Benjamin Hendrickson, Stage and Soap Star, Dies at 55

Benjamin Hendrickson, whose Broadway roles included John Merrick in The Elephant Man and Andrei in The Acting Company’s celebrated production of The Three Sisters, died suddenly last weekend in Long Island. He was 55. No cause of death has been announced.

Hendrickson was best known, however, for his role as Hal Munson on the CBS daytime drama As the World Turns, which he played for over two decades. He won the Daytime Emmy Award in 2003, and received two other nominations. His last airdate will be July 12 and the show’s producers have said they do not plan to recast the role.

A graduate of Juilliard and a founding member of The Acting Company, Hendrickson made his Broadway debut in 1973 in The Three Sisters, which played in repertory with Measure for Measure, Scapin, and I’ll Sing For You. In 1975, The Acting Company returned to Broadway for another repertory season, which once again included The Three Sisters as well as The Robber Bridgegroom. His co-stars included Kevin Kline and Patti LuPone.

In addition to The Elephant Man, Hendrickson also starred on Broadway in the musical Strider (for which he was the dance captain) and the 1984 revival of Awake and Sing! in which he played Sam, opposite Frances McDormand’s Hennie.
He also appeared in numerous Off-Broadway and regional productions including The Lisbon Traviata, After the Fall, and Richard III, and can be seen in the PBS version of The Acting Company’s production of The Time of Your Life.

Prior to joining As the World Turns in 1985, he had appeared on the soaps Texas, Another World, and Guiding Light, where he played Silas Crocker.