Actor, Baseball Player. Best Known for his role as ‘Dr. Steve Hardy,’ on the long-running soap opera “General Hospital” from it beginning in 1963 until his death in 1996. John started out as a child actor working for producer Hal Roach. Right after graduating University of Southern California where he attended on a baseball scholarship, he would be drafted into the Major Leagues. He would play from 1939-53 on different teams. Three years of his baseball career were taken short when he was called to serve his country in World War II from 1942-1945. After the war he returned to baseball. He played second base and shortstop for the St. Louis Browns, Cleveland Indians, and Pittsburgh Pirates. After injuring his leg in 1953, he retired from baseball and returned to acting, having appeared in his first film “The Winner’s Circle” in 1948. He had a lot of small parts in several movies, and television series throughout the 1950s, but would become a household name when he joined the cast of “General Hospital.” Cause of death: Pancreatic cancer