1980s CBS Star Doug Sheehan Has Died

Veteran soap actor Doug Sheehan, who joined the cast of CBS’ long-running soap Knots Landing in 1983 as Ben Gibson, has died. Sheehan “passed away peacefully” at his home in Big Horn, Wyoming on Saturday, June 29, according to Wyoming-based Kane Funeral Home. He was 75. A cause of death was not disclosed.

Born on April 27, 1949 in Santa Monica, California, Sheehan first appeared on TV in guest spots on the dramas Charlie’s Angels in 1978 before landing his breakout role playing lawyer Joe Kelly on ABC’s General Hospital, per his IMDb profile. He appeared in a total of 205 episodes from 1978 until 1982, earning a Daytime Emmy in the outstanding actor in a supporting role in a daytime drama series category that same year.

A year after his departure from General Hospital, Sheehan transitioned to another soap, CBS’ Dallas spinoff Knots Landing. The actor starred on the series as reporter Ben Gibson, the second husband to Joan Van Ark’s Valene Ewing. He stayed for 115 episodes from 1983 to 1988 before his character went on assignment in South America and was later reported to be missing and believed dead.

Sheehan went on to star as stockbroker Brian Harper in Day by Day, which aired for two seasons on NBC from 1988 to 1989 and centered around Brian and Kate Harper (Linda Kelsey) and their son, Ross (Christopher Daniel Barnes). In the ’90s, Sheehan played Cher Horowitz’s father on the UPN adaptation of Clueless, taking over the role of Mel Horowitz from Michael Lerner after the first season in 1997, and remaining on the show for the remainder of its run through 1999. He also appeared as Edward Spellman, the father of Melissa Joan Hart’s Sabrina, on Sabrina the Teenage Witch.

His other credits include Cheers, Alice, MacGyver, and Columbo. On the big screen, Sheehan appeared in 10, Victor/Victoria, and Cops N Roberts. His final credit was a guest starring role in What I Like About You, the 2003 film starring Amanda Bynes and Jennie Garth. That same year, he returned for the series finale of Sabrina the Teenage Witch.

Sheehan is survived by his wife, Cate, to whom he had been from 1981 until his death last month, per NBC.