Alan Dysert, who played the scheming Sean Cudahy on the ABC soap opera All My Children, has died at the age of 75. He died on Friday, October 23, 2026, his wife, Michele Dysert, announced on Facebook. She did not give a cause of death.
“Thank you for loving me, for making me laugh, for the adventures, the memories, and the beautiful life we built together,” she wrote. “My heart is broken, but I am so thankful for the love of a lifetime.”
All My Children
Dysert first appeared on All My Children in 1979 as Sean, the con-artist brother of the respectable Tom Cudahy, played by Richard Shoberg. He left the show in 1981 and returned for a second run from 1988 to 1990. “My scenes are written better than stuff on nighttime TV,” he told People in 1981. “This is such a fun role!”
Life and career
Born on June 12, 1951, Dysert grew up on a farm in Oakwood, Illinois, and studied at the University of Illinois. He worked in real estate and did stand-up comedy before landing small, uncredited parts on the ABC comedy Soap and in Cheech & Chong’s Next Movie (1980).
After All My Children he worked as a producer and director, and in 1991 founded The Actor’s School in the Nashville area, where he taught for years and coached recording artists. He wrote, directed, produced and starred in the 2015 film The Senator.
In his 2023 memoir, Lights, Camera, Cancer!, he described living for more than a dozen years with a rare and aggressive cancer, including four major surgeries and chemotherapy.
He is survived by his wife, Michele, whom he married in 2008, and his sons, Cody and Cooper.