Patrick Muldoon, the actor, producer, and musician best known for Days of Our Lives, Melrose Place, and Starship Troopers, died on April 19, 2026, at age 57. For fans, he was a familiar face; for friends, he was a warm, funny, and deeply generous presence who made people feel seen.

That sense of who he was offscreen came through most clearly in the words of those who knew him best. Friends remembered him "with his poetry, his humor, and his unmistakable presence," adding that he loved animals and people alike, gave unforgettable hugs, and had "a rare quality of making others feel safe and seen." It was a description that matched the tributes that followed, including Alison Sweeney’s remembrance of a former co-star who was "brilliantly talented, endlessly kind, and generous in spirit."

Muldoon was born William Patrick Muldoon III on September 27, 1968, in San Pedro, California, and grew up in a family led by his father, William Patrick Muldoon II, a personal injury lawyer, and his mother, Deanna Muldoon, a homemaker. He attended Loyola High School in Los Angeles before going on to the University of Southern California, where he played tight end for the USC Trojans and graduated in 1991. After college, an appearance in the Men of U.S.C. calendar helped open the door to modeling work, including a Calvin Klein jeans campaign, according to TV Guide.

From there, he moved into acting with early television appearances on Who’s the Boss? and Saved by the Bell. In 1992, he became the first actor to play Austin Reed on Days of Our Lives, a role that quickly made him a daytime standout and one he held until 1995, as reported by Us Weekly. In 1994, he won the Soap Opera Digest Award for Outstanding Male Newcomer, a sign of how quickly he had connected with viewers.

He later said he left Days because he was "young and curious to try other things," and he did. From 1995 to 1996, he played the recurring villain Richard Hart on Melrose Place, bringing a different kind of energy to primetime. In 1997 came one of his most widely recognized film roles, Zander Barcalow in Starship Troopers, which secured his place in cult science fiction and introduced him to another generation of fans.

His career never narrowed to one lane. He starred in the 1998 television film Black Cat Run and went on to build a steady body of work in television movies and independent films, including projects for Lifetime and Hallmark. Onstage, he played Edmund in Patsy Rodenburg’s 2006 production of King Lear. Outside acting, he was the lead singer of The Sleeping Masses, and the band’s song "The Woman Is the Way" found its way into the 2009 film Powder Blue and MTV’s The Hills.

There was also a loyalty to the work and the people who had shaped him early. Muldoon returned to Days of Our Lives as Austin Reed from September 2011 to July 2012. Reflecting on that return, he called it "the perfect offer at the perfect time" in an interview with TV Guide, and he said then that he had remained great friends with former co-star Christie Clark over the years. That enduring closeness seemed to say as much about him as any credit did.

His life also stretched beyond any single chapter of Hollywood. He had a long relationship history with Denise Richards, and they later reunited professionally for his Gray Again music video and the film Dirty Hands. Just days before his death, he publicly shared excitement about joining the film project Kockroach, directed by Matt Ross and starring Chris Hemsworth, Taron Egerton, Zazie Beetz and Alec Baldwin, according to TV Insider. Even at the end, he was still looking ahead.

Muldoon was survived by his parents and his longtime partner, Miriam Rothbart, a record producer and former entertainment lawyer. He also left behind his niece Halo and nephew Arrow through his sister Shana and brother-in-law Ahmet Zappa.

What remained most vivid in the remembrances was not only that Patrick Muldoon had lived many creative lives, as an athlete, model, soap star, film actor, stage performer, musician, and producer. It was that he seemed to move through all of them with the same openhearted charisma. He left behind memorable performances and music, certainly, but also something harder to catalog and easier to feel: a reputation for warmth, generosity, and the kind of presence that made other people feel a little more visible.