Peter White, ‘All My Children,’ ‘Boys in the Band’ actor, dead at 86

Actor Peter White, who portrayed Linc Tyler on the soap opera “All My Children” across four decades and had a groundbreaking role in the 1970 movie “The Boys in the Band,” died Wednesday. He was 86.

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White died at his home in Los Angeles of melanoma, fellow “All My Children” cast member Kathleen Noone told The Hollywood Reporter.

White first portrayed Tyler from 1974 to 1980 and then returned for appearances in 1981, 1984, 1986, 1995 and 2005, according to the entertainment news website. He was the third actor to play the role, Entertainment Weekly reported.

White was a graduate of Northwestern University’s School of Communications and studied acting at the Yale School of Drama, Deadline reported.

He began his acting career on stage and was part of the original off-Broadway cast of “The Boys in the Band” in April 1968, according to Deadline.

White starred as Alan McCarthy in the play, a drama that followed a group of gay men who were attending a birthday party in New York City for a friend, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The play left White’s role as sexually ambiguous.

“Opening night, none of us knew what we had,” White recalled in a 2008 interview with Soap Opera Digest. “We all just thought, ‘It’s a play, it’s something new, it’s different and it’s good.’ It was a 100% gay audience -- and then the next day, it went crazy!

“We got a call to come to the theater early, because there was such a crowd around the theater, you couldn’t get near it. Everyone at the time wanted to call it a gay play -- (I always thought) it wasn’t (so much) a gay play (as) it was a play with gay characters.”

White reprised his role as McCarthy when the play was adapted to film in 1970.

White was born Oct. 10, 1937, in New York City. He made his soap opera debut in 1965 on “The Secret Storm,” according to The Hollywood Reporter.

On television, White also had a guest starring role on “N.Y.P.D.” in 1968.

According to Deadline, White also had guest television roles on “Cannon,” “Hill Street Blues,” “Falcon Crest,” “The Jeffersons,” “Hart to Hart,” “Dynasty,” “Simon & Simon,” “Scarecrow & Mrs. King,” “The West Wing” and “Ally McBeal.”

On the big screen, White had roles in “Dave,” “Flubber,” “Armageddon,” “Thirteen Days” and “First Daughter.”

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