André Landzaat, The First Cassadine on General Hospital, Dies At 81
André Landzaat, a Dutch actor who created the original member of the Cassadine family on General Hospital, has passed away at the age of 81.
Ice Age
Born in 1944 in the Netherlands, Landzaat fell in love with acting at an early age and studied his craft in Paris and New York. At the Actors Studio, he trained alongside Robert de Niro and Al Pacino. After moving to Los Angeles in the 1970s, he appeared on classic TV shows such as Family, Laverne & Shirley and The Six Million Dollar Man.
Landzaat’s life changed when he won the role of Tony Cassadine on GH in 1981, beating out Thaao Penghlis (who would go on to play a different Tony, Tony DiMera, on Days of Our Lives) for the part. Tony was introduced as part of the show’s storied Ice Princess saga, and the character died in dramatic fashion when he froze to death on his family’s island. For his memorable turn as Tony, Landzaat won a 1981 Soapy Award (the precursor to the Soap Opera Digest Awards) for Favorite Villain.
Tony — who used the alias Tony Castle upon arriving in Port Charles — was romantically linked to Lesley Webber and Alexandria Quartermaine, Edward’s niece. He was the first member of the Cassadine family to appear on the show, followed by his brothers, Mikkos and Victor Cassadine (played by Penghlis, who then-Executive Producer Gloria Monty remembered from his audition for Tony), and Mikkos’s wife, Helena. Mikkos’s son, Stavros, was introduced in 1983. The Cassadines were revived in 1996 with the arrivals of Stefan Cassadine (Mikkos and Helena’s son), Nikolas Cassadine (Stavros’s son by Laura Spencer) and Alexis Davis (Mikkos’s daughter by mistress Kristin). The notorious family later expanded to include Alexis’s daughters (Sam, Kristina and Molly), Nikolas’s sons (Spencer and Ace), Valentin, Victor and Helena’s biological son, and Valentin’s daughter, Charlotte.
After wrapping on GH, Landzaat continued to work both in the U.S. and in Europe, and became a prolific acting instructor, as well. In 2021, after several decades in California, where he resided in Malibu with partner Ed Lesemann, also an actor, he relocated back to the Netherlands.
Landzaat had suffered from health problems in his later years, among them heart issues and a stroke.
Soap Opera Digest sends its heartfelt condolences to Landzaat’s loved ones.
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