The daytime television world is mourning Robert Kelker-Kelly, the actor best known for taking over the role of Bo Brady on Days of Our Lives, who has died at 62. Kelker-Kelly died in Missouri on October 3, 2026, after emergency responders were called to his home, where he was reportedly found unconscious and not breathing. CPR and advanced lifesaving measures were performed, but he was pronounced dead at the scene. His official cause of death has not been publicly released. Born in Wichita, Kansas, in 1964, Kelker-Kelly built his acting career after a difficult start, eventually landing his first major soap role as Sam Fowler on Another World in 1987. In 1992, he stepped into the high-profile role of Bo Brady, replacing Peter Reckell, and quickly became a familiar face to millions of daytime viewers. He later appeared on General Hospital as the villain Stavros Cassadine, while also taking roles in other television productions. Away from acting, he eventually became a professional charter pilot and flight instructor in Missouri.

Kelker-Kelly’s years on Days of Our Lives also included a memorable on-screen partnership with Lisa Rinna, who played Billie Reed. Their characters became romantically involved, and the pair won the Soap Opera Digest Award for Hottest Soap Couple in 1995. At the time, Kelker-Kelly praised Rinna as a talented and relaxed actress, but decades later, her account of their time working together was dramatically different. In her 2026 memoir, You Better Believe I’m Gonna Talk About It, Rinna described Kelker-Kelly as someone she considered a bully and alleged that he made her life “a living hell” on set. She accused him of being verbally abusive, passive-aggressive and manipulative, saying their frequent work together became exhausting. Kelker-Kelly never publicly responded to those allegations before his death. Despite the controversy surrounding those resurfaced claims, his career remains closely tied to the characters that made him recognizable to generations of soap fans, particularly Bo Brady, the role that helped secure his place in daytime television history.