Patrick Muldoon, Star of Melrose Place, Dies at 57

His face meant something to a whole generation of viewers, even if his name sometimes slipped their minds. Behind the character of Richard Hart in Melrose Place, the charming and dangerous businessman of the 1990s, was the American actor Patrick Muldoon, who also shared a life with the French actress Juliette Binoche in the early 2000s. Long discreet away from the spotlight, he is now making headlines for a much darker reason.

At 57, the actor passed away from a heart attack at his home in Beverly Hills, California, on a Sunday in April 2026. This loss impacts the French public, torn between the nostalgia of his roles in American series and the memory of the unexpected couple he formed with Juliette Binoche. An announcement that revives memories of Hollywood soaps and romances.

The Sudden Death of Patrick Muldoon, Melrose Place Star

According to the American press, Patrick Muldoon was discovered dead on April 19, 2026, at 57 in his Beverly Hills home from a heart attack. Born on September 27, 1968, in San Pedro, California, he belonged to that generation of actors who grew up with American cable and major networks. The exact circumstances were not detailed, but the cause of death was presented as a myocardial infarction.

The actor leaves behind his partner Miriam Rothbart, his parents, his sister Shana, his brother-in-law Ahmet Zappa, and their children, Halo and Arrow. He did not have children of his own but relied on a close circle of friends. Many testimonies highlight a warm, charismatic actor with a rock ‘n’ roll temperament, far from the often dark figures he portrayed on screen in Melrose Place or in other works that marked his career.

From Days of Our Lives to Starship Troopers: The Career of a Familiar Face

Before turning to comedy, he was a football player at the University of Southern California, as a tight end for the USC Trojans. In 1992, he landed the role of Austin Reed in the soap Days of Our Lives, known in France as Des Jours et des Vies, which he played until 1995 before a brief return between 2011 and 2012.

His appearance on Melrose Place made him particularly famous in France, where the series was widely broadcast in the 1990s. He portrayed Richard Hart, a young ambitious and violent entrepreneur, ultimately shot in a shooting at the beginning of the fifth season. He also stepped into the world of cinema with Starship Troopers, where his face became familiar to science fiction fans, confirming his status as an eternal face of the 90s.

Patrick Muldoon and Juliette Binoche: A Private Couple Between Hollywood and France

In his private life, Patrick Muldoon dated several actresses, including Tori Spelling and Denise Richards, but it is his relationship with Juliette Binoche that intrigues the French public today. Their relationship began in the early 2000s, around 2002, and lasted until 2006. This Franco-American couple remained very discreet, appearing rarely in the tabloids, far from the media frenzy that usually surrounds romances between Hollywood and art-house cinema.

With the announcement of his passing, the actor’s name resurfaces in the French media associated with the interpreter of La Vie est Belle and Chocolat. For many, rediscovering that a face from Melrose Place shared the life of a French cinema star for several years gives a particular resonance to this death at 57, connecting memories of series, films, and private lives that have long remained in the background.