Jack Axelrod, ‘General Hospital’ Star, Dies at 93
Actor Jack Axelrod, who played mob boss Victor Jerome on “General Hospital” along with numerous other parts, has died. He was 93 years old. He passed away peacefully of natural causes on Nov. 28, his agent and friend Jennifer Garland told TheWrap.
The actor appeared on “General Hospital” as Victor Jerome. His first role was in 1971 in Woody Allen’s “Bananas” and he continued to act through the decades, with his most recent project “Bad Therapy” released in 2020.
“I had the pleasure of spending a lot of time with him in his last years, as he had no immediate family,” Garland said in a statement. “We spent much time outdoors, where Jack loved to sketch, read news articles, and recite Shakespearean sonnets.”
Early on, Axelrod played small roles in classic television shows including “Kojak” and “Hill Street Blues.” In the 1980s, he started appearing in soap operas, including primetime soaps “Dallas,” “Dynasty” and “Knots Landing.”
But his longest-lasting soap role was in “General Hospital” as Victor Jerome, a part he played in 40 episodes from 1987 until 1989.
Axelrod was a Korean War veteran and an alumnus of the University of California, Berkeley, where he began to study acting. He would later teach acting at several universities.
Axelrod also appeared in sitcoms in the ’80s and ’90s including “Night Court,” “Murphy Brown,” “Everybody Loves Raymond” and “Boy Meets World.” He even played an older version of Frasier Crane in his series’ original run.
He continued to act in sitcoms, make appearances in premium cable programs and appeared more frequently on film in recent years. This includes roles on TV programs “Ray Donovan” and “Baskets,” as well as the films “Super 8” and “Transformers: Dark of the Moon.”
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