Veteran actor Paul Avery and his wife, Sheila, have died after a predawn house fire tore through their home in Blairstown Township, New Jersey.
Avery, who was 81, was known to daytime TV audiences for his long-running role on “All My Children” during the 1980s. He and Sheila were inside the property when the fire broke out in the early hours of Tuesday, June 17.
Police were called to the Mohican Road home just after 12:30am, according to local reports. When emergency crews arrived, they found the house fully engulfed in flames. Firefighters were able to pull both Paul and Sheila from the burning property, but the couple suffered critical injuries and later died.
The heartbreaking news was shared by the couple’s daughter, Kyle, in a Facebook post later that day.
“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,” Kyle added.
Investigators are still working to determine what caused the blaze.
In recent years, Paul had been serving as the founder and executive editor of the Ridge View Echo, the local newspaper he launched after leaving acting behind.
Friend and colleague Joe Phalon reflected on Avery’s remarkable life while speaking to WFMZ.
“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.
Acting, skydiving, Vietnam veteran, started a newspaper.”
Phalon also said the loss would be deeply felt throughout the area.
“leave a real void in this community,”
continuing:
“Not just Blairstown, but the towns around as well. I think we’ll really miss him, and I think it’s going to become more apparent over time.”
Before making his name as an actor, Avery had already lived an unusually eventful life. As a teenager, he worked as a skydiver, and later served in the Vietnam War as a helicopter crew chief. He remained passionate about flying long after his military service ended.
On “All My Children,” he was best known for playing Hughie, a bartender at Foxy’s, across the 1980s. His screen career also included an appearance as a cameraman in 1978’s “Superman,” as well as parts in “Soap” and “Three’s Company.”
After his time in entertainment, Avery moved into journalism. He worked for the New York Times before eventually founding the Ridge View Echo.
Soap Opera Digest previously reported that he became Sheila’s full-time caregiver in 2018 after she suffered a stroke, devoting himself to looking after her in the years that followed.
As news of their deaths spread, tributes continued to emerge for the couple, with loved ones and members of the local community remembering their closeness and devotion to each other.