General Hospital Star Jack Axelrod Dead At 93

Veteran soap actor Jack Axelrod died at age 93, per Entertainment Weekly and other outlets. Axelrod passed in Los Angeles of natural causes on November 28, 2023, but his representative Jennifer Garland made the news public on December 16. Garland told EW she was close to the actor and "had the pleasure" of visiting him often in his last years: "We spent much time outdoors, where Jack loved to sketch, read news articles, and recite Shakespearean sonnets."

Axelrod's long TV and screen career began with Woody Allen's 1971 comedy "Bananas," and he worked steadily in numerous character roles until 2020. He's best known for playing Victor Jerome on "General Hospital," a role he assumed for 40 episodes from 1987 to 1989, and his other credits include recurring roles on "Grey's Anatomy," "My Name Is Earl," "Modern Family," and "NCIS." 

Born in L.A. on January 25, 1930, the actor had no immediate family.

While Jack Axelrod may be best known for his TV work, he also had a successful career in theater, about which he clearly felt passionate. After a six-year stint with Uta Hagen in New York studying the craft of acting, he appeared in several productions on and off Broadway including "Macbeth" and "Gandhi."

In his later years, he re-focused on his love of the stage, serving as a faculty member in the theater departments of multiple colleges, including CalArts, Boston University, and the University of Michigan, just to name a few. Before he died, he also served as a guest teacher at Aaron Speiser Acting Studio in Los Angeles, sharing the knowledge he gained over his more than half a century in the industry with the next generation of Hollywood hopefuls. 

Given that Axelrod was able to continue to enjoy a successful Hollywood career until he was 90 years old, no doubt he had plenty of sage advice to bestow.