David Hoyt Canary (August 25, 1938 – November 16, 2015) was an American actor. Canary served a tour of duty in the United States Army. After a semi-regular role as Russ Gehring in the prime time serial Peyton Place, Canary came to international prominence in 1967 on the Western series Bonanza. In 1967, he appeared in the now-classic western movie Hombre, in which he was featured with Paul Newman, Richard Boone, and Cameron Mitchell. Canary guest starred in a two-part episode of CBS's Gunsmoke entitled "Nitro", played a mobster with Jason Robards in the film The St. Valentine's Day Massacre, and appeared on the short-lived CBS western Dundee and the Culhane. A contract dispute that year between Leonard Nimoy and the producers of Star Trek forced Herb Solow, Robert H. Justman and Gene Roddenberry to compile a list of candidates for consideration to takeover the role of Mr. Spock. As revealed in Solow and Justman's book, Star Trek - The Inside Story, Canary was one of the "A List" candidates. When David Dortort (Bonanza, The High Chaparral, The Cowboys creator/producer), was looking for a new foreman for the Ponderosa Ranch, he saw Canary in Hombre and cast him in the role because Canary was "the kind of kid who comes on and suddenly there's nobody else on the screen". Canary left Bonanza in June 1970 after a contract dispute. He returned after Dan Blocker's death in May 1972. Canary said that he loved Bonanza, except for filming in Nevada in 100-degree heat. Canary appeared on Broadway with Colleen Dewhurst in Great Day In The Morning and with Geraldine Page in Tennessee Williams' Clothes For A Summer Horse. He has done numerous musical/stage roles in shows such as Kismet, Man Of La Mancha, and The Fantastics, as well as dramatic performances in The Seagull and Macbeth. David's first daytime television role was on Search for Tomorrow where he played the short-term role of Liza Walton's agent. He had two short stints on The Doctors as Far Wind, a Jim Jones like cult leader who took the hospital staff hostage, killing the character of Melissa Dancy (Dorian Lo Pinto) in the process. In 1981, he assumed the role of Steve Frame on the soap opera Another World. However, the effort to revive the Steve/Alice/Rachel triangle was largely unsuccessful, and Canary left the show in 1983 after the character of Steve Frame was killed off in a car crash. On New Year's Eve 1983, he joined the cast of All My Children in the role of the cunning Adam Chandler. That following year, he was also cast as Adam's meek twin brother, Stuart whom everybody at first (including the audience) believed was Adam. When Canary departed the soap, he had stated he intended to return to AMC occasionally. Canary returned to All My Children to reprise both of his roles as Adam and Stuart Chandler for several days before its September 23, 2011, finale on ABC. In 2013, he returned to the role of Adam when the show began to produce online episodes. Other prime-time television guest appearances include: Law & Order, Touched by an Angel, S.W.A.T., Primas, Alias Smith and Jones, Police Story, Kung-Fu, Hawaii Five-O, Remember WENN, and Cimarron Strip. Canary was married to actress Maureen Maloney, with whom he had a son, Chris, and a daughter, Kate. Canary died on November 16, 2015 at an assisted living facility in Wilton, Connecticut from complications of Alzheimer's disease. He was 77.

• published: 25 Nov 2015
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