--- description: David Canary, the celebrated 'All My Children' actor who also starred in 'Bonanza,' has died of natural causes. He was 77. title: 'All My Children' and 'Bonanza' Star David Canary Dies at 77 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdf939cc706faa013/698872b38e0601d26e4637ee/gettyimages-498632544.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # _All My Children_ and _Bonanza_ Star David Canary Dies at 77 by [Dan Snierson / Entertainment Weekly](/author/entertainment-weekly/) ## Dan Snierson / Entertainment Weekly Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 25, 2015 6:00 AM CUT  David Canary in a scene on ABC Daytime's 'All My Children' that aired the week of Oct. 26, 2009 David Canary in a scene on ABC Daytime's 'All My Children' that aired the week of Oct. 26, 2009Steve Fenn—ABC/Getty Images by [Dan Snierson / Entertainment Weekly](/author/entertainment-weekly/) ## Dan Snierson / Entertainment Weekly Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 25, 2015 6:00 AM CUT David Canary, the celebrated _All My Children_ actor who also starred in _Bonanza,_ died of natural causes on Nov. 16 in Wilton, Conn., his family [announced](http://www.wiltonbulletin.com/58885/obituary-david-canary-77-actor/ "undefined") on Tuesday. He was 77. Canary earned a whopping 16 Daytime Emmy nominations and won five of those, a record at the time. Joining _All My Children_ in 1984, he would become one of—or should we say, two of— the ABC soap’s most popular characters. First introduced as the ruthless, scheming, dapper tycoon Adam Chandler (who would become one of the many husbands of Erica Kane, played by Susan Lucci), Canary soon also tackled the role of Stuart Chandler, who was Adam’s sweet-hearted, unbalanced twin brother and an artist—in essence, the opposite of Adam. He left _All My Children_ in 2010, returning for the show’s final episodes the following year, and reprised his role as Adam in a handful of episodes in 2013 when the show moved online. Another generation of TV watchers knew him for his western work; Canary had earlier gained fame as the Ponderosa ranch foreman “Candy” Canaday in NBC’s _Bonanza_, on which he starred from 1967 to 1970, leaving after a contract dispute but returning for another year in 1972\. In all, he would appear in 91 _Bonanza_ episodes. He also guest-starred in 1967 on another popular TV western,_Gunsmoke_. Canary attended the University of Cincinnati on a football scholarship, and turned down an offer from the Denver Broncos to play in the NFL so he could follow his acting dreams. He would begin in theater (ultimately acting in productions on- and off-Broadway) before serving in the Army. After his honorable discharge, he received his first TV break in 1965 opposite Mia Farrow in ABC’s _Peyton Place._ He appeared on the big screen in films such as _Hombre_ and _The Saint Valentine’s Day Massacre._ His other soap credits include _Search for Tomorrow_ (his first daytime soap role), _One Life to Live_ (on which he played Adam Chandler), _The Doctors_, and _Another World_. He also appeared on such recent prime time series as _Curb Your Enthusiasm_, _Touched By An Angel_, and _Law & Order_, and on classic dramas such as _Hawaii Five-O_, _S.W.A.T_, _Alias Smith and Jones, and Kung-Fu._ Canary is survived by his wife, Maureen; his son, Christopher; his daughter, Kathryn; and his grandson, Donovan. [_This article originally appeared on ew.com_](http://www.ew.com/article/2015/11/24/all-my-children-vet-david-canary-dies-77 "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4126790/all-my-children-bonanza-david-canary-died/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4126790/all-my-children-bonanza-david-canary-died/"},"headline":"All My Children and Bonanza Star David Canary Dies at 77","datePublished":"2015-11-25T06:00:30.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T12:54:01.124Z","description":"He received his first TV break in 1965, playing opposite Mia Farrow in ABC’s 'Peyton Place'","url":"https://time.com/4126790/all-my-children-bonanza-david-canary-died/","keywords":["Television","celebrity","TV"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdf939cc706faa013/698872b38e0601d26e4637ee/gettyimages-498632544.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Dan Snierson / Entertainment Weekly"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdf939cc706faa013/698872b38e0601d26e4637ee/gettyimages-498632544.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"All My Children - Archive Photos","caption":"All My Children - Archive Photos","creditText":"Steve Fenn—ABC/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4126790/all-my-children-bonanza-david-canary-died/","name":"All My Children and Bonanza Star David Canary Dies at 77"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"5 Reasons TV's Top Shows Are So Addictive","description":"Here's a look at how our favorite TV shows—from \"Game of Thrones\" to \"Scandal\" and \"Breaking Bad\"—keep us coming back for more.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/2RqNgPrk/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-01-16T20:47:22.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/2RqNgPrk.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4126790/all-my-children-bonanza-david-canary-died/","duration":"PT2M16S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4126790/all-my-children-bonanza-david-canary-died/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```