Longtime soap opera actor Jay Pickett has “passed away suddenly” while filming a movie in Idaho.
Pickett, 60, was on the “Treasure Valley” set when he died Friday, director Travis Mills said Sunday in a statement online.
“Everyone present tried as hard as they could to keep him alive,” Mills wrote. “Our hearts are broken and we grieve for his family who are so devastated by this shocking tragedy.”
A cause of death has not been released, but Mills said it “appears to have been a heart attack.”
His co-star, Jim Heffel, said Pickett “died sitting on a horse ready to rope a steer.”
Pickett wrote and starred in “Treasure Valley,” a Western about a man rebuilding his life after a fire destroys his family. The movie was less than halfway through production when he died.
“As so many of us know, Jay was an incredible man. He was kind, sweet, and generous. He was one of the best actors I ever worked with and it was an honor to collaborate with him,” Mills wrote.
“Everyone who met him, even for the briefest moment, could feel his warmth, his wonderful spirit. It is difficult to find the words right now to say more. His closest friends have said that he was very happy making ‘Treasure Valley’ and my hope is that he truly was.”
Pickett is best known for playing Dr. Chip Lakin on “Days of Our Lives,” but also spent years on “General Hospital” and its spinoff, “Port Charles.”
The Washington native also had roles on “Dexter,” “Desperate Housewives,” “The Mentalist” and “Rosewood.”
“He was doing what he loved: acting, riding horses, making movies,” Mills wrote. “And he was magnificent.”
