As police Monday continued to look for the gunman who killed actor Johnny Wactor, the acting world mourned the loss of one of the popular stars of the soap “General Hospital.”
Some of Wactor’s friends said they were feeling a mix of different emotions, including disbelief and anger.
“This guy deserved the front page on Deadline for his talent, his skill and his art – not this,” Micah Parker, who worked on Wactor’s now final project together, said. “I’m very angry that this kind of stuff is tolerated.”
His acting coach, Stuart Rogers, said he was also grappling with shock and anger.
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“I’m pissed that he was killed over a f--king catalytic converter,” Rogers said.
After Wactor starred on “General Hospital '' for two years, he appeared in numerous TV shows and films. Although Wactor became a recognized daytime TV star, he remained humble and accessible, according to Mike Silver, who directed Wactor’s first film “The Interrogation.”
“This guy was just a true team player, Silver said. “He had no sense of his celebrity or what he had accomplished. He was always just wide, curious and interested.”
During the Hollywood strikes last year, Wactor frequently hit the picket lines with fellow actors, pushing for a better contract for SAG-AFTRA members.
“We’re giving independent and up-and-coming writers an opportunity to show what they can do,” Wactor had said in August 2023.
The LAPD had confirmed Wactor was shot while trying to stop a group of three men attempting to steal his car's catalytic converter near the intersection of Hope Street and Pico Boulevard.
One of the suspects fired at the victim and then the trio fled the scene.
Police were dispatched to the location at about 3:15 a.m. Paramedics rushed the shooting victim to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
No arrests have been made.
