Soap and daytime soap opera actor Robert Mandan died on April 29 in Los Angeles after a long illness, his friend, playwright and screenwriter Gary Goldstein, told The Hollywood Reporter. He was 86.Mandan had worked on such soap operas as From These Roots (as David Allen), The Doctors (Mike Hennessey/Mr. Tabor), The Edge of Night (Nathan Axelrod) and Search for Tomorrow (Sam Reynolds) when he was hired to play Chester, a conniving Wall Street stock broker, on the ABC primetime comedy Soap.
Susan Harris created the sitcom, which aired for four seasons, from 1977-1981. The show, always a critical darling, was a top 10 hit in its first season but suffered in the ratings as it was moved around the schedule.
Mandan and Helmond reunited for two episodes of her next series, Who's the Boss?, and for a 2002 production of "A Twilight Romance" at the Falcon Theatre in Burbank. He also returned to the soap opera world with gigs on Santa Barbara (Maxwell Hammer), Days of our Lives (Steven 'Jonesy' Jones) and General Hospital (Judge Bryant).
