Patrick Muldoon dies at 57 after heart attack, according to family and friends
Patrick Muldoon, the actor and producer known for his work on Days of Our Lives, Melrose Place, and Starship Troopers, died Sunday, April 19, after suffering a heart attack. He was 57.
Muldoon built a long screen career that moved across daytime television, primetime drama, feature films, and independent production. He was widely recognized by soap opera fans for originating the role of Austin Reed on Days of Our Lives, a character he played from 1992 to 1995 and later returned to from 2011 to 2012. For many viewers, that role remained one of the defining parts of his acting career.
His television profile expanded further when he joined Melrose Place as Richard Hart, appearing as a recurring antagonist during Seasons 3 through 5. The role gave him another well-known credit during the 1990s, a period in which Muldoon became a familiar face across both daytime and primetime television. He also appeared in a number of television movies during the late 1990s and 2000s, adding to a career that stretched far beyond one genre or format.
Before his rise in television drama, Muldoon began acting while still attending the University of Southern California. Born in San Pedro, California, he graduated from USC, where he also played football for the Trojans. His early screen credits included a two-episode arc on Who’s the Boss? while he was still in college. Soon after graduating in 1991, he landed a three-episode recurring role on Saved by the Bell, giving him early exposure on television before his breakout years followed.
On the film side, Muldoon was known to many moviegoers for playing Zander Barcalow in Paul Verhoeven’s 1997 sci-fi film Starship Troopers. That performance introduced him to a broader audience beyond television and remains one of the titles most closely associated with his name. His career in film continued well after that project, and his latest movie, the crime thriller Dirty Hands, is scheduled for release later this year.
Muldoon also worked extensively behind the scenes as a producer and executive producer. According to the information shared following his death, he executive produced a number of feature films, including The Tribes of Palos Verdes, Arkansas, Marlowe, The Card Counter, The Dreadful, Riff Raff, and most recently Kockroach, which is currently filming and stars Chris Hemsworth, Taron Egerton, and Zazie Beetz. Those credits reflected a second major part of his professional life, one that placed him inside the development and production side of the business as well as in front of the camera.
Outside film and television, Muldoon was also deeply connected to music. He was the lead singer for The Sleeping Masses and was described as someone who often had a guitar with him. Friends said music was one of the constant parts of his life, alongside his work in entertainment and the strong personal relationships he maintained over the years.
Statements shared by people close to him described Muldoon as generous, warm, and memorable in everyday life. Friends said he had a way of making people feel seen and safe, and they remembered both his humor and his presence. They also described him as someone who brought energy into a room and lived with an unmistakably expressive personality.
Muldoon is survived by his partner, Miriam Rothbart; his parents, Deanna and Patrick Muldoon Sr.; his sister and brother-in-law, Shana and Ahmet Zappa; and their children, Halo and Arrow Zappa. He was also known to loved ones by the nickname “Bobo.”
His death closes a career that connected several eras of television and film. From Days of Our Lives and Melrose Place to Starship Troopers and later producing work, Patrick Muldoon remained active across multiple sides of the entertainment industry. For many fans, he will be remembered first as a familiar screen presence from the 1990s, but his career extended far beyond that period and left credits in both acting and production that continued into recent years.