ben masters mashup
Credit: John Paschal, Paul Skipper/JPI

To say he left his mark in the industry is an understatement.

We are saddened to report that daytime has lost another one of its greats. Another World and Passions actor Ben Masters passed away at the age of 75 on Wednesday, January 11, at the Eisenhower Medical Center in Palm Springs, California. He had battled dementia for several years and succumbed to COVID.

Related Story

Masters landed his first daytime role in 1982 playing Vic Strang on Another World but he was best known to fans for his Passions role as the rich and powerful Julian Crane — a role he played from 1999 until the NBC soap aired its final episode in 2008. Like most soap baddies, his character had his fair share of run-ins with the law and had no issue taking a stance against those who stood in his way — and Julian wasn’t afraid to resort to kidnapping, making threats, heck, he even poisoned his sister’s wedding ring.

However, prior to all of the memories he left us with from the fictional town of Harmony, Masters graduated from Corvallis High School in 1965 and the University of Oregon with a B.A. degree in Theater in 1969. After moving to New York City, he starred in many on and off-Broadway productions, including Captain Brassbound’s Conversion with Ingrid Bergman, The Cherry Orchard with Meryl Streep and Boys in the Band.

More: Stars share bittersweet memories of Quinn Redeker

His talents then led him into a career in film, having starred in Bob Fosse’s All That Jazz with Roy Schneider, Key Exchange with Brooke Adams and Danny Aiello, Making Mr. Right with John Malkovich, and Dream Lover with Kristy McNichol. The 70s, 80s, and 90s took Masters into the homes of viewers everywhere with roles in TV mini-series such as Noble House with Pierce Brosnan, Celebrity with Ned Beatty and Tess Harper, and he turned up in guest appearances on popular series, including Kojak, Petrocelli, Touched by an Angel, Kung Fu: The Legend Continues, Barnaby Jones, Murder She Wrote, Heartbeat, Walker: Texas Ranger, Diagnosis Murder, Sisters, and Pensacola Wings of Gold.

Soaps.com sends the actor’s sister Cheryl Lerner, nieces Hannah and Clea Lerner and friends and colleagues our deepest condolences.

Join us as we take this moment to look back on other greats we lost in 2022 by paying tribute to the mark they left in daytime in our photo gallery below.