Character actor Bruce French, best known for playing Father Lonigan in the NBC soap Passions, has died. He was 79.
French passed away Friday in Los Angeles due to complications from Alzheimer’s disease, his wife and Days of Our Lives vet Eileen Barnett told our sister site The Hollywood Reporter. TVLine has reached out for confirmation.
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The actor recurred as Father Lonigan, the blind priest who had premonitions of evil, in Passions during its nine-season run. The series debuted on NBC in 1999 and wrapped in August 2008 on DirecTV’s 101 Network.
During his decades-long career, French appeared in numerous other TV series, including three Star Trek series — The Next Generation, Voyager and Enterprise — Dallas, Falcon Crest, L.A. Law, Who’s the Boss?, Beverly Hills, 90210, Ally McBeal, The Practice, Criminal Minds, Eli Stone and Crash. Between 2007 and 2008, he played Jim Burns in FX’s The Riches, and he most recently appeared in NBC’s Up All Night in 2012.
On the film side, his credits included Mr. Deeds, Mission: Impossible III, Jurassic Park III, Fletch, Thank You for Smoking and Star Trek: Insurrection.