Jay Harris Pickett (February 10, 1961 – July 30, 2021) was an American actor.

Early life and education

Pickett was born in

Spokane, Washington Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the Canada ...

, and grew up in

Caldwell, Idaho Caldwell (locally CALL-dwel) is a city in and the county seat of Canyon County, Idaho. The population was 59,996 at the time of the 2020 United States census. Caldwell is considered part of the Boise metropolitan area. Caldwell is the location of ...

. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in acting at

Boise State University Boise State University (BSU) is a public research university in Boise, Idaho. Founded in 1932 by the Episcopal Church, it became an independent junior college in 1934 and has been awarding baccalaureate and master's degrees It became a publ ...

and his Master of Fine Arts in acting from the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

and appeared in numerous theatrical productions at both schools.

Career

Pickett's television appearances include in the miniseries ''Rags to Riches'', and roles on such series as ''

China Beach ''China Beach'' is an American war drama television series set at an evacuation hospital during the Vietnam War. The title refers to My Khe beach in the city of Đà Nẵng, Vietnam, nicknamed "China Beach" in English by American and Australia ...

'', ''

Mr. Belvedere ''Mr. Belvedere'' is an American sitcom that originally aired on ABC from March 15, 1985, to July 8, 1990. The series is based on the Lynn Aloysius Belvedere character created by Gwen Davenport for her 1947 novel ''Belvedere'', which was later ...

'', '' Dragnet'', ''

Jake and The Fatman ''Jake and the Fatman'' is an American crime drama television series starring William Conrad as prosecutor J. L. (Jason Lochinvar) "Fatman" McCabe and Joe Penny as investigator Jake Styles. The series ran on CBS for five seasons from September ...

'', ''

Days of Our Lives ''Days of Our Lives'' (also stylized as ''Days of our Lives''; simply referred to as ''Days'' or ''DOOL'') is an American television soap opera that streams on the streaming service Peacock. The soap, which aired on the American television net ...

'', ''

Perry Mason Perry Mason is a fictional character, an American criminal defense lawyer who is the main character in works of detective fiction written by Erle Stanley Gardner. Perry Mason features in 82 novels and 4 short stories, all of which involve a cli ...

'', and '' Matlock''. In 1997, Pickett originated the role of Frank Scanlon, a dedicated paramedic and substitute teacher and the complicated older brother of Joe Scanlon, on the

ABC Daytime ABC Daytime (sometimes shortened to ABC-D or ABCD) is a division responsible for the daytime programming block on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC Network and syndicated programming. The block has historically encompassed soap operas, game ...

drama ''

Port Charles ''Port Charles'' (commonly abbreviated as ''PC'') is an American television soap opera that aired on ABC from June 1, 1997, to October 3, 2003. It was a spin-off of the series ''General Hospital'', which has been running since 1963 and takes pl ...

''. In 2006, Pickett substituted for actor Ted King in the role of

Lorenzo Alcazar Lorenzo Alcazar is a fictional character on the American ABC soap opera ''General Hospital'', originated by actor Ted King, who previously played Lorenzo's deceased brother Luis Alcazar. He was temporarily portrayed by Jay Pickett in 2006. Cast ...

on the soap opera ''

General Hospital ''General Hospital'' (often abbreviated as ''GH'') is an American daytime television soap opera. It is listed in ''Guinness World Records'' as the list of longest-running television shows by category, longest-running American soap opera in pro ...

'', the parent series of ''

''. In 2007, Pickett rejoined the cast of ''General Hospital'' in the recurring role of Detective David Harper. He enjoyed most sports, including football, basketball, baseball, and skiing. He was also an expert roper and western horse rider.

Personal life

Pickett and his wife, Elena, resided in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

and had three children. He was best friends with former ''

'' co-star

Michael Dietz Michael Dietz (born February 10, 1971) is an American actor and producer. Career He was an executive producer for GSN'S ''The Line'' and a co-executive producer for SyFy's ''Geeks Who Drink''. Other producing credits include ''Celebrity Apprent ...

and was godfather to his daughter, Madison. Pickett died unexpectedly from a heart attack while preparing to film a scene for the film ''Treasure Valley'' directed by Travis Mills on a set near

Oreana, Idaho Oreana is an unincorporated community in Owyhee County, Idaho, United States. Oreana is southeast of Murphy. Our Lady, Queen of Heaven Church, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic ...

, on July 30, 2021, aged 60.

Filmography

Films

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pickett, Jay 1961 births 2021 deaths 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors American male soap opera actors American male television actors Boise State University alumni Male actors from Idaho Male actors from Spokane, Washington People from Caldwell, Idaho University of California, Los Angeles alumni