Ambulance District paramedics responded to a report of a male in cardiac arrest. Advanced Life Support measures were initiated, but Kelker-Kelly was pronounced dead on-scene by paramedics.
Kelker-Kelly had reportedly complained of chest pain before becoming unresponsive. The circumstances appeared consistent with a medical event and nothing suspicious was noted at the scene. His body was later released by the medical examiner to a local funeral home.
The actor rose to fame in the soap opera world. In 1992, Kelker-Kelly was cast on Days of Our Lives and portrayed Bo Brady for three years, taking over the role from Peter Reckell.
“I knew Reckell was popular in the part and I was ready for some opposition, but it never came,’” Kelker-Kelly said in 1992, per Entertainment Weekly. “Bo is a bit on the edge. He’s fun to play because he’s not a hero at all. He rushed in there whenever his emotions tell him to and he doesn’t put up with a lot of crap from others.”
Reckell ultimately reprised the role in 1995. That same year, Kelker-Kelly and costar Lisa Rinna (who played Billie Reed) earned a Soap Opera Digest Award for Hottest Soap Couple.
“It was a good run and I had a good time while it lasted,” Kelker-Kelly told Soap Opera Digest at the time.
Following his exit from Days of Our Lives in 1995, Kelker-Kelly played Stavros Cassadine on General Hospital. He also appeared in several episodes of the TV series Another World, playing characters including Sam Fowler, Bobby Reno and Dr. Shane Roberts, before retiring from acting and becoming a professional pilot.
Before Kelker-Kelly’s death, Rinna claimed in her memoir, You Better Believe I’m Gonna Talk About It, that the former costars did not get along off screen. Kelker-Kelly did not publicly respond to Rinna’s allegations at the time.
