An actor who starred in Port Charles and General Hospital has passed away. Jay Pickett, who appeared in a variety of television and movie roles since the late-1980s, has died at the age of 60 while on the set of a movie that's currently in production. The actor was, according to reports from the set, sitting on a horse when he "decided to ride off into the heavens," according to co-star Jim Heffel in a Facebook post.
Jay Pickett was in Idaho filming a movie titled Treasure Valley when he collapsed on set. News of the incident was shared by Jim Heffel, a fellow actor and friend of Pickett, as well as Travis Mills, a co-producer on Treasure Valley. Mills shared exactly what was known about the incident on the film's official Facebook page, and paid homage to Pickett in the process.
Many of you have already heard about the tragedy that happened two days ago. Jay Pickett, our leading man, writer, producer, and creator of this movie passed away suddenly while we were on location preparing to film a scene. There is no official explanation for the cause of his death but it appears to have been a heart attack. Everyone present tried as hard as they could to keep him alive. Our hearts are broken and we grieve for his family who are so devastated by this shocking tragedy.As so many of us know, Jay was an incredible man. He was kind, sweet, and generous. He was one of the best actors I ever worked with and it was an honor to collaborate with him. Everyone who met him, even for the briefest moment, could feel his warmth, his wonderful spirit. It is difficult to find the words right now to say more. His closest friends have said that he was very happy making Treasure Valley and my hope is that he truly was.
Pickett was most known for his work in soap operas, where he first started out as Dr. Chip Lakin on Days of our Lives. That short stint was followed by his extended role on Port Charles, where he played Frank Scanlon for 6 years. Later, Jay Pickett returned to the soap opera world in 2006 with a fill-in role on General Hospital as Lorenzo Alcazar but was then later re-introduced on the hit series as Detective David Harper, appearing from 2007-2008.
Outside of his work in the genre of soap operas, it wasn't uncommon to see Jay Pickett appear in a guest role on other notable television series, such as shows like Dexter, NCIS: Los Angeles, and The Mentalist. Pickett had a few film credits as well, and in recent years had worked on a few Western films. Treasure Valley was one of those projects, but he was also a part of projects such as Shooting Star, Heart of the Gun, and Catch The Bullet.
CinemaBlend would like to offer condolences to the friends and family of Jay Pickett and wish them well during this trying time.
