Tom Ligon, who starred in the Young and the Restless, has died aged 85. The actor is best known for playing Lucas Prentiss on The Young and the Restless from 1978 to 1982. In the soap opera, Lucas was involved in a love quadrangle with his onscreen brother, Lance Pretiss (John McCook and Dennis Cole), and the Brooks sisters, Leslie (Victoria Mallory) and Lori (Jaime Lyn Bauer).

Tom's death was confirmed by SAG-AFTRA New York Local via Facebook. “SAG-AFTRA celebrates the memory of former New York Local Board member and a 60-year union member Tom Ligon,” the labor union branch captioned a photo of him. “Ligon was strongly pro-merger and worked fiercely on member education in support of creating one union. Ligon also served as National Seniors Committee Chair and NY Seniors Committee Co-chair, as well as multiple other committees. He will be deeply missed. #SagAftraMember since 1965.”

Devastated fans flooded the comment section as they paid tribute to the beloved star. One penned: "So sorry to hear this. A lovely man." Another echoed: "A good man. He will be missed."

A third added: "Such a great loss. Such a grand life. Great actor. Star of stage and screen. Large and small."

Tom had an extensive television career and appeared in several other soap operas including Santa Barbara, Loving, Another World, Dallas, and All My Children.

Other TV roles included Medical Center, Baretta, Charlie’s Angels, Police Woman, Starsky & Hutch, Law & Order, and The Heart, She Holler, among several others.

His film credits included Paint Your Wagon (1969), Jump (1971), Bang the Drum Slowly (1973), Doctors in Love (1982), Cutting Class (1989), and more.

His acting career also led to Tom appearing on Broadway. In 1969, he starred alongside Geraldine Page in Angela and Sandy Duncan in Love Is a Time of Day.

Tom was married to actress and dialect coach Katharine Dunfee Clarke from 1976 until her death in 2009 from a blood disorder at age 60.