John Reilly

John Henry Matthew Reilly (November 11, 1934 – January 9, 2021) was an American film and television actor known for his appearances on soap operas such as General Hospital, Sunset Beach, and Passions.

Reilly was born on November 11, 1934, in Chicago, Illinois.

He began his acting career in the mid-1960s by guest-starring on TV shows such as Death Valley Days, Apple's Way, and Gunsmoke. In 1974, he took on the role of Dr. Dan Stewart (replacing John Colenback) on As the World Turns. He left the show two and a half years later, in September 1976, and was replaced by his predecessor Colenback.

In March 1977, Reilly was seen in "Lou Dates Mary" episode of The Mary Tyler Moore Show. In 1977–1978, he was seen in guest roles in two episodes of The Bionic Woman. Also in 1978, he was seen in two TV movies: as "Stuart" in Don Chaffey's Lassie: A New Beginning and as "Harry Briskin" in Gordon Hessler's Secrets of Three Hungry Wives, starring Jessica Walter and Gretchen Corbett.

In addition to TV, Reilly also appeared in feature films such as The Main Event (1979, starring Barbra Streisand and Ryan O'Neal) and Gorp (1980, starring Michael Lembeck and Dennis Quaid).

In 1983, Reilly had a recurring role on Dallas, before being cast as WSB agent "Sean Donely" on General Hospital in 1984. He left the show in November 1994 when he opted not to renew his contract because of payment issues from then-executive producer Wendy Riche. His character was written out of the show in February 1995, when Sean and his on-screen wife Tiffany (played by Sharon Wyatt) left town.

He also played Kelly Taylor's (played by Jennie Garth) father, Bill Taylor's, in several episodes of Beverly Hills, 90210 in eight episodes from 1996 to 1998. His role ended when Bill was arrested and imprisoned following a reconciliation with his daughter.

Reilly returned to daytime television as "Del Douglas" on Sunset Beach for a short-term guest role during the show's first six episodes, and then later returned on various occasions during 1997-1999.

In January 2005, Reilly took over the role of "Alistair Crane" on the NBC soap opera Passions. He took over the role from David Bailey after Bailey died in a pool accident in November 2004. In July 2006, Reilly was dropped from the show as a result of budget cuts. He returned to the role in August 2007 as a recurring character and remained with the show until his character was killed off in May 2008.

In October 2008, Reilly reprised the role of "Sean Donely" on General Hospital: Night Shift and again on August 9, 2013, for the show's 50th anniversary, which was his last screen appearance.

In 1955, Reilly married Donna Reilly, with whom he had two children. The marriage ended in divorce. On July 11, 1981, he married his second wife Lily Beth (Liz) Janred, with whom he had one daughter, Caitlin Reilly, also an actress known for Hacks (2021), Loot (2022) and Dead Boy Detectives.

John Henry Matthew Reilly died from a heart attack on January 9, 2021. He was 86.

Director Judd Apatow, who is a fan of Reilly, commented on Twitter that actor John C. Reilly had to add a "C." to his name to differentiate from John Reilly.