All My Children star Paul Avery, 81, and his wife Sheila died early Tuesday morning after their New Jersey home caught fire, WFMZ reported. New Jersey State Police received a call just before 1 a.m. about a fire at their home in Blairstown, a township 56 miles west of Newark. By the time emergency crews arrived, the home was already engulfed in flames and neither could be saved. The couple’s daughter, Kyle Avery, announced their deaths on social media Tuesday afternoon, stating, “I’m devastated to share that our parents, Paul and Sheila Garry Avery, passed away early this morning,” adding that they’re currently in the process of arranging a service. Paul was best known for his role as the bartender Hughie on the ABC soap All My Children, a character he played for more than a decade. The actor also had a minor appearance in the original 1978 Superman. Paul was a prominent member of the community, having founded the local paper, Ridge View Echo. “I always like to call Paul the most interesting man in the world, because he was when you consider everything he’s done in his life. Acting, skydiving, Vietnam veteran, started a newspaper,” said his friend and colleague at the paper, Joe Phalon. “His death is going to leave a real void in this community. Not just Blairstown, but the towns around as well.”
Read it at WFMZ
