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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
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Jerry verDorn profileWho's in, Who's out

Beloved 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