Robert Kelker-Kelly’s death attributed to heart disease

Officials with the regional medical examiner’s office serving St. Charles County, Missouri, concluded that arteriosclerotic heart disease caused Robert Kelker-Kelly’s death. He was 62, and the death was classified as natural, nearly four weeks after he died on October 3.

Kelker-Kelly’s wife, Allison Kelly, told police she picked him up at the airport that evening. During the drive home, he complained of chest and left-arm pain and asked her to stop so he could vomit. She asked if he wanted to go to a hospital, but he declined and asked to go home.

At home, he changed his clothes and went to bed. He was still in pain and asked for an aspirin. When his wife returned with it, she found him unresponsive and not breathing and called 911. She began CPR, and police and ambulance crews continued attempts to revive him. Paramedics pronounced him dead at 9:09 p.m.

Police said there were no suspicious circumstances. Kelly told investigators he had no known medical conditions and took no prescription medication. The medical examiner released his body without seeking further investigation.

From 1992 through 1995, Kelker-Kelly portrayed Bo Brady on Days of Our Lives, succeeding Peter Reckell in the role. He also appeared on Another World and General Hospital, where he played Stavros Cassadine. Lisa Rinna, his Days of Our Lives co-star, previously alleged in her memoir that he treated her abusively on set; Kelker-Kelly did not publicly respond to her claims. He later worked as a professional pilot and acting coach.