Dallas star Ken Kercheval who played Cliff Barnes in the hit US show has died aged 83, according to reports.
He is believed to have died on Sunday night.
A spokeswoman at the Frist Funeral Home in the actor’s hometown of Clinton, Indiana, confirmed his death to The Hollywood Reporter.
The stage actor was most well known for his long-running role on primetime soap opera, Dallas, and found fame as JR Ewing’s rival.
Born in 1935, the actor went on to study music and drama at university before going on to work with the likes of Dustin Hoffman in Broadway.
He made his Broadway debut in the 1962 play Something About a Solider, before getting his first television role in Search for Tomorrow in 1966.
His starring role in Dallas came some years later, in 1978, where Kercheval was a pivotal character from the pilot episodes to the series finale.
He was initially cast as Jock Ewing’s illegitimate son, Ray Krebbs, before later being offered the role of Cliff Barnes.
A co-star of Kercheval’s paid tribute to the soap actor. Kevin Page wrote: “RIP to my co-star on the Dallas series Ken Kercheval.”
He later reprised his role once again in the 2012 Dallas reboot which ran until 2014.
Kercheval was a lung cancer survivor, after he was diagnosed in the nineties.
The 83-year-old is survived by his five children and six grandchildren.
