5 Deaths That Shook the Soap Opera World in 2024

2024 and early 2025 have been marked by an emotional wave of celebrity deaths across different realms of entertainment. The soap opera world was especially rocked by the deaths of beloved stars, including Days of Our Lives veteran Bill Hayes and General Hospital icon Leslie Charleson.

As families, fans and colleagues grieve, these stars will be remembered for their groundbreaking achievements, cherished performance, and the indelible marks they’ve left on their industries and beyond.

This report was produced with the help of AI tools, which summarized previous stories reported and written by McClatchy journalists. It was edited by journalists from Us Weekly.