'Young Doctor Malone' Star John P. Connell Dead at 91

John P. Connell

John P. Connell, who starred as the title character in NBC daytime soap opera Young Doctor. Malone, has died, SAG-AFTRA announced today. He was 91.

Connell, who also was a television writer and playwright as well as a voiceover artist, died Thursday in Woodland Hills, California.

Best known for his role in daytime soap opera Young Doctor Malone, Connell starred as David Malone, a doctor who worked with his doctor father, Jerry (William Prince), at Valley Hospital. The show, which mixed medical crises with lighthearted humor, ran for five years. He also appeared on daytime dramas The Edge Of Night, Love of Life, The Secret Storm and Dark Shadows.

Born October 28, 1923, in Philadelphia, Connell was a radio operator and waist gunner aboard a B-24 during World War II. He received five battle stars and a Purple Heart for his service.

Young Doctor Malone starred William Prince as Dr. Jerry Malone,
John Connell as Dr. David Malone, Augusta Dabney as
Tracy Malone. Photo Credit: NBC

Following the war, he attended the University of Missouri and graduated with a journalism degree in 1950. He then moved to New York, where he starred in such Broadway productions as "Time Limit" and "Uncle Willie." He also made appearances on such live broadcasts as Studio One in Hollywood, Kraft Theatre, Goodyear Playhouse, The Alcoa Hour and Robert Montgomery Presents.

With his wife, Mila, whom he met in college, he wrote more than 100 scripts for The Secret Storm.

The longtime Screen Actors Guild board member also had roles in film, including Fail Safe, Three Days of the Condor and Family Business.

By the 1960s, he started to do commercial voiceovers, becoming the spokesman for Maxwell House Coffee, American Airlines, Xerox and Proctor & Gamble, who had produced Young Dr. Malone.

Connell also was a councilor of the Episcopal Actors Guild and founded the Shakespeare-reading group the Come Hither Players. He served for 13 years on SAG’s National Board of Directors and edited the Guild’s Reel magazine.

Connell is survived by wife Mila, son John, daughter Kathy, son-in-law Daryl Anderson and granddaughter Tierney Anderson. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be sent to The Episcopal Actors Guild, the SAG Foundation or the Motion Picture & Television Fund.