Jack Axelrod, who is best known for playing General Hospital's Victor Jerome, has passed away at the age of 93. The actor's representative Jennifer Garland confirmed the sad news to Variety, revealing that Axelrod had died of natural causes on November 28.
Axelrod had a prolific film and television career. Not only did he play Ava Jerome's infamous mob boss father between 1987 and 1989, but he also appeared on shows like My Name Is Earl as "Electrolarynx Guy," and several episodes of Grey's Anatomy as "Really Old Guy" Charlie Yost, a semi-comatose patient whose quiet room became the place for the interns to flock to during their lunch hour during the show's third season.
Among the actor's other television credits were roles on hit primetime soaps like Dallas, Knots Landing, and Dynasty. He also appeared on Night Court, Hill Street Blues, Everybody Loves Raymond, Frasier, Boy Meets World, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Modern Family, Scrubs, and many more.
Axelrod branched out to the big screen in movies such as Woody Allen's 1971 hit Bananas, Hancock starring Will Smith, Winged Creatures, Little Fockers, Super 8, J. Edgar, and The Lone Ranger. Axelrod's final role was as Dr. Cherbenko in the 2020 film Bad Therapy.
Born in Los Angeles on January 25, 1930, Axelrod was drafted for the Korean War and served in the US Army. After leaving the Army, he majored in architecture at UC Berkeley and became a licensed architect in the state of Washington. His life took a drastic turn when he began six years of study with Uta Hagen at HB Studios in New York City. In 1969, he landed the role of Banquo in an off-Broadway production of Macbeth.
Axelrod was a theater faculty member at various colleges including the University of Wisconsin, Boston University, Penn State, Temple University, University of Michigan, Cal Arts, and Brandeis University. Additionally, he was a guest instructor at the Aaron Speiser Acting Studio in Los Angeles.
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