Days of our Lives star Patrick Muldoon dies at 57 – The heartbreaking reason has been revealed.
Days of our Lives star Patrick Muldoon, who originated the role of Austin Reed in 1993, has died. The actor, 57, passed away after suffering a heart attack.
In Memoriam: Days of our Lives star Patrick Muldoon
Deadline broke the news of Muldoon’s passing, reporting that the actor had died suddenly the morning of Sunday, April 19.
Muldoon, a native of San Pedro, California, graduated from USC, where he had played on the school’s football team.
He was still in college when he began his acting career with a two-episode arc as Matt on Who’s the Boss? Soon after he graduated in 1991, he appeared on Saved By the Bell for three episodes as Jeffrey Hunter.
But it was his role as Austin on DAYS, which he started playing in 1992, that made him a household name among soap opera fans. Muldoon’s Austin Reed and Christie Clark’s Carrie Brady were star-crossed lovers, kept apart for years by Carrie’s scheming younger sister, Sami (Allison Sweeny).
Muldoon left DAYS in 1995, and he joined the cast of Melrose Place as bad boy Richard Hart. He appeared in several TV movies, including A Boyfriend for Christmas and Boyfriend Killer (with Kate Mansi, formerly Abigail, DAYS; now, Kristina, General Hospital), and he also starred in the hit film Starship Troopers as Zander. Muldoon was reunited with Starship Troopers co-star Denise Richards (ex-Shauna, The Bold and the Beautiful) in the film Timecrafters: The Treasure of Pirate’s Cove!
Muldoon returned to DAYS to reprise Austin from 2011-12. The actor will be seen in the film Dirty Hands, which will be released later this year.
Muldoon, daytime, the big screen, music, and more
In addition to his role as an actor, Muldoon wore a producer’s hat in Hollywood, producing many feature films, including The Tribes of Palos Verdes, Arkansas, Marlowe, The Card Counter, Riff Raff, and Kockroach, which is currently in production.
In 2024, Muldoon joined the cast of the Daytime Emmy-winning Web series, The Bay. Muldoon and Jennifer Taylor (Two and a Half Men) were cast as the conservative parents of Mike Manning’s (Smitty, Beyond the Gates) character, McKinnon.
Muldoon reunited with his DAYS pals at the show’s 50th anniversary gala in 2015. A lover of music, he played guitar and was the lead singer for The Sleeping Masses.
Last June, fans got their hopes up that Muldoon was set to do a third tour of duty in Salem when word leaked out on social media that he was spotted at the DAYS studios. “It feels good to be back,” Muldoon said in a social media post.
Alas, it turned out that Muldoon was merely visiting the set to show a friend the place where he had once worked.
The actor is survived by his partner, Miriam Rothbart, his parents, Deanna and Patrick Muldoon, Sr.; his sister, Shana, and her husband Ahmet Zappa, and their children, Halo and Arrow.
Soap Central sends sincere condolences to Muldoon’s family and loved ones at this difficult time.
