Beloved soap star Chris Robinson who starred in General Hospital has died at 86
Soap actor Chris Robinson died in his sleep at his home near Sedona in Arizona.
Soap star Chris Robinson, who played Dr. Rick Webber on the soap General Hospital, has died at the age of 86. He passed away in his sleep at his home near Sedona in Arizona and his death was shared on Facebook by the actor MJ Allen.
In his tribute, MJ Allen wrote: “My good friend Chris Robinson aka "Dr. Rick Webber" has died.
“Prolific Hollywood actor Chris Robinson has passed away at the age of 86. He peacefully passed in his sleep at his ranch near Sedona, Arizona at 12:30am on June 9, 2025. He had been in heart failure for some time, and is his official cause of death.
“His more than 100 roles in television and feature film span from 1957-2022. Most notably, his longtime role as "Dr. Rick Webber" on the ABC daytime drama General Hospital made him a worldwide television star. While on the show, Chris launched the careers of John Stamos, Rick Springfield, and Richard Dean Anderson. His character was the father of "Laura Spencer" where the Luke & Laura wedding episode is still the highest rated daytime hour in television history. He was also the original Vick's tv commercials spokesman who famously coined the phrase "I'm not a doctor, but I play one on tv". He was a regular in Soap Opera Digest magazine and appeared on celebrity Family Feud.
“Other notable tv and film roles include Savannah Smiles, 12 O'Clock High, The Donna Reed Show, Sea Hunt, Ronald Reagan's Death Valley Days, Gunsmoke (with Burt Reynolds), The Fugitive, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, Bob Hope Presents, Wagon Train, Perry Mason, Gomer Pyle, Hogan's Heroes, The Streets of San Francisco (with Michael Douglas), Barnaby Jones, CHiPs, Fantasy Island, Murder She Wrote, Another World, and The Bold and the Beautiful.
“He starred in feature films alongside Mickey Rooney, Charlton Heston, Dick Clark, Bruce Dern, Ted Cassidy, and Yvonne DeCarlo. He was also a director of both tv and film including episodes of Baretta, Cannon, and Barnaby Jones.
“A Florida native, Chris is survived by his wife of fourteen years, artist Jacquie Shane-Robinson who also acted alongside him in all three of his last films. Chris is also survived by sons, Shane, Coby, Christian, Taylor, Christopher Robinson, Christopher Lance, and adopted son Robb Walker. He had 5 grandchildren, Ivy, Ava, Davey, Brooks and Knox.
“Chris and his wife Jacquie enjoyed their ranch on Oak Creek with their many animals and birds where they maintained their art galleries and studio. Chris enjoyed charging around on his atv quad (having done his own Hollywood stunts for many years), and embellishing their medieval inspired ranch complete with organic orchards.
“His last acting appearance came in the 2022 feature film "Just For a Week" in the lead role of "Ted Hurst.”
The X account for General Hospital also posted a tribute to Chris Robinson, which read: “General Hospital's enduring legacy owes a debt of gratitude to Chris Robinson and his portrayal of Dr. Rick Webber. Our hearts go out to his family and friends as they mourn their loss. May he rest in peace. #GH”
As well as appearing in General Hospital, Chris Robinson also played the part of Jason Frame in the NBC soap Another World and also was in the soap, The Bold and the Beautiful. Actor Michael Joseph Pierce took to Instagram to pay tribute to Chris Robinson.
Michael Joseph Pierce’s tribute read: “Chris Robinson, ‘General Hospital’ Actor, Dies at 86.
“Another actor has passed from my early days on General Hospital. I remember Chris so well, speaking to him about Fan Mail specifically. He had a dressing room and he had a woman who would come to the studio and used his dressing room as an office to answer fan mail letters (old school snail mail) and respond to them.
“I only know this because one day he was late to set and it was very dramatic, "where was Chris?" When he showed up, I was walking from the dressing room where the "hospital staff" dressed and when I walked past his dressing room and he came out I saw a large desk and a woman sitting at the desk responding to mail.
“So I asked him about it through the day and he was kind enough to respond and tell me that is what he used his dressing room for, several days a week. I also remember that day he was so late to set (I think he was coming from the airport from a weekend SOAP Magazine appearance) he didn't go to make up and they did his makeup on set very quickly but he knew all his lines.”