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‘Port Charles’ Star Jay Pickett Dead at 60

Photo: IMDB

UPDATED:  Just heartbreaking news over the weekend.  Former Port Charles star and soap veteran, Jay Pickett died suddenly while filming a movie.  His cause of death was not immediately known, although in a post on Sunday from Travis Mills it appears to have been from a heart attack. Pickett was 60-years-old.  On Sunday, former co-stars have shared their remembrances while mourning Jay including Michael Easton, Kelly Monaco, Michael Dietz, Marie Wilson, Kin Shriner and more.

In addition to his most remembered role on daytime as Frank Scanlon on the GH spinoff, Port Charles, where he appeared in over 762 episodes, Pickett also appeared on GH replacing Ted King as Lorenzo Alcazar and came back to the show in 2006-07 in the recurring role of Detective David Harper.  Jay also spent time on Days of our Lives as Dr. Chip Lakin and appeared on primetime’s Desperate Housewives and Queen Sugar countless other TV series and films.

Word of Pickett’s death first came via Facebook from Jim Heffel who is the film’s co-producer, who shared along with these images (see below): “Yesterday I lost a good friend and the world lost a great person. Jay Pickett decided to ride off into the Heavens. Jay died sitting on a horse ready to rope a steer in the movie Treasure Valley in Idaho. The way of a true cowboy. Jay wrote the story and starred in it. He was also coproducer with myself and Vernon Walker. He will be truly missed. Ride like the wind partner.”

Photo: ABC/Getty

Michael Dietz, who played Pickett’s on-screen brother, Joe Scanlon on Port Charles shared his grief on the news on Facebook, expressing: “My greatest friend has sadly left this world. We met when we were cast as brothers on Port Charles many, many years ago. He played my big brother on TV but that carried over into real life and an amazing friendship that was one of a kind. He was an incredible husband, father, friend, and godfather to my daughter. Everyone that knew him loved him. I love you, Jay. Keep smiling my friend. All my love to his family, who truly became our family as well. You will be forever missed.”

Kin Shriner (Scott, GH) and Jay’s former co-star at Port Charles shared: “The sudden passing of my pal Jay Pickett Is very sad . He loved acting and Westerns , and when we got together we laughed a lot . R.I.P. Jay”

Kelly Monaco (Ex-Livvie, PC and now Sam, GH) shared on her Instagram:  “My heart goes out to the family and friends of Jay Pickett. If you knew him, you loved him. Words can’t describe…”

Michael Easton (Ex-Caleb/Michael PC, and now Finn on GH) expressed: “Mourning the loss of our friend and colleague. I first met Jay in Margie Haber’s acting class in the late 80’s and was fortunate to get to work with him many times over the next thirty years. He was a wonderful actor but an even better person. My deepest condolences to his wife and his children, his friends and all of his fans. Rest in peace, Brother.”

Marie Wilson (Ex-Karen, Port Charles) shared: “This is one of the most difficult posts I’ve done. My heart is broken to hear that this incredible person has passed. Words cannot described how much you touched my life….your friendship, advice, and support made me feel so grateful and lucky. My first day on the set was with us having a water fight ….and the fun adventures continued from there. So happy to have shared all those moments with you. I will miss you my friend!”

Travis Mills from the film Treasure Valley, in which Pickett was filming at the time of his death, shared on Sunday morning this updated message on Facebook: “Many of you have already heard about the tragedy that happened two days ago. Jay Pickett, our leading man, writer, producer, and creator of this movie passed away suddenly while we were on location preparing to film a scene. There is no official explanation for the cause of his death but it appears to have been a heart attack. Everyone present tried as hard as they could to keep him alive. Our hearts are broken and we grieve for his family who are so devastated by this shocking tragedy.  As so many of us know, Jay was an incredible man. He was kind, sweet, and generous. He was one of the best actors I ever worked with and it was an honor to collaborate with him. Everyone who met him, even for the briefest moment, could feel his warmth, his wonderful spirit. It is difficult to find the words right now to say more. His closest friends have said that he was very happy making Treasure Valley and my hope is that he truly was. He was doing what he loved: acting, riding horses, making movies. And he was magnificent.”

Jay is survived by his wife, Elena, and their three children, Maegan, Michaela and Tyler.

We will have more on this continuing story as remembrances for Pickett are shared, and updated on news of his passing.

Share your condolences and thoughts on Jay via the comment section below.

 

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A post shared by Kelly Monaco (@kelly_m23)

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What terrible news. I remember him very well and enjoyed his performances so much. What a tragic loss. Sincere condolences to his family and friends. May he rest in peace.

Breaking News

Y&R to Celebrate John Abbott with Special Episode and Guest Appearance by Kym Douglas

The Young and the Restless continues its 50th anniversary season with a special episode dedicated to the memory of the late Jerry Douglas, who portrayed the beloved patriarch of the Abbott Clan, John Abbott.

The standalone episode will air on on Thursday June 22nd on the CBS daytime drama.

The episode is said to be filled with classic flashbacks and includes a special appearance by the late actor’s wife, author and television personality, Kym Douglas.

Look for Kym to take on the role of  Zelda Wilford who shares a special connection to the Abbott family.

Jerry Douglas passed away at the age of 89 following a brief illness in November of 2021.  The character of John Abbott was killed-off Y&R in 2006, but made many return appearances as a ghost, especially in scenes with his son, Jack, played by Peter Bergman.

Will you be tuning-in to see Y&R’s special episode to John Abbott? Comment below.

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Chris Licht OUT at CNN After Morning Show’s Failure to Grab Audience, Don Lemon Firing & Donald Trump Town Hall

Chris Licht, who attempted sweeping changes to the programming line-up and more has been let go as CNN’s CEO after just one year in the position.

Warner Bros. Discovery, CEO David Zaslav informed the CNN staff on their daily editorial call on Wednesday. During the informative call, Zaslav acknowledged that Licht’s leadership at CNN was ‘not successful; and that he takes ‘full responsibility’ for it. Prior to Licht, Jeff Zucker led the charge at CNN, and their styles were in sharp contrast to each other.

CNN’s interim leadership team was announced as: Amy Entelis, head of talent and content development, Virginia Mosely, head of editorial, plus programming executive Eric Shearling, and David Leavy, the just announced new COO.

 

Photo: CNN

During his tenure, Licht attempted to launch a newly reformatted morning, CNN This Morning with Poppy Harlow, Don Lemon and Kaitlin Collins, only to not only see it do poorly in the news/morning show ratings, but the trio is no longer together. Currently, Harlow remains with fill-in co-anchors.

Lemon was fired by Licht back in April after 17 years as part of the key anchors of the news network. Collins, has ascended to her own primetime show, and hadsbeen put in the position to lead key ‘Town Halls:, which recently included one with former President and now Republican Presidential candidate, Donald Trump.

Photo: CNN

It is said that one of the reasons for Licht’s dismissal was his decision to give Trump the airtime with Collins.  The now former CEO received swift backlash from viewers and staff. Many felt it was a desperate move by Licht as declining ratings and reworked programming were not turning things around. Licht eventually apologized to the staff for his decision on a Monday editorial call.  The scathing article in The Atlantic entitled, “Inside the Meltdown at CNN” really didn’t do Licht much favors, either.

In addition, there have been so many anchors/reporters/personalities switched around on their primetime line-up, (other than Anderson Cooper) that it became hard to know when to tune-in to see who … you almost needed a scorecard to follow.

So, what do you think of Licht’s departure from CNN? The missteps in programming decisions? A new CEO will eventually be named, but the network says it will takes its time to find the right replacement.  Comment below.

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Breaking News

‘The View’s’ Whoopi Goldberg Tells Audience to Stop ‘Booing’ Republican Senator Tim Scott

During a bizarre couple of segments of Monday’s episode of The View, Republican presidential candidate, South Carolina Senator Tim Scott, was the special guest.

The conversation between the conservative politician and The View co-hosts, Whoopi Goldberg, Sunny Hostin and Ana Navarro took some uncomfortable and tense turns.

At one point, Goldberg posed the question to Scott, as to why the Republican Party was trying to “stop the progression that people are making.” Scott started answering and said that his political party was doing a “fabulous job at making progress” with social issues. Hostin  asked him to elaborate on that point.  It was then, that the senator turned his back to Goldberg, which promoted Whoopi to interject “That was me talking to you …. shall I come next to her?”

Goldberg then stood next to Hostin as Scott continued to face away from the other co-hosts and address the two.  After proving her point, Whoopi went back to her seat a The View table.

Courtesy/ABC

Then, production signaled Goldberg to toss to break, but Scott was continue to speak.  So instead of interrupting him, someone else from the production staff walked on camera and told Scott they were going to break.

However, when the show returned, and Ana Navarro asked her question, if the senator thought the ‘Republican Party had gone too far’ in introducing legislature against the LGBTQ+ community, including Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill, plus Floria governor and Republican presidential candidate, Ron DeSantis’ feud with Disney, Scott’s response drew ire from some in the live audience with many booing the guest.

Next, Goldberg shut down the ‘boos” scolding the audience with: “Not here. I’m sorry sir. Do not ‘boo’. This is The View. We accept … we don’t have to believe everything people say, but you cannot “boo” people here, please. You cannot do it.”

Watch the ‘daytime drama’ on The View below, and then let us know what you thought of Tim Scott’s appearance on the ABC daytime talk show via the comment section.

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