Doug Sheehan, TV dad on “Clueless” and “Sabrina the Teenage Witch”, dies at 75
Sheehan was also a soap opera star, appearing on "General Hospital" and "Knots Landing"
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Doug Sheehan, the actor who made his name as a soap opera star and went on to play TV dads on beloved '90s shows such as Clueless and Sabrina the Teenage Witch, died June 29 in Big Horn, Wyo. He was 75.
His passing was confirmed in a death notice posted by the Kane Funeral Home. A cause of death was not revealed.
Born April 27, 1949, Sheehan was a California native and began his acting career on a 1978 episode of Charlie's Angels. He soon landed his breakout role as lawyer Joe Kelly on General Hospital, which he played over the course of 205 episodes between 1979 and 1982. His work on the sudser earned him a Daytime Emmy nomination.
Paramount Television/Everett
Doug Sheehan’ title=”Doug Sheehan”>
Paramount Television/Everett
Doug Sheehan
From there he moved to another soap opera, Knots Landing, a spinoff of the primetime hit Dallas. Sheehan portrayed reporter Ben Gibson, the second husband of Val Ewing (Joan Van Ark). He stayed for 115 episodes from 1983 to 1988 before his character departed on a trip to South America and never returned.
In the 1990s, Sheehan pivoted to paternal roles on the small screen, most notably playing Cher Horowitz's father on the UPN adaptation of Clueless. He took over the role of Mel Horowitz from Michael Lerner after the first season in 1997, and stayed with the show for the remainder of its run through 1999.
Sheehan's most notable role in prime time was as the lead on two seasons of the short-lived sitcom Day By Day, which aired on NBC from 1988 to 1989. He played father and former stockbroker Brian Harper, who decides to open an in-home daycare with his wife after largely missing out on the childhood of their teenage son.
Sheehan also had a brief stint as Edward Spellman, the magical father of Melissa Joan Hart's Sabrina, on Sabrina the Teenage Witch. He appeared in the premiere episode of season 4, in which Edward invites Sabrina to come and live in Paris now that she is 18 years old. He returned for the show's series finale in 2003, ready to walk Sabrina down the aisle before she cancels her wedding.
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Though Sheehan was predominantly a television actor,he had bit parts in the films 10, Victor/Victoria, and Cops N Roberts. His other TV credits included Cheers, Alice, MacGyver, Columbo, and What I Like About You.
Sheehan is survived by his wife, Cate, to whom he had been married since 1981.
Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly.
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