Benjamin Hendrickson
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| Benjamin Hendrickson | |||||||
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| Born | August 26, 1950 Huntington, New York |
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| Died | July 3, 2006 (aged 55) Huntington, New York |
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Benjamin Hendrickson (August 26, 1950 – July 3, 2006) was an American actor known for playing Harold "Hal" Munson, Jr., the Chief of Detectives for the mythical town of Oakdale on the long-running daytime soap opera, As the World Turns.
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[edit] Biography
[edit] Theater and film
Hendrickson was born in Huntington, New York. He studied at the prestigious Juilliard School as part of the institution's first drama division class and was a founding member of the late John Houseman's The Acting Company.
Prior to his television appearances, Hendrickson acted in theatre. From 1973-1984, he appeared in a host of productions that included The Elephant Man (taking over the title part in 1981 after serving as David Bowie's understudy), Awake and Sing and Strider.
Hendrickson also acted in feature films. His credits include Dreams Don't Die (1982), Manhunter (1986), Russkies (1987), Regarding Henry (1991), Consenting Adults (1992) and Spanking the Monkey (1994).
[edit] Television
Hendrickson made appearances on daytime television in the early 1980s; his credits included Another World, Texas and a notable role on Guiding Light as the villainous Silas Crocker.
However, Hendrickson was best known for playing Harold "Hal" Munson Jr., the Chief of Detectives for the mythical town of Oakdale on the long-running daytime soap opera As the World Turns.
He played Hal for over 20 years, from October 1985 to September 2004 and from June 2005 to July 2006. Hal was initially a short-term role, but as Hendrickson joked, when he "impregnated the leading lady" (the character of Margo, then played by Hillary B. Smith), he signed a contract with a longer term.[1]
Hendrickson won a (28th-30th) Daytime Emmy Award for "Outstanding Supporting Actor" for playing Hal in 2003. During his acceptance speech, he honored his source of moral support with a joke: "To my mother, who scrimped and saved to send me to Juilliard to study the classics... I'm sorry."
[edit] Death
Hendrickson's body was discovered on July 3, 2006 at his Huntington, New York home. The Suffolk County Police labeled his death a suicide; his body had been found with a gunshot wound to the head. Hendrickson was 55 years old at the time of his death.[2]
Hendrickson had experienced medical challenges over the last few years. He had suffered from depression since his mother's death in 2003; he had taken a leave of absence from the show to care for her.
At the time of his death, he had also been involved in a storyline in which Hal Munson's daughter Jennifer Munson died of a sudden illness. Media reports speculated that this may have affected him, but in an interview in the August 1, 2006 edition of Soap Opera Digest, Hendrickson's nephew Stephen refuted suggestions that the storyline may have affected him, and explained that Hendrickson was overwhelmed by losing his mother, father, and brother within a matter of years.
[edit] On screen
Since daytime soap operas follow tape-ahead shooting schedule, Hendrickson's final scenes on As the World Turns were broadcast July 12, 2006, nine days after his death. The July 12 episode featured a brief dedication at the end alerting viewers to his passing.
A July 5, 2006 TV Guide article indicated that the role would not be recast; the show addressed the fate of character onscreen in October 2006, and had Hal Munson die in the line of duty.[3] During the run of the show, Hendrickson's character was on-screen uncle to the character of Tess Shelby, played by future "indie movie queen" Parker Posey.
