Actor Clint Ritchie Dies

Actor Clint Ritchie, best known as cowboy Clint Buchanan for two decades on the soap opera ONE LIFE TO LIVE, has passed away at the age of 70.

My roommate watched the show when I was in college so I saw a fair amount of it, although the only soap I really ever followed was GENERAL HOSPITAL, "back in the day." When I saw ONE LIFE I especially liked Ritchie, whose natural, relaxed demeanor was a nice change of pace from some of the more intense actors on the show.

Above is a photo of Ritchie (right) with his TV father (Phil Carey, center) and brother (Robert S. Woods, left). Woods, incidentally, is a local boy who graduated from Cal State Long Beach. I once noticed his name on a list of donors posted at the Long Beach Pyramid.

To the right, Ritchie with his TV wife, played by Emmy-winning actress Erika Slezak (daughter of actor Walter Slezak).

Ritchie began acting in the '60s. My husband recalls Ritchie as a tank captain in his favorite movie, PATTON. Ritchie was also in MIDWAY and the classic TV miniseries CENTENNIAL.

Ritchie was a real-life rancher who lived in Grass Valley, California.

Tuesday Update: Obituaries from The Los Angeles Times and TV Guide.

Update: Ritchie's longtime TV "father," Phil Carey, passed away only days later.