The daytime community is mourning the passing of Gil Rogers, an actor who showed his impressive range in the genre with roles like heartless All My Children criminal Ray Gardner and incorrigible rodeo man Hawk Shayne on Guiding Light. The actor's daughter, Amanda Rogers, confirmed that he died in his sleep on March 2 at the age of 87.
"As you all know, my dad was awesome. He was my best friend, confidant, mentor, and just an awesome dad," Rogers shared on Facebook. "He came to pick me and Charlotte Whitaker Zdanowski up at clubs at 2 am in our teens to keep us safe, and drank bourbon with me every day since moving out here [to San Diego] two years ago."
She continued, "He was welcoming and kind, funny and gregarious, a shameless flirt, and a fierce protector. He loved his dinners with grandkids and endured animated movies and discussions about Pokemon. And I miss him so terribly already. He died in his sleep, without pain or fear. I am so grateful to have had such a great father and to have spent these past two years with him every day."
Gil Rogers died this morning. As you all know, my dad was awesome. He was my best friend, confidant, mentor and just...
Posted by Amanda Rogers on Tuesday, March 2, 2021
A native of Kentucky, Rogers studied chemistry at Harvard before deciding he wanted to become an actor. He got his start in soap operas playing Dr. Martin Brandt on The Doctors from 1974 to 1977. He then took on the terrifying role of AMC's Ray Gardner, the mean-spirited and abusive father of Tad (Michael E. Knight) and Jenny (Kim Delaney) who had a mile-long list of evil deeds that included leaving a young Tad on the side of the road to die and raping Ruth Martin (then played by Mary Fickett).
In 1986, Rogers began playing Guiding Light's Hawk Shayne, a rodeo man who was the father of Reva Shayne (Kim Zimmer). While not as evil as AMC's Ray, Hawk was no angel, having abandoned Reva and the rest of his family. But Hawk at least tried to make amends and was mostly a good guy -- though not always morally responsible...
Some of Rogers' other TV credits include the short role of Lt. Marlowe on Another World in 1979 and several appearances on Law & Order. He also starred in films like The Panic in Needle Park, The Bell Jar, The Children, and Eddie Macon's Run.
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