David Gail, who played Dr. Joe Scanlon on the ABC soap opera “Port Charles” and appeared on “Beverly Hills, 90210,” died on Tuesday. He was 58.
The death was announced on Saturday on Instagram by his sister, Katie Colmenares. The cause was complications from sudden cardiac arrest, his family said on Monday.
Mr. Gail was a prolific television actor in the mid- to late 1990s. His biggest role was in the “General Hospital” spinoff show “Port Charles,” in which he appeared as Dr. Joe Scanlon in 216 episodes during a season in 1999 and 2000, according to IMDb. Dr. Scanlon was a love interest of one of the show’s main characters, Dr. Karen Wexler, according to a “General Hospital” fan site.
Earlier in his career, Mr. Gail was cast on eight episodes of “Beverly Hills, 90210” on Fox.
He first made his way onto the show in 1991, during the first season, in a one-off role as a hotel bellhop named Tom after not getting the part for a recurring character, Mr. Gail said on the “Beverly Hills Show Podcast” in 2021.
The casting directors liked him but said he was “green,” Mr. Gail said his agent told him.
But a more experienced Mr. Gail would return to the show two years later on Season 4, this time as Stuart Carson, the son of a rich businessman who becomes engaged to Brenda Walsh, played by Shannen Doherty, according to IMDb.
The wedding never happens, and the couple ultimately has a falling out, according to a “Beverly Hills, 90210” fan site.
“When I came back it was such a shock, I was asking, ‘How could I possibly come back?’” Mr. Gail said on the podcast, alluding to his concerns about playing multiple characters on the same show.
“But it worked,” he added.
Mr. Gail also appeared in 22 episodes of the television show “Robin’s Hoods” in 1994 and 1995 as the character Eddie Bartlett, and in 34 episodes of the series “Savannah” in 1996 and 1997 in the role of Dean Collins, according to IMDb. He also appeared in films, including the 2002 Bradley Cooper vehicle “Bending All The Rules” and the 2008 horror movie “The Belly of the Beast.”
Survivors include his mother, Mary; a son, Guthier; and a sister, Kathryn.
Emmett Lindner contributed reporting.