John Callahan was best known for playing the character of Edmund Gray on the soap opera All My Children.
The death of John Callahan, who played Edmund Grey on the soap opera All My Children, was hard on his ex-wife and daughter. They wanted to be with him but unfortunately, he fought his last battle all alone. He passed away on March 28, 2020, at the age of 66 due to a massive stroke.
Callahan and his ex, Eva LaRue, played an on-screen couple after she joined the cast of All My Children in 1993. Their fans loved the pairing and eventually, on-screen love transformed into off-screen love and they got married in 1996. "Originally our characters on AMC met at this country-western bar, and we had to take country line dancing lessons on the show. They hired a choreographer for us so that during those scenes where we were falling in love, we would actually be able to do a two-step!" she said, as per CheatSheet.
They welcomed their daughter in 2001. However, their marriage didn't last and they got divorced in 2004, as per Soap Central. "We have a rather big bombshell to drop and we don't quite know how to say it," LaRue said in a statement back then. "John and I, after many months of separation, are confirming our split. All is amicable and we are both dedicated to raising Kaya in a happy, loving environment."
After the divorce was finalized in 2005, they had stayed close and were co-parenting their daughter, Kaya. However, there are bound to be ups and downs between two people after they separate.
"Like any divorce, the first four years afterward were super contentious but then, by year five, we kind of had this major breakthrough, and from then on, he was one of my closest friends," she revealed to Michael Fairman TV.
The actress was nominated for a Daytime Emmy in the Outstanding Guest Performer in a Drama Series after Callahan's death and it made her miss him even more but it cheered her up after the devastating loss. She also revealed the final moments of her former husband, who had been ailing with cardiac issues.
Callahan had heart procedures done before March 28, 2020, and she had called him to speak to him before he went for the procedure. "I called him in the morning before he went in for the procedure," she said, as per CheatSheet. "I said, 'Call me as soon as you get out of there. Call me as soon as you come-to again, and you’re good', and he said, 'Okay, I will.'"
LaRue planned to take their daughter to see Callahan but they were informed that the procedures were more "involved" than planned but they still sent him home instead of keeping him in the hospital for observation. The actress wanted to be there for her friend and offered to stay with him in the house but the actor said he was tired. He asked her to visit the next morning with their daughter. "So, in the morning, I called him at 9:00 a.m. No answer," she said. "I texted him. He always texted me like Johnny on the spot and then texts me immediately back. So, I call him again at 10. Nothing," she added.
LaRue wanted to take their daughter over to his house so she could stay with her father. Callahan had been expecting her and Kaya wanted to see her father. LaRue got worried and called up his best friend, who informed her that Callahan wasn't feeling well and planned to return to the hospital. However, she wasn't convinced and called up another friend who lived close to him and asked him to break in if no one answered the door. "He did, and John was collapsed in the bathroom," she said. "They called the paramedics, and as soon as they called me back and said, ‘John is unresponsive in the bathroom.'"
This devoted dad had been looking forward to spending time with his daughter, but instead, they met again at the hospital when he was not responsive. LaRue and Kaya went to the hospital before he was moved to the ICU and they almost couldn't see him because the pandemic was underway by then. "Thank God the person answering the door was an All My Children fan," she said. "We followed this woman secretly, and we get to spend a half-hour with him in Emergency. He was already on life-support, totally unresponsive, but we got to play John his favorite music, we got to just sit there and hold his hand and talk to him, and tell him how much we loved him."
They got 30 minutes with him and then he was moved to the ICU. Kaya was able to say goodbye to her father before he died. Later, that night the mother and daughter were each other's support when they received the phone call that had the worst news. Callahan had passed away. They couldn't hold a traditional funeral and instead hosted a Zoom call to memorialize him. LaRue also adopted his dog.
References:
https://www.soapcentral.com/amc/news/2004/0712-callahans.php
