John Gabriel, the daytime soap star who went on to roles in John Wayne’s “El Dorado” and “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” has died.
He was 90.
“It is with an unspeakably heavy heart that I share the news of my father’s passing,” his daughter, “Lost” alum Andrea Gabriel, wrote on Instagram. “John Gabriel was my hero, my role model, and my champion, but above all, my daddy… I will love you forever.”
John Gabriel spent almost a decade on "Ryan's Hope."
John Gabriel spent almost a decade on "Ryan's Hope." (ABC Photo Archives/)
Gabriel, a New York native, was best known for playing Dr. Seneca Beaulac on “Ryan’s Hope,” a long-running ABC soap opera about an Irish-American family in Washington Heights. Gabriel took on the role from 1975 and 1985 and again in 1988 and 1989, earning a daytime Emmy nomination in 1980.
Other roles included WJM-TV sportscaster Andy Rivers on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” and guest appearances on “The Untouchables,” “77 Sunset Strip,” “General Hospital,” “Murder, She Wrote,” “Seinfeld” and “Law & Order.” He also played the character who would go on to be the Professor in an unaired pilot of “Gilligan’s Island” before it was re-shot without him.
Gabriel also appeared across from Wayne in “El Dorado,” the 1966 movie for which he also co-wrote the title song.
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In the mid-90s, Gabriel served as a producer on Charles Grodin’s eponymous talk show for CNBC and released an album, “From John With Love.”
Gabriel is survived by his wife, actress Sandy Gabriel, daughters Andrea and Melissa and two grandsons.
