Robert Kelker-Kelly dies at 62 in St. Peters
Soap opera actor Robert Kelker-Kelly died in St. Peters at the age of 62. Emergency responders found him unresponsive following a medical call on Oct. 3. Police said he had reportedly complained of chest pain before losing consciousness.
The St. Peters Police Department stated officers responded to an unconscious man around 8:16 p.m. CPR was already in progress. The St. Charles County Ambulance District arrived to provide emergency care. Life-saving efforts were not successful.
Police noted the circumstances appeared consistent with a medical event. The medical examiner released the body to a local funeral home.
Kelker-Kelly began acting in 1987 as Sam Fowler on “Another World.” He remained with that soap opera until 1990. He then stepped into the role of Bo Brady on “Days of Our Lives” in 1992. Original actor Peter Reckell had previously played the character.
His storyline included characters played by Kristian Alfonso and Lisa Rinna. He won a Soap Opera Digest Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in 1994. Rinna later wrote about their difficult working relationship in her memoir, “You Better Believe I’m Gonna Talk About It.”
“Behind the scenes, we hated each other. Remember when Kathy Hilton said I was the biggest bully in Hollywood? Not true. Not even close! I have legit stories about the real bullies in this town. Robert Kelker-Kelly is one of those bullies.”
Rinna claimed he made her life a living hell. She stated he was horrible to her and verbally abusive.
“He was passive-aggressive, manipulative and played weird mind games.”
Kelker-Kelly exited the soap opera in 1995. Reckell then returned to the part. Kelker-Kelly rejoined “Another World” to portray Bobby Reno and Dr. Shane Roberts through 1998.
He later played Stavros Cassadine on “General Hospital.” That guest role spanned 42 episodes between 2001 and 2014. He also took the character to the spin-off series “Port Charles.”
Kelker-Kelly worked as a professional pilot as well. IMDb listed him as a contract flight instructor at Spirit of St. Louis Airport and Creve Coeur Airport.
He married actress Linda Rattner in 1988. They divorced in 1992. He met Miriam Parrish on the set of “Days.” They wed in 1997 and divorced in 2013.
Emergency medical teams routinely coordinate with municipal police departments during critical health calls. Medical examiners evaluate unexpected fatalities before releasing deceased individuals to designated family mortuaries. Municipal agencies in St. Peters maintain records regarding these emergency dispatch responses.
TMZ first reported the death.
