David Canary death
"All My Children" and "Bonanza" star David Canary died due to natural causes. Pictured: Canary arrives at an "All My Children" cabaret performance to benefit the Robin Hood Fund on Jan. 29, 2002 in New York City. Getty

David Canary died at age 77 of natural causes. The former “All My Children” star died on Nov. 16, his obituary in the Wilton Bulletin reveals. The obituary was not published until Wednesday.

For over 50 years, Canary was an actor. Though he spent several years on “Bonanza” as Candy Canaday and “Peyton Place” as Russ Gehring, he is most well-known for his role on “All My Children.” Canary began playing twins Adam and Stuart Chandler in 1984 and went on to win five Daytime Emmy Awards. The actor, who spent two years in the army early in his career, left "AMC" in 2011, but he returned to the ABC soap opera in 2013 for a few of the final episodes.

After leaving “All My Children,” Canary retired. The actor moved to Connecticut and was residing in an assisted living facility when he died.

Canary’s family, which includes his wife Maureen, son Christopher and daughter Kathryn, will have a private funeral. A memorial is being planned on a date that is to be determined. The family has requested that in lieu of flowers, people donate to a memorial fund for the actor at the Alzheimer’s Association.

With 27 years on the soap opera, Canary had countless co-stars. Several of them shared their reactions to the news on Twitter, including Kelly Ripa, who played his daughter Hayley Vaughan.

Unfortunately, this isn’t the first loss that the soap opera community has suffered recently. Earlier this month, former “One Life to Live” actor Nathaniel Marston, 40, died due to injuries from a car accident.

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