Joe Marinelli dead: The Morning Show and General Hospital star dies after stomach cancer

American actor Joe Marinelli, who starred in a string of TV shows including The Morning Show, has died at the age of 68.

The Morning Show and General Hospital actor's death was confirmed by his agent, Julie Smith, who revealed he had ben diagnosed with stomach and throat cancer a few years ago.

Joe's wife of 34 years, musician Jean Marinelli, also confirmed the news to the Hollywood Reporter and told the publication he died on Sunday June 22 in Burbank, California.

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As the sad news was shared, tributes poured in for the actor. Leigh McCloskey, who appeared alongside Joe in hit soap Santa Barbara, penned a tribute on Instagram as he posted a throwback photo of himself with Joe. In the lengthy tribute he called Joe a "champion" and a "great acting partner, teacher, philosophical friend, passionate believer in people, and a storyteller extraordinaire".

He added: "I knew Joe was sick and so admired his indefatigable spirit throughout what sounded like a very difficult, if not impossible, ordeal. Joe was a champion."

Joe had a string of acting credits under his belt, including NBC soap Santa Barbara, in which he played Bunny Tagliatti, CBS drama Guiding Light, in which he played bank robber Pauly Hardman. He also played the role of a crook, Joseph Sorel, in ABC soap General Hospital from 1999 tp 2001.

His most recent role saw his portray UBA director Donny Spagnoli in the first three seasons of Apple TV drama The Morning Show.

Mark Duplass, who appeared alongside Joe on The Morning Show, said on X: "We lost a great one. Joe Marinelli lived in rare air. Generous performer, beautiful human, wide-eyed positivist. I got to know him shooting The Morning Show. We taught classes together. We talked about nothing and everything in between takes. We cut right to the important stuff on Day 1 of meeting. I will miss him dearly. And I will try to live my life a bit more like he lived his. We all should."

Joe's acting career began as he studied acting at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London. He travelled back to the US where he continued to study acting with actress Jean Muir and casting director Michael Shurtleff. Joe appeared in local theatre productions while making ends meet with a job as a carpenter.

After landing his first big gig in 1984, where he appeared in Cagney & Lacey, Paper Dolls, Hill Street Blues and LA Law, Joe appeared in a string of soaps across US TV as well as movies including One Last Ride and Sideways.

He also made guest appearances on shows including NYPD Blue, The West Wing, The Practice and Desperate Housewives.

Joe was best known for his role on Santa Barbara, which saw his character Bunny fall in love, have a fierce feud, and splash out on a nightclub called Bunny's Lair. The actor said in 2013 of his role: "Bunny allowed me to bring so many things: my sense of humor, my love of creating different characters — in this case male and female — and a strong moral code.

"I, like a lot of people, can get my feelings hurt, and when Bunny got hurt, he would turn to his female ego."

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