Beloved Soap Opera Veteran Dead At 93

A beloved soap vet, known for entertaining fans on daytime and primetime dramas, has died. Morgan Woodward, best known for portraying Punk Anderson on Dallas, and Phillip Colville on Days of our lives (DAYS), passed away at the age of 93.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, he died on Friday, February 22 at his home in California.

Woodward was a native Fort Worth, Texas, where he studied and performed opera in college, but a sinus condition prevented him from pursuing his passion. Instead, he turned to theater arts.

A veteran of the Korean War,  Woodward began acting professionally in the mid-1950s and worked non-stop for decades. His early credits include the TV series Zane Grey Theater, Cheyenne, and Frontier Doctor. His final credits include The X-Files, Renegade, and Matlock.

As the pal of Jock Ewing (the late Jim Davis), Woodward’s character Punk appeared throughout the series in over 50 episodes of Dallas, playing in key storylines including Jock’s death. Later, he helped shed light on imposter Wes Parmalee (the late Steve Forrest), a man who believed he was Jock!

Woodward was also known to daytime fans for his 1987-88 run on Days of Our Lives as Phillip Colville, father to Diana (then, Genie Francis; now, Judith Chapman), the original owner of newspaper The Spectator.

“I didn’t have time to prepare, I didn’t like the cue cards, I thought the dialog was asinine,” Woodward once said about his visit to daytime. “But I must say I certainly met some good actors on the soap opera.”

The actor had a lengthy career appearing in over 125 films and television shows. Woodward set records for the most number of guest appearances on the long-running TV shows Gunsmoke and Wagon Train, making 19 visits to the former and 11 to the latter.

On the big screen, Woodward appeared in the films Cool Hand Luke and Final Chapter: Walking Tall.

Soap Hub sends it condolences to Woodward’s family and friends at this time.