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Actor Peter White, best known for his work on the soap opera All My Children and in multiple adaptations of The Boys in the Band, has died at the age of 86.
White died Wednesday at his Los Angeles home of melanoma, his All My Children costar Kathleen Noone confirmed The Hollywood Reporter.
The New York City-born actor, who celebrated his 86th birthday last month, played the character Linc Tyler on ABC’s All My Children in 12 episodes of the series from 1976 to 2005, according to iMDb.
White initially played the role of Tyler – the storyline son of Phoebe Tyler (played by the late Ruth Warrick) in 1974, as he was the third actor to play the role on the long-running soap, according to THR. He returned and appeared in episodes in 1981, 1984, 1986, 1995 and 2005.
White played the role of Alan McCarthy in The Boys in the Band, both on stage and in director William Friedkin’s 1970 film.
Details: Actor Peter White, best known for his work on the soap opera All My Children and in multiple adaptations of The Boys in the Band, has died at the age of 86. Pictured in 1970
The veteran actor appeared in the 2006 Hallmark film, Though None Go With Me
He began appearing in the role in April 1968 at the off-Broadway venue, Theater Four.
The play and film revolve around a birthday party in Manhattan for a group of gay men, while the portrayal of gay characters was minimized or unflattering; it was not made clear whether the McCarthy character was gay.
In a 2008 interview with Weekly, said Soap Opera DigestWhite spoke about the uncharted waters the cast and crew had about the work.
“On opening night, none of us knew what we had,” White said. ‘We all thought, “It’s a play, it’s something new, it’s different and it’s good.” It was a 100 percent gay audience – and the next day it went crazy!’
The production’s popularity soared, as White said, “We got a call to come to the theater early because there was such a crowd around the theater that you couldn’t get close.”
White said he never saw The Boys in the Band as “a gay play,” but rather “a play with gay characters.”
He said he had been working on a production of Neil Simon’s play Barefoot in the Park when he had the opportunity to appear in The Boys in the Band. White said his Barefoot in the Park costar, the late Myrna Loy, recommended him to appear in the potentially controversial production.
“Things were really moving for me; I was doing so well and I thought, ‘I don’t need this kind of risk,’” White told Weekly in 2008. “I spoke to Myrna – she became my mentor – and she said, ‘Peter, if you are, if you become an actor, you’re going to have to take some risks in your life.’”
The veteran actor was remembered on social media amid news of his death
White portrayed the character Linc Tyler on ABC’s All My Children in 12 episodes of the series from 1976-2005, according to iMDb
White was a graduate of Northwestern University and had also studied his craft at the Yale School of Drama.
White got his start on the CBS soap opera The Secret Storm from 1965-1966, playing the character Jerry Ames; he also appeared on the series NYPD in 1968 in a guest role.
White played the role of Dr. Sanford Hiller on the CBS soap opera Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing in 1971, and also appeared in the film The Pursuit of Happiness that year. His first appearance on Broadway came in 1975 in the play Your Cat Is Dead.
White also had an extended run on the ABC series The Colbys in 1985–1986, playing the role of attorney Arthur Cates in 16 episodes of the show’s first two seasons.
He also appeared in 14 episodes of the NBC show Sisters from 1991-1996, playing the role of Dr. Thomas Reed, the deceased father of the characters played by Swoosie Kurtz, Sela Ward, Patricia Kalember and Julianne Phillips.
White was a frequent guest star on TV shows in the 1980s, including Hill Street Blues, The Jeffersons, Dynasty, Knots Landing, Falcon Crest, Hart to Hart, Simon & Simon, The Paper Chase, Scarecrow and Mrs. King, Matlock, LA Law, Dallas and designing women.
He continued to work steadily throughout the 1990s, with appearances in Mad About You, NYPD Blue, The West Wing, The X-Files, Ally McBeal, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and Cold Case, among others.
White was the third actor to play the role on the long-running soap, according to THR. He returned and appeared in episodes in 1981, 1984, 1986, 1995 and 2005.
White had appeared in several films in his career, including 2004’s First Daughter, 1998’s Armageddon, 1997’s Flubber and 1993’s Dave. His last role came in the 2016 film Punching Henry.
White had worked as an acting coach in recent years, THR reported.
Kathleen Noone told THR that White was unmarried and had no children.