Actor Thom Christopher, a Queens native known for his long-running roles on the ABC soaps “One Life to Live” and “Loving,” has died at the age of 84.
His death on Thursday was confirmed by his former “One Life to Live” co-star, Anthony Crivello, who shared the news in a Facebook post shortly after midnight on Friday.
“My dear friend of many years, actor Thom Christopher passed away today,” Crivello wrote. “He was always a gentleman, always supportive, and he and his wife Judith, who [preceded] him in death, [were] always kind to me and welcoming.
Crivello, who played Christopher’s son in the popular TV series, did not reveal the cause of death.
Longtime fans of “One Life to Live” know Christopher as the villainous drug dealer Carlo Hesser, whom he portrayed in more than 50 episodes between 1991 and 2008. The role earned him a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding supporting actor in a drama series in 1992. He was nominated for the same award the following year.
From 1993 to 1994, he played another villain, Dante Partou, in nearly 70 episodes of ABC’s “Loving,” for which he earned his third Daytime Emmy nomination in the same category.
Christopher’s wife, playwright Judith Leverone, died in 2019. She and the actor were married for nearly 50 years, according to a Boston Globe obituary.
Christopher’s long list of acting roles also includes recurring roles on series such as “Buck Rogers in the 25th Century,” “Murder, She Wrote” and “Guiding Light.”
“One Life to Live” left the airwaves in 2013.
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