'General Hospital' and 'Santa Barbara' actor Joe Marinelli has died

Actor Joe Marinelli, who starred in several TV series, died on Sunday, June 22, in California. He was 68 years old. According to what his wife, Jean Marinelli, shared with The Hollywood Reporter, the artist died of cancer.

The actor's agent, Julie Smith, told CNN (quotes People) that Joe Marinelli had been diagnosed with stomach and throat cancer a few years ago, and was living with the disease.

Joe Marinelli was best known for his roles on NBC's 'Santa Barbara,' CBS' 'Guiding Light,' ABC's 'General Hospital,' Alexander Payne's 2004 film 'Sideways,' and — most recently — AppleTV+'s 'The Morning Show.'

"I loved him and I loved what he represented. We didn't spend 10,000 hours together, but we were spiritually aligned in many ways," 'The Morning Show' co-star Mark Duplass shared with The Hollywood Reporter.

"The great Joe Marinelli starred in my first film in film school 40 years ago and again in 'Sideways.' In addition to being an extraordinary artist, he was an exceptionally magnificent human being with a heart the size of the ocean," said Alexander Payne.

In turn, Leigh J. McCloskey, Joe Marinelli's friend and co-star in 'Santa Barbara', paid tribute to him on Facebook, where he highlighted that the actor was the "sweetest man and dearest friend". "I knew Joe was sick and I greatly admired his tireless spirit", he added, stating that the artist "was a champion".

In the same post, he highlighted Joe's "beautiful and incredibly talented family", showing how sad he was to have to say goodbye to his old friend. However, he is still "happy to have walked this earth with Joe".

The life and career of actor Joe Marinelli

Joe Marinelli was born on January 21, 1957, in Meriden, Connecticut, and moved to Southern California when he was just four years old. He attended Arcadia High School in Los Angeles and Reno High School in Nevada. He later graduated from Loyola Marymount University and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London, People reports.

He then returned to the United States and took part in local projects in Los Angeles, while also working as a carpenter. In 1984, the magazine reports, he landed roles in 'Cagney & Lacey', 'Paper Dolls', 'Hill Street Blues' and 'LA Law'. The latter job led him to the executive producer of 'Santa Barbara', Jill Farren Phelps, who hired him to play Bunny Tagliatti.

He was part of 'Santa Barbara' between 1988 and 1990. The contract was not renewed, but "he didn't stop working for a long time", as he previously shared with Santa Barbara Online, in fact, the "next ten years were of pure happiness".

In 1993, he played Pauly Hardman in 'Guiding Light' and between 1999 and 2001 he played the criminal Joseph Sorel in 'General Hospital'.

Throughout his vast career, Joe Marinelli has been part of more than 50 films and television projects, including 'One Last Ride', 'Hunter', 'ER', 'The King of Queens', 'NYPD Blue', 'The West Wing', 'The Practice', 'House', 'Castle', 'Desperate Housewives', 'Parenthood', 'The Offer' or 'Ray Donovan'.

The actor leaves behind his wife, Jean Marinelli, to whom he was married for 34 years, and his sons Vincent and David.

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