General Hospital star Doug Sheehan dies at 75: Actor began career in films 10 and Victor/Victoria before finding success on TV

Actor Doug Sheehan, best known for his four-year run on the popular soap opera General Hospital, has died at the age of 75.

Sheehan’s death was announced by the Kane Funeral Home on Monday on its website.

The announcement said Sheehan had died at his home in Big Horn, Wyoming, with his wife Cate Abert at his side, though the cause of death was not shared.

Sheehan had small roles in a handful of classic films, including the comedies 10 (1979) and Victor/Victoria (1982), but it was his television work for which he became best known.

In addition to his role on General Hospital, the actor also starred in the soap opera Knots Landing and played Cher’s father in the adaptation of the television show Clueless.

Sheehan appeared on General Hospital as Joe Kelly from 1979 to 1982; pictured with Robin Mattson and Louise Hoven in 1981.

Sheehan was born on April 27, 1949 in Santa Monica, California.

The actor’s first credited on-screen role was in a 1978 episode of Charlie’s Angels.

The following year, he made the leap to the big screen when he played the supporting role of The Policeman in Blake Edwards’ hit romantic comedy 10, starring Dudley Moore, Julie Andrews (who was Edwards’ wife), and Bo Derek, who appeared in an iconic scene in which she ran on a beach while sporting beaded braids.

Sheehan teamed with Edwards again in his acclaimed 1982 romantic comedy Victor/Victoria, which again starred Andrews, this time opposite James Garner.

Sheehan had a small, uncredited role in one of the film’s dance numbers.

His only other film role came more than a decade later in the 1995 film Cops N Roberts (not to be confused with the 1994 comedy of the same name Cops & Robbersons).

Sheehan’s longest-running role was as Ben Gibson on the primetime soap opera Knots Landing.

The long-running Dallas spin-off debuted in 1979 and ran until 1993, becoming the third-longest-running primetime drama in the US at the time of its cancellation, behind classic Westerns Gunsmoke and Bonanza.

Sheehan joined the cast to play a journalist for four seasons, from 1983 to 1987.

During his time on General Hospital, Sheehan appeared in small roles in the films 10 (1979) and Victor/Victoria (1982); he was seen on General Hospital in 1979 with Richard Dean Anderson and Susan Pratt.

Sheehan’s longest-running role was as Ben Gibson on the prime-time soap opera Knots Landing (pictured). He played Ben Gibson, the journalist and second husband of Valene Ewing (Joan Van Ark) from 1983 to 1987; he is pictured here with Van Ark.