Robert Kelker-Kelly, whose daytime television career put him at the center of passionate romances and tangled rivalries, has died at 62. The actor passed away on October 3, a Missouri medical examiner confirmed to TMZ, bringing a sad close to a career familiar to viewers of several major soaps.
The news comes months after former "Days of Our Lives" co-star Lisa Rinna offered a sharply different account of their partnership away from the cameras. Their characters shared romantic storylines, but Rinna alleged in her 2026 memoir, "You Better Believe I'm Gonna Talk About It," that Kelker-Kelly was verbally abusive and manipulative behind the scenes. Those remain her allegations; PEOPLE reports that he never publicly responded.
That gap between television romance and an allegedly troubled working relationship adds a complicated chapter to the coverage of his death. Gray News also reported on Rinna's account, recalling that Kelker-Kelly's Bo Brady storylines frequently involved her character, Billie Reed-the pairing viewers watched while, according to Rinna, their offscreen relationship was strained.
Kelker-Kelly stepped into a particularly recognizable role when he replaced Peter Reckell as Bo in 1992. He appeared opposite both Rinna and Kristian Alfonso, who played Hope Brady, before Reckell returned in 1995. Taking over an established soap character placed him within one of daytime television's enduring romantic dramas.
His soap career stretched beyond Salem. He began playing Sam Fowler on "Another World" in 1987 and later portrayed Stavros Cassadine on "General Hospital." Away from acting, he also worked as a professional pilot and flight instructor-a markedly different career from the intrigue of daytime television.
Reports about his final hours say he complained of chest pain before becoming unresponsive at his Missouri home. Emergency responders attempted to save him, but those efforts were unsuccessful. Authorities described the circumstances as medical in nature; an official cause of death has not been disclosed in the reports reviewed.
