IN MEMORIAM

Best known for his portrayal of Dr. Joe Scanlon on “Port Charles,” Dean Collins on The WB’s “Savannah” and Stuart Carson on “Beverly Hills, 90210,” actor David Gail has died. He was just 58 years old. No cause of death was reported at press time.

News of Gail’s passing was first reported via an Instagram story by Peter Ferriero, host of a “Beverly Hills, 90210” podcast which also features the show’s producers Charles Rosin and Larry Mollin as they discuss the iconic series and its impact on pop culture.

“Was just told by his friends that our David Gail has passed away,” stated Ferriero in the post, referring to Gail’s multi-episode appearance on the hit FOX drama where he appeared as Stuart Carson during the show’s fourth season. “I’m so upset by this news. So grateful I had the opportunity to chat with him.”

In a message posted on Instagram by Katie Colmenares, Gail’s sister, she said of her brother, “There’s barely been even a day in my life when you were not with me by my side always my wingman always my best friend ready to face anything and anyone w me the bears will never be the same but I will hold you so tight every day in my heart you gorgeous loving amazing fierce human being missing you every second of every day forever there will never be another.” 

Colmenares’ post included an undated photo of the two hugging each other.

Shortly after posting about Gail’s passing, Ferriero posted a series of videos to his Instagram stories timeline on Saturday morning talking about how he learned of Gail’s death while also sharing a story on how he was able to get in contact with Gail to discuss his “Beverly Hills, 90210” experience on the podcast, including how he first got cast and was later told by producers to get acting lessons before they brought him back to the show as a different character.

In Ferriero’s videos, he said, “Late last night, before I went to bed, I got a DM from someone I didn’t know who I’m happy to know now, telling me that the actor, and her friend, David Gail, had passed away. This was absolutely shocking and devastating for me. I didn’t know David like we weren’t best friends like the person was, but we definitely – it took a long time to find him to bring him on the podcast – it took me a long time to find him, and Larry and I did everything we could possibly to find David Gail and then we did, and we started exchanging messages [back and forth] on WhatsApp a whole bunch over the last couple of years since he’s been on and he was just a really good human being, and I’m really upset by everything. 

“It was just the other day I was thinking we should bring David back for something, and I know that he had a bit of a struggle leaving Hollywood. There wasn’t a lot of work for him and whatnot, and his friend told me that being on the podcast and seeing him smile like that and talking about his work really made a difference in his life, and I never thought this podcast would do that for anybody… I just love talking about ‘90210,’ but I have so much gratitude that Larry and I were able to find him, that I got to talk to him via WhatsApp and that he got to come on the show and get all the love from all of us about how great he was on not just this but other [shows].”

Without going into specifics, Ferriero went on to say, “I don’t mean to be preachy in any way, but I think when something like this happens, I always just want to reach out to everybody I know and tell them that I love them and care for them. I’m so grateful for them being in my world and giving me the opportunities to interview them on the show or to work on a documentary or to read my script or whatever, or just to know them. So, yeah. Tough stuff. Really a good dude, and I’m super bummed by all of it. Anyway, just wanted to share the new guys.”

Born February 27, 1965 in Tampa, Florida, Gail first made a name for himself in Hollywood with roles in such shows as “Growing Pains,” “Doogie Howser, M.D.,” “Murder, She Wrote” and “Matlock.” In 1992, he landed a series regular role as Danny Burke in the short-lived NBC drama series “The Round Table,” which also starred “Days of our Lives” actress Stacy Haiduk.

Before playing Stuart Carson on “Beverly Hills, 90210” over a seven-episode arc during the show’s fourth season, which aired from 1993-1994, Gail actually made his first appearance on the show during its first season as a character named Tom, which Gail talked about when he appeared as a guest on the “90210” podcast in April 2021.

As Stuart, the character was set to marry Brenda Walsh (Shannen Doherty) after an impromptu dash to Las Vegas at a time when she was 18 and he was 24, and the two had only known each other for three weeks. Although the wedding was ultimately canceled, the pair remained friends until a few episodes later when Stuart showed his true colors to Brenda and they parted ways.

After his time on the FOX series ended, Gail landed a starring role in the USA Network original drama series “Robin’s Hoods,” which followed a prosecutor who inherited a bar from her deceased husband that gave a job opportunity to young offenders on parole. The lead character, Robin (played by Linda Purl), utilized the skillset of the young men to help her with cases she was having trouble resolving. Gail portrayed the role of Eddie Bartlett in the series, which saw guest appearances from several soap actors, past and present, including Rick Springfield, Morgan Fairchild, Jessica Collins, Nancy Lee Grahn, Jennifer Basey, Thom Bierdz, Constance Towers, Shari Shattuck and Alley Mills, along with many other well known Hollywood stars.

With “Beverly Hills, 90210,” “The Round Table” and “Robin’s Hoods” produced by Spelling Television, it came as no surprise to see the well-liked Gail landing a gig on another Aaron Spelling-produced series, this time as Dean Collins on “Savannah,” where he appeared in all 34 episodes of the drama series which ran for two seasons on The WB.

By 1999, Gail was hired to play a recast Dr. Joe Scanlon on the ABC daytime drama series “Port Charles,” which would become Gail’s last regular role. He remained with the show for just about a year before the series again recast the character with actor Alex Mendoza.

Other shows in which Gail appeared following his departure from “Port Charles” included “V.I.P.,” a syndicated action series starring Pamela Anderson, NBC’s “ER” and CBS’ “JAG.” Gail’s most recent acting credit was voicing multiple characters in the 2019 video game “Blacksad: Under the Skin.”

You can watch Gail’s first full podcast appearance below.