Actor Tyler Christopher, renowned for his role as Nikolas Cassadine on ABC’s “General Hospital,” passed away at his home in San Diego of an unidentified cardiac event. The actor apparently suffered from bipolar disorder and alcoholism for a long time.
The tragic news was posted on Instagram by co-star Maurice Benard. According to his account, Christopher was killed on the morning of Tuesday, October 31. The actor lauded both Christopher’s acting career and his commitment to mental health and addiction awareness. He recalled that his deceased friend had struggled on both fronts and prayed for his grieving loved ones.
Christopher was a staple cast member on “General Hospital” for nearly 20 years, beginning in 1996 and finishing with a Daytime Emmy for his efforts in 2016. He was in around 1,200 shows. The actor then began appearing on “Days of Our Lives” in 2001, and he remained there for almost 160 episodes before being fired in 2019 due to, he admitted, his alcoholism. According to Fox News, he battled delirium tremens, a potentially fatal form of alcohol withdrawal characterized by a wide range of symptoms including hallucinations, seizures, tremors, hypertension, and cardiac arrhythmias.
In 2021, the actor’s plight reached a critical point when he fell and smashed his skull on a bathtub. His sister became his guardian and took care of him as he recuperated. According to Bloomberg Law, the next year he filed a lawsuit against his sister, claiming he had lost track of $40,000 and that she had likely spent $10,000 on her own credit cards, $13,000 on moving her family to Ohio, and $5,000 on home furnishings.
Early in 2023, Christopher appeared in the TV movie “Ice Storm,” which was his final film role.
