Actor Nick Benedict has died at the age of 77, his family has confirmed.
The actor died in Arizona on July 14 after complications from emergency spinal surgery.
The news was confirmed on Facebook by Jake’s Stakehouse, the restaurant where Benedict’s wife Ginger Benedict works as a bartender.
“Nick Benedict’s birthday was July 14. He went to be with the Lord this day. Please pray for Ginger,” the short Facebook message read.
There was also a link to a GoFundMe page to help support Benedict and his wife.
The couple were married for 22 years with Benedict tragically dying on his birthday.
According to a bio on the GoFundMe page, Benedict also served in the Navy as well as being a musician and painter.
The page went on to detail Benedict’s health problems before his death: “On July 2nd, Sunday Nick had emergency spinal cord surgery. On July 4th he was admitted to hospice.
“He is paralyzed from the neck down. He will need constant care and support.”
His wife had taken a leave of absence from work to care for Benedict with the page set up to help them financially.
Benedict was best known for his roles in the soaps The Young and the Restless, All My Children and Days of Our Lives
According to IMDb, his first screen role was in 1955’s Wiretapper and it was nearly nine years later he would appear in Mike the Mermaid.
Through the late 1960s and early 70s, he started to build up his acting CV with small roles in Ironside, Mission: Impossible, The Bold Ones: The Lawyers and Calling Dr Gannon.
But his first major part came as Phillip Brent in hit soap All My Children in 1977, where he appeared across five episodes.
Benedict’s performance earned him a Daytime Emmy nomination before going on to many other roles.
He went on to play Michael Scott in The Young and the Restless as well as roles in Tribes, Santa Barbara.
The star’s film credits include East Meets West, Beach House, Devil’s Food and Obsession.
Benedict’s biggest part was playing Curtis Reed in Days of Our Lives for 93 episodes between 1993 and 2001.
