Mark La Mura, who played All My Children legacy character Mark Dalton, died Monday.
Unforgettable, That’s What You Are
La Mura was a young 68, and his passing rocked the soap world, fans and costar alike, and was confirmed by AOL.
The Queen of Daytime and inarguably the heart and soul of AMC‘s Pine Valley, Susan Lucci, shared her shock and sadness at La Mura’s death on Instagram.
“How can this be,” Lucci wondered. Read her full, touching statement below.
Related: Get the latest on AMC‘s journey which is likely to lead it back to our screens soon!
How can this be? I just received the shocking and deeply saddening news that wonderful Mark LaMura has passed away! Mark played my brother Mark on All My Children–he was such a talented and accomplished actor/ a bright and charming presence in all our AMC lives–and a really great guy. Mark was loved and he will be missed! RIP, my friend.🙏❤️🙏
Stunning Storylines
La Mura’s time on AMC was marked by two stories in particular. One was his romantic pursuit of Eric before he knew they were brother and sister–only in daytime, right, dear Soap Cities readers?
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The other was Dalton’s drug addiction, for which his Pine Valley loved ones staged an unforgettable intervention. That storyline helped bring addiction out of the shadows and put a human face on something rarely talked about with such candor in the 1970s, which is when AMC creator and head writer Agnes Nixon put it onscreen.
“My storyline has varied from being very emotional in nature, to at times, being somewhat stilted. The part I enjoyed and found most rewarding was when I found out I was illegitimate–being Erica’s half-brother,” La Mura observed in an interview with our friends at Soap Opera Digest in 1978.
La Mura studied political science and theater arts at the prestigious St. John’s College in Indiana.
He played Dalton from 1977 through 1989.
Soap Cities extends our deepest condolences to La Mura’s survivors and loved ones. He will be missed, but never forgotten.
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