Days of Our Lives Alum Patrick Muldoon Dies at 57
Actor Patrick Muldoon, who rose to soap fame when he originated the role of Austin Reed on Days of Our Lives, passed away on April 19 at the age of 57. Deadline was first to report the sad news of the actor’s death, which was caused by a heart attack.
In Memoriam
Muldoon was born in San Pedro, California and played football at USC. While still an undergrad, he launched his acting career, making his TV debut in 1990 with a two-episode stint on Who’s the Boss? In 1991, he appeared on three episodes of Saved By the Bell.
It was the following year, in 1992, that Muldoon landed the pivotal role of Austin on DAYS. “It was a big cattle call,” he recalled to Soap Opera Digest in 2015 of the audition process. “For me, it was simply another audition. I screen-tested with Tracy Middendorf, who was playing Carrie. The main thing I remember is that after we got done, I saw Fran [De Simone], who was our stage manager, mouthing to someone else, ‘No. 4.’ I was No. 4, so I felt really good about that.”
During Muldoon’s three years in the role, Austin was at the center of a landmark triangle with Carrie Brady (briefly Middendorf, then Christie Clark) and her scheming sister, Sami Brady (Alison Sweeney). A few months after Muldoon made his first Salem appearance, Lisa Rinna debuted as his on-screen sister, Billie Reed.
The actor left the show in 1995 and went on to a recurring role on Melrose Place, villainous Richard Hart, for two seasosn. In 1997, he appeared in the movie Starship Troopers. Austin was recast with Austin Peck, but in 2011, Muldoon returned to DAYS to reprise Austin. “It felt like coming home to family,” he told Digest. He exited again in 2012.
In recent years, Muldoon had become a prolific producer. At the time of his death, he was working on the upcoming Chris Hemsworth film Kockroach. In his final Instagram post, posted the day before his death, Muldoon wrote, “So excited to be a part of this amazing project KOCKROACH directed by Matt Ross starring Chris Hemsworth, Taron Edgerton, Zazzie Beetz And Alec Baldwin. Filming now in Australia 🇦🇺.”
Muldoon’s sister, Shana Muldoon-Zappa, relayed to TMZ that her brother’s longtime girlfriend discovered him unconscious on the bathroom floor in their home in Bevery Hills and summoned paramedics, but the actor could not be revived.
Alison Sweeney, who worked closely with Muldoon on DAYS, reacted to his death on X (formerly Twitter), writing, “This is such heartbreaking news. Pat was a rare kind of person—brilliantly talented, endlessly kind, and generous in spirit. I was so lucky to have worked with him when I first started at Days, he made me feel at ease right away. He brought his unique charm and humor to work every day. A truly gifted guy, and one who will be profoundly missed.”
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