Soap opera actor takes his own life

Published 9:00 pm Friday, July 14, 2006

HUNTINGTON, N.Y. -Benjamin Hendrickson, an Emmy Award-winning actor on the “As the World Turns” soap opera, committed suicide earlier this week with a gunshot to the head, police said.

Suffolk County police officers, called by concerned neighbors to Hendrickson’s Long Island home, said they found him dead in his bed on Monday.

Hendrickson, 55, was a member of the first graduating class of the Juilliard School of Drama, along with actors Kevin Kline and Patti LuPone. He appeared on Broadway in the early 1980s as a replacement in the title role of “The Elephant Man” and in the 1984 revival of “Awake and Sing!”

He played Chief of Detectives Hal Munson for more than 20 years on CBS’ “As the World Turns,” winning a Daytime Emmy for outstanding supporting actor in 2003.

His feature film credits include “Spanking the Monkey,” “Regarding Henry,” “Consenting Adults” and “Manhunter.”

Before joining “As The World Turns,” Hendrickson appeared on Procter &Gamble Productions’ “Another World,” “Guiding Light” and “Texas.”