All My Children star Paul Avery has tragically died alongside his wife, Sheila, after a devastating house fire. According to Page Six, the fire happened early on Tuesday, June 16.
Firefighters were called to their Blairstown, New Jersey home at around 1am. While they were both pulled out of the burning home, they were both in critical condition. Tragically, neither survived.
Their daughter, Kyle, confirmed their passing in a
"We're grateful to the Blairstown Fire Department for their efforts. Service plans to follow."
The cause of the fire is yet to be confirmed by the Blairstown Fire Department.
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Avery Was a Soap Star and a Journalist
Avery was most well known for starring on the soap All My Children for 12 years back in the 80s, where he portrayed a bartender at Foxy's named Hughes. According to Yahoo!News, he also starred in other shows like Soap and Three's Company. He also had a small role in the original Superman movie back in '78.
Avery was also a veteran in Vietnam. He served as a helicopter crew chief during his time in the military.
But, in his later years, he broke out into journalism. In his words, "The great thinga bout living in a small town is that you can actively participate in it." So, he founded the Ridge View Echo, where he served as the executive editor before his tragic death.
His friend and fellow writer at the paper, Joe Phalon, said to a local outlet that "I always like to call Paul the most interesting man in the world, because he was when you consider everything he's done in his life. Acting, skydiving, Vietnam veteran, started a newspaper."
He added that Avery's passing will "leave a real void in... Not just Blairstown, but the towns around as well. I think we'll really miss him, and I think it's going to become more apparent over time."
