Robert Kelker-Kelly, the actor who played Bo Brady on “Days of Our Lives,” was found dead at his home in St. Peters, Mo., on Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026, and St. Peters police have confirmed that there were no signs of foul play or suspicious activity in his death, as of Oct. 6. He was 62.
Kelker-Kelly suffered cardiac arrest and was found unresponsive in bed, according to 911 dispatch audio.
A report of an unconscious man who was not breathing brought officers to the house at about 8:16 p.m., a department statement said, and paramedics and other emergency medical crews were dispatched as well. Police said he had complained of chest pain shortly before he became unresponsive, and police said the circumstances appeared consistent with a medical event.
First responders were told by a dispatcher that Kelker-Kelly was not breathing. Another transmission relayed that the caller could not move him from the bed as CPR was under way. Officers and paramedics administered life-saving measures, and the efforts failed.
Cause of Death Pending
He died of natural causes, a spokesperson for the medical examiner’s office told The Sun, adding that no toxicology testing was ordered, because there was no suspicion of drugs or alcohol.
Officials had not released an official cause of death as of Oct. 7. The St. Charles County medical examiner’s office has said death certification normally takes about 12 weeks.
Decades in Daytime Television
Kelker-Kelly was born April 18, 1964, in Wichita, Kan. He made his acting debut in 1987 as Sam Fowler on the NBC soap “Another World” and held the part until 1990. Race car driver Bobby Reno, a character later revealed to be Dr. Shane Roberts, brought him back to the show in 1996, and he stayed in the role until 1998. His “Another World” work added up to more than 400 episodes.
He took over Bo Brady on “Days of Our Lives” in 1992 from actor Peter Reckell, who originated the character in 1983. He played Bo opposite Kristian Alfonso, who played Hope Brady, and Lisa Rinna, who played Billie Reed, and appeared in nearly 600 episodes before Reckell reclaimed the part in 1995. He won outstanding lead actor at the Soap Opera Digest Awards in 1994.
He played the aristocratic villain Stavros Cassadine on “Port Charles” and “General Hospital” from 1997 to 2003, and he revived the role on “General Hospital” from 2013 to 2014, his final onscreen role, per IMDb. His other credits included “Jack’s Place,” “Touched by an Angel,” “Maybe This Time” and “Rescue 77.” He left acting entirely for the cockpit and worked as a professional pilot from 2003 to 2015.
Rinna Memoir Reopened Past
In 1995, the same year both he and Rinna exited “Days of Our Lives,” Kelker-Kelly and Rinna shared the Soap Opera Digest Award for hottest soap couple. Her 2026 memoir, “You Better Believe I’m Gonna Talk About It,” carried Rinna’s accusation that Kelker-Kelly had been verbally abusive, passive-aggressive and manipulative toward her during their years on the soap. She also said he played mind games on set.
“Behind the scenes, we hated each other,” Rinna wrote. She called him “a ticking time bomb.”
What viewers saw and what Rinna says she experienced were not the same thing. Decades after he had walked away from Hollywood, the book returned Kelker-Kelly to the headlines. He never publicly responded to Rinna’s allegations.
Kelker-Kelly married Linda Rattner in 1988, and the two remained married until their divorce in 1992. He married Miriam Parrish in 1997, and that marriage ended in divorce in 2013.