Star of ABC’s ‘One Life to Live’ Tragically Dies of Cancer at 56

This year has been particularly rough for celebrity deaths, especially those taken before their time. Friends star Matthew Perry died at 54, Three’s Company star Suzanne Somers died at 75, Brooklyn Nine-Nine star Andre Braugher at 61, and The Wire star Lance Reddick at 60. And then there were those legends whose passing still hurts, like Tony Bennett, Tina Turner, Jimmy Buffett, and Norman Lear. But with less than a week left in the year, Hollywood lost yet another star much too soon.

Kamar de los Reyes, who played Antonio Vega on the ABC soap opera One Life to Live and as the villain Raul Menendez in the video game Call of Duty: Black Ops II, died of cancer on Christmas Eve in Los Angeles. De los Reyes’s career spanned five decades, but he’s best known for playing a former gang member turned attorney and police officer on the ABC daytime soap One Life to Live. He played the role from 1995 to 2009, starring in 287 episodes of the show.

Kamar de los Reyes was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico on November 8, 1967. He moved to Las Vegas with his father, a percussionist and drummer. His father had him on stage singing and dancing when he was eight. Kamar de los Reyes’s two older brothers followed their father into percussion, but he decided to become an actor and moved to Los Angeles.

Rest in peace,
Kamar de los Reyes🙏🏼@kamardelosreyes

In the mid 90’s I kept losing
roles to this super talented actor. “Blade To The Heat”and “The Tempest”, for Shakespeare in the Park came down to the wire and he edged me out both times.

I remember seeing him in both plays… pic.twitter.com/u6zMtazsBY

— KID VICIOUS🔪 (@kirkacevedo) December 26, 2023

He began his career in 1988 with minor roles in movies and television, including three episodes of ER, the Oliver Stone film Nixon (1995), and Touched by an Angel. His stint on ER got him the role on One Life to Live. 

After his stint on daytime television, Kamar de los Reyes transitioned to voice work. He would take on the role of Raul Menendeza, a Nicaraguan drug lord and leader of a terrorist organization, as the primary antagonist of the 2012 Call of Duty: Black Ops II and 2013 Call Of Duty: Strike Team. He returned to the role in the 2018 Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 and the 2022 Call Of Duty: Vanguard and Call Of Duty: Warzone.

At the time of his death, he had finished the first season of the CW’s All-American and had just wrapped filming on Marvel’s Daredevil series for Disney Plus. 

When Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico in 2017, Kamar de los Reyes and his brothers made several trips back to the island, bringing much-needed supplies to the island. He said:

We want to make sure that the relief aid makes it into the hands of the people who need it most, but also create awareness so that the people of Puerto Rico aren’t forgotten.

De los Reyes is survived by his wife, actress Sherri Saum, and three children.