Jerry verDorn (November 23, 1949 – May 1, 2022) was an American
soap opera
A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...
actor
An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...
, best known for his role as Ross Marler in ''
Guiding Light
''Guiding Light'' (known as ''The Guiding Light'' before 1975) is an American radio and television soap opera. ''Guiding Light'' aired on CBS for 57 years between June 30, 1952, and September 18, 2009, overlapping a 19-year broadcast on radio ...
'' and
Clint Buchanan in ''
One Life to Live
''One Life to Live'' (often abbreviated as ''OLTL'') is an American soap opera broadcast on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC television network for more than 43 years, from July 15, 1968, to January 13, 2012, and then on the internet as ...
''.
Early life
Jerry verDorn was born on November 23, 1949, in
Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Sioux Falls ( ) is the List of cities in South Dakota, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Dakota and the List of United States cities by population, 117th-most populous city in the United States. It is the county seat of Minnehaha Coun ...
, and attended
Minnesota State University Moorhead
Minnesota State University Moorhead (MSUM) is a public university in Moorhead, Minnesota, across the Red River of the North from Fargo, North Dakota. The school has an enrollment of 7,534 students in 2019 and 266 full-time faculty members. MSUM ...
.
Career
VerDorn performed on stage with the Folger Theatre in Washington, D.C.
On Broadway he was a standby for the role of John Tanner in ''Man and Superman'' (1978) and portrayed an investigator in ''Are You Now or Have You Ever Been'' (1979).
VerDorn became one of ''Guiding Lights longest-running cast members, debuting in the role on March 19, 1979 and portraying the character of Ross for over 26 years. He won
Daytime Emmy Award
The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York-based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NA ...
s for Best Supporting Actor in 1995 and again in 1996. VerDorn also portrayed Ross in a 1983 television movie, ''The Cradle Will Fall'', an adaptation of a book to film using several ''Guiding Light'' characters in supporting roles. In the winter of 1982, he played the role of Ross' soon to be first wife, Carrie Todd's (played by
Jane Elliot), first husband Todd MacKenzie in Carrie's flashbacks during Carrie's murder trial of one of Ross' former nemeses, Diane Ballard (played by
Sofia Landon Geier) who also appeared in the flashbacks. In the fall of 1994, he played the humorous lookalike role of Howie - "Hoss" - who was the total antithesis of Ross. His last appearance as Ross aired on October 11, 2005.
VerDorn earned seven nominations for the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series in 1990, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1996 and 1999 and won twice (1995 and 1996).
On October 25, 2005, verDorn took over the role of
Clint Buchanan on
ABC's ''One Life to Live'' and continued in the role until the series cancellation in 2012. On January 8, 2013, verDorn became the first actor to sign on for the revival of ''One Life to Live'' that aired on
The Online Network
Prospect Park is a Hollywood entertainment production company, founded in 2008 by Richard H. Frank, a former executive at the Walt Disney Television, and Jeff Kwatinetz, former CEO of the talent agency The Firm, Inc., and music manager Peter ...
.
Filmography
Television
Awards and nominations
Personal life
In 1977, verDorn married Bethea Stewart. They had two sons and remained wed until his death.
He died on May 1, 2022, aged 72, from cancer.
References
External links
Official website*
Jerry verDorn profileWho's in, Who's outBeloved Daytime Vet Jerry verDorn Dies At 72
{{DEFAULTSORT:Verdorn, Jerry
1949 births
2022 deaths
20th-century American male actors
21st-century American male actors
American male soap opera actors
Daytime Emmy Award winners
Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series winners
Male actors from South Dakota
Actors from Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Minnesota State University Moorhead alumni
Deaths from cancer in New Jersey