Beloved soap opera actor Paul Avery and his wife, Sheila, were killed in a tragic early-morning house fire that has left their New Jersey community heartbroken.
Avery, who was best known for playing Hughie the bartender on All My Children in the 1980s, died Tuesday after flames tore through the couple’s home in Blairstown, New Jersey.
Firefighters rushed to the house just before 1 a.m. and found Paul and Sheila inside in critical condition, according to local reports. Emergency crews pulled them from the burning home and performed CPR, but the couple could not be saved.
Both died shortly after the fire.
The cause of the blaze remains under investigation.
Avery was a familiar face to soap fans thanks to his long-running role as Hughie, the bartender at Foxy’s, the dive bar featured on All My Children. He played the character for more than a decade.
His acting career also included an appearance in the original 1978 Superman movie, where he had an uncredited role as a TV cameraman.
But Avery’s life stretched far beyond Hollywood.
He was also a Vietnam veteran, a skydiver, and the founder of the community newspaper the Ridge View Echo. Friends say he was the kind of man who seemed to have lived several lives in one.
His daughter, Kyle Avery, shared the heartbreaking news in a Facebook tribute to her parents.
“I’m devastated to share that our parents, Paul and Sheila Garry Avery, passed away early this morning,” she wrote. “We loved them so much, and they loved us so much, and nobody ever had to wonder if that was so.”
Joe Phalon, who works at the newspaper Avery founded, said the loss has shaken the entire community.
“I always like to call Paul the most interesting man in the world, because he was when you consider everything he’s done in his life,” Phalon told WFMZ. “Acting, skydiving, Vietnam veteran, started a newspaper.”
He added that Avery’s death will leave a deep hole in Blairstown and the surrounding towns.
“His death is going to leave a real void in this community,” Phalon said. “I think we’ll really miss him, and I think it’s going to become more apparent over time.”
For those who knew him, Avery was more than a former soap star. He was a husband, father, veteran, newspaperman, performer, and local legend.
Now, his family and community are mourning the sudden loss of both Paul and Sheila after a devastating fire that struck in the middle of the night.