The unexpected passing of Patrick Muldoon is particularly tragic as he had just conquered his struggles and was experiencing a career resurgence, alongside finding love with his ‘life partner.’
The star of “Days of Our Lives” succumbed to what appears to be a heart attack at his Beverly Hills residence on Sunday. His producer girlfriend, Miriam Rothbart, discovered him unconscious in the shower. Muldoon was only 57 years old.
In an interview with the Daily Mail, his sister, Shana Muldoon Zappa, 48, expressed that he had no known health issues and was in excellent shape, which makes the family’s shock and grief over this ‘unbelievable nightmare’ even more profound.
However, questions linger for some about whether Muldoon’s turbulent past lifestyle may have contributed to his untimely demise.
An insider from the soap opera revealed to the Daily Mail, “It was widely known on ‘Days of Our Lives’ that Patrick had battled addiction issues. He frequently arrived at work hungover, struggled to remember his lines, and sometimes required multiple takes—occasionally as many as five or six—to get it right.”
‘He tried to hide his habits, but it became increasingly more obvious. He was called in to execs who asked him what was going on. He said he was trying to get clean and begged them to give him a chance. He was getting by on his looks and charisma. He said it got worse when he was doing gigs with his band The Sleeping Masses.’
Patrick Muldoon’s sudden death is even more heartbreaking, given he had finally shaken off his demons (pictured in 2024)
Some former colleagues have been left questioning if his past ‘wild lifestyle’ played a part in his untimely death (pictured as Austin Reed in Days of Our Lives)
Muldoon, who did not talk publicly about addiction, was cast as Austin Reed on the NBC soap opera in 1992 and enjoyed a three-year run before being replaced by Austin Peck in 1995.
Talking years later about his decision to leave, he said his exit was born out of ‘simply being young and curious to try other things’.
That breakout role in daytime TV earned Muldoon a Soap Opera Digest Award for Best New Actor.
‘It was a big cattle call,’ he recalled to Soap Opera Digest in 2015 of landing the role of the aspiring boxer. ‘For me, it was simply another audition. I screen-tested with Tracy Middendorf, who was playing Carrie. The main thing I remember is that after we got done, I saw Fran [De Simone], who was our stage manager, mouthing to someone else, ‘number four.’ I was number four, so I felt really good about that.’
He returned in 2011 for a second, but albeit, brief one-year stint. This is when he was said to be struggling with addiction.
Fans got excited in June when he appeared to tease another return to Salem, posting a video of himself in the studio and telling his Instagram followers: ‘Oh my God, I’m in Salem! Oh, it’s good to be back.’ But he was simply touring the lot with a friend.
His death sparked a slew of tributes from his former costars who described him as ‘truly irreplaceable,’ ‘the sweetest man,’ and ‘brilliantly talented, endlessly kind and generous in spirit.’
Among those hit hard by his death was actress Denise Richards, who dated the actor for nearly five years in the late 1990s, having first met in an acting class when she was 19 years old and he was 21. They went on to star in Starship Troopers together.
A source close to Richards, now 55, told the Daily Mail that she was ‘inconsolable’.
‘It was an open secret on Days that Patrick had addiction problems,’ a high-ranking insider on the soap told the Daily Mail (pictured with his costar Christie Clark)
‘It seems like he’d managed to get his life together judging by the projects he was involved with recently,’ said the insider (pictured with his ex, and close friend, Denise Richards)
A separate source reflected on the former relationship as ‘tumultuous,’ revealing that the couple was ‘very passionate, very aggressive.’
‘Patrick was part of that party group in the 90s – he was young and in Hollywood,’ the source told the Daily Mail, adding: ‘I don’t know that I call it a troubled past, but he lived fast. Patrick was one of the It guys, in with the 90s Spelling crowd.
‘I don’t know if that’s the reason why he died or not, it sounds like just a heart attack. But he definitely had some wild times and you know that wild times can catch up with you.’
So close were the exes that Richards’ daughter Lola, who she shares with ex-husband Charlie Sheen, revealed she ‘always begged’ her mom to rekindle her romance with Muldoon, who she said was a ‘huge part of our family.’
It was with Richards that Muldoon made his final public appearance at the 2026 Saturn Awards back in March.
On Tuesday, Richards broke her silence about the death of her ex-boyfriend, writing on Instagram: ‘This is so hard for me to put into words. I am deeply heartbroken & devastated losing you. You were my best friend & my family.’
They also both star in the upcoming movie Dirty Hands, a new action-thriller scheduled for release this Friday.
Muldoon had been dating girlfriend Miriam Rothbart, a 53-year-old former entertainment lawyer and film producer, since the summer of 2023. His sister previously described her as ‘his life partner’ who is also ‘devastated’ over the news.
‘Patrick was a beautiful human being, but at the same time he was a mess,’ the first source said of Muldoon’s previous struggles while filming Days. ‘It seems like he’d managed to get his life together judging by the projects he was involved with recently.
‘You can’t help but wonder if his past wild lifestyle played some part in his death.’
