Days of Our Lives Actor Robert Kelker-Kelly Dead at 62

Which is why, as he put it, “Another World was a godsend.”

Though for both him and costar Sandra Ferguson, who played Amanda, their initial time on set was a bit of trial by fire. 

“I had a whole bunch of theater training, which really didn't matter all that much in soaps,” he explained. “They just threw us to the wolves. It was a lot of work and a lot of location shooting in New York. It was a ton of fun, but I remember the stress at the time being pretty high.”

Five years later, he was cast as Bo Brady on Days of Our Lives, replacing actor Peter Reckell.

As it turned out, his three years on the series were even more grueling than Another World.

“They worked us to death,” he said. “At the time, because my shirt was off all the f--king time, I would get up at three o'clock in the morning, go to the gym from four to six, and then be at the studio from six to eight (or nine) at night, and then go to sleep and do it all over again.”

For Kelker-Kelly—who eventually left acting behind and worked as a pilot, per his conversation with We Love Soaps—despite his many turns on the sets of dramatic and farfetched soap operas, he often felt the most compelling storylines were the simplest.

“I'm one of those old soap people who believes if you have good characters and good stories you don't have to resort to demons and evil twins,” he said, before joking, “not that I'm complaining about playing a guy brought back from the dead many times.”

He added, “I'm a firm believer that if you have good compelling stories and good actors, all the histrionics on the side don't make a dang bit of difference.”